Choosing what not to do

Market analysis, positioning and strategic planning — a small number of decisions, argued properly and written down.

Strategy is mostly subtraction

Strategy is mostly subtraction. Any business can list twelve things worth doing; the useful work is deciding which three, and being willing to say no to the rest for a year.

We bring evidence to that argument — what the market actually looks like, where you genuinely have an advantage, what each option would cost — and leave you with a short document that says what you are doing and, just as importantly, what you have decided not to.

Who this is for

If one of these sounds like your situation, it is worth a conversation.

Doing too many things

Several products and segments, none of them fully resourced.

A market that has shifted

What worked for five years is working less well and nobody is sure why.

A big decision pending

New market, new segment or a substantial investment, needing evidence.

How we work

Boring, in the way you want your accountant to be boring.

Deadlines tracked, not remembered

Every filing date for your entity is in a calendar we own. You get reminded well before it matters.

Books closed monthly

Reconciled within ten working days, so the numbers you make decisions on are this month's rather than last quarter's.

A named person who answers

Not a ticket queue. You should know who does your work and be able to ring them.

Plain answers on tax

What is allowed, what is aggressive, and where the line is. We will not put you somewhere we would not stand ourselves.

Part of Consulting

Part of Consulting

The unglamorous work that keeps a company out of trouble

Accounting, tax and GST, compliance, payroll, company formation and strategy — handled properly, on time, by people who answer the phone.

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What we commit to

What we commit to

  • A fixed monthly fee agreed in advance — no billing by the hour for a phone call
  • Filings submitted ahead of the deadline, not on the day
  • Management accounts within ten working days of month end
  • We tell you about a problem when we find it, not at the year end
  • Your records handed over in full and without argument if you leave
How we take over

How we take over

Moving adviser is the part people dread. It takes about a month.

Review

We look at the current position, filings, and anything outstanding. You get a written summary of what we found, including bad news.

Transition

Records, access and authorisations moved across, with your previous adviser handled professionally. Nothing lapses in between.

First close

The first monthly close under our process, and the first set of accounts you can actually use to make a decision.

Steady state

Monthly management accounts, filings ahead of deadline, and a quarterly conversation about what the numbers are telling you.

Common questions

A short document saying what you are doing, with owners, dates and measures — and an explicit list of what you have decided not to do, which is the harder half.

Evidence: market size and structure, where the margin sits, what each option would cost. The decision stays yours, but it should be an argued one.

Four to eight weeks depending on how much primary research is needed. A quarterly review afterwards keeps it honest.

Is this the right fit?

Tell us what you are trying to do. If strategy consulting is not the answer, we will say so.

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