GUIDELINES FOR COMPANY STRATEGIC AUDIT PAPER

What is the Company Strategic Audit?

The Company Strategic Audit is a research paper that involves the application of the concepts of strategic
management on an actual existing company or organization. The actual process of doing the strategic audit
involves the following steps:

1. Using the teams for group reports/case presentations students choose an actual company to be the
subject of the CSA (to be approved by the instructor).

2. After choosing the company, the teams are to gather information on the said company and the industry it
operates on or belongs to. The data gathering can be done through meetings and discussions with top
management and other stakeholders , Internet, etc. or other sources of information).

3. After gathering information, the teams then analyze the company/organization’s operations by applying
the concepts of strategic management, as well as the different evaluation tools.

4. After a thorough analysis of the company and the industry it belongs to or operates on, the teams are
then expected to make recommendations that involve strategy reformulation and
execution/implementation.

By doing a thorough company strategic audit, the students will be able to apply all the concepts of strategic
management as well as other management courses taken in the past. This is why this paper is called an
integrating paper, where students are expected to look at the chosen company from a total business perspective.

The main objective of this paper is to allow the students to apply the concepts and tools in Strategic Management,
which in its entirety involves Industry and Environmental Analysis, the Company History and its current operations,
and the Strategy Evaluation, leading to a possible Strategy Reformulation and Implementation.

Choosing the Company

The Company that will be the subject of the strategic audit must be Filipino-owned, that is legally registered with
the SEC or CDA or with the DTI and the Local Government Unit in the locality. It should have a formal
management/organizational structure and the owner-investor shares with non-owners holding management
positions.

Small to Medium businesses are preferred, as these would be easier to evaluate in its entirety. Big corporations
(esp. multinationals) may give you only limited access to the different aspects of their operations. An ideal
company for study is one with annual gross revenues of P 10 million or higher, and with at least 10 employees
or more.

Project Requirements

The final requirement is a written research paper that contains all the outputs that the teams have done on the
company of their choice as well as the paper presentation.

The final paper should consist of three (3) main parts:

Part 1: Industry and Company Information and Facts, leading up to a case description

A case description is a report by the writers of a company’s management problem or decision to be

made. It is written from the point of view of the decision maker. The teams writing the case must “capture” to
the best that they can the relevant facts of the situation at the time the problem existed or at the time a
decision is needed to be made.

In the course of setting the case, it is necessary to support it through information about the company and its
industry. It is like telling a story- events are recounted and facts that are pertinent to the story are included in this
Part 1.

It is in this part that the teams are required to study the chosen company’s current situation and strategic plans
and write a case about it, with focus on the major strategic issues. The case description must be comprehensive
enough to describe the situation in real life terms but should include only relevant information and data.
 Part 2: Analysis of the Company Situation

This part of the research paper contains the analysis of the company’s current operations from the perspective of
the concepts of strategic management. This means that the teams must include the following in this component
of the audit:

 Analysis and evaluation of the company’s performance with respected to the stated strategy and objectives
and the conditions prevailing in the present environment of the business.

 Draw conclusions that are realistic and supported by case facts, and are logical, and have used the
application of sound management principles.

Part 3: Conclusions and Recommendations

After recounting the facts, and doing the analysis of the facts, it is logical to come to some kind of conclusion
about the company, and to make recommendations on what it should be doing for short-term and long-term. It
might also be good to include some discussions on the potential problems/challenges of the recommended
strategy as well as contingency plans. The teams adopted the point of view of a management consultant
recommending improvements on the company’s strategy to the CEO or the Board of Directors.