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Corporate finance:
Strategic planning

Strategic planning creates the framework into which your business plan and your personal financial planning fit. It identifies the challenges you will face in order to achieve your objectives, and works out how to overcome those challenges. Cassons corporate finance team can lead you through the process, helping you to create that framework and to deal with those challenges.

Strategic planning goes beyond this year's business plan. It is a holistic approach. It asks where you want to be in 5 or 10 years' time, as an individual and as a business. It considers what your business is worth now, and what it might become worth if you implement the right strategy.

It's not just about setting income targets, although that's part of it. You also need to set personal objectives. You need to consider your role in the business and the roles played by other key managers. You must examine how the business is run. Does it depend on the knowledge and experience of key individuals; or does it have systems and procedures that capture that knowledge and experience so that the business has a momentum of its own? In particular, making the business less dependent on you will be a key part of your own exit strategy.

Your strategy should look closely at your human resources. Have you got a proper management structure? Do management get the information they need to enable them to be effective? Do you have a programme to promote the training and development of your employees, to ensure that they know their role in fulfilling the company's objectives?

A proper strategy will underpin your marketing plan. Your plan should go beyond the tactics you will use to increase this year's sales. It should be built on an examination of the profitability of different product lines. It should include research into the marketplace, to ascertain trends and developments, to learn what your competitors and customers are doing. You will then have a properly focused marketing plan.

Of course you need a financial strategy. At a basic level, it requires sound financial control and the timely production of useful financial information. At a higher level, it requires the identification of break even points and key indicators, it involves the exploration of "what if" scenarios, and it addresses the issues of profitability, pricing, and cost control.

Information and communication technology has become more than a support service. In many businesses it is a key driver. This year's projects should fit into a longer term strategy

Setting a strategy is only the beginning. Implementing it is the exciting part. You will need to draw on many skills. Some you will have, others we can provide. We also draw upon a network of other specialists to bring you all the tools you need to get the job done. Implementation is a continuing process and involves periodic review. Cassons will be your partners throughout the process.