What follows is a review of how LAAD recently approached a new project for a troubled private company.
 

High-Level View:

We begin by interviewing business owners and department heads to discover the general conditions...
 

• What parts of the company are involved in the troubled operations?

• What issues most affect earnings?

• How comprehensive is the problem?

• Can we get full visibility across the organization?

• Information and decision making needs -- is the underlying "system" broken?

Basic Understandings:

We consider the essential elements first...
 

• The current "blueprint" is broken

• The current people and systems don't work together in "growth mode"

• No CFO is in place-- current structure is dispersed

• All departments have differing views on roles and responsibilities

• No unified plan is in-place to approach market

• Time is of the essence - a 90 day financing window begins to close

Essential Enterprise Revitalization Issues:

We start asking critical questions...
 

• Is there an analysis of the current state?

• What are the quantitative exposures and impacts-what's worth fixing now?

• What market opportunities need to be addressed?

• Weigh ownership's objectives-get the strategic drivers 'right' up front!

• What is the policy and procedure framework?

• Where is financial management centered?

• Are there formal comprehensive plans approved by BOD?

• Are there clear roles, responsibility in-place? How about reporting?

• Is there clear definition, separation, limits in place?

• What are the current strategic decision processes like?

• Do transactions get evaluated quickly and effectively?

• How do performance measurements and rewards tie?

• What systems can and should be implemented?

• Is there a commitment to needed action plans and implementation?

• How about needed actions to improve process, measurement & incentives?

• How about selecting the right systems and technology?

What is the Right Team Approach?

We look at the organization and the best way to form teams that will support an effective review...
 

• Use cross functional and "inside/outside" members

• Cross pollination is a valuable component of a successful program

• Given short time frames more resources needed rather than less - custom-tailored

• Working group should include analytics experts, internal ops, finance etc.

• This group gets the deliverables done-- completed on time and in-budget

• Working group 'vets' findings regularly with the BOD

• Working group does field work

• Working group breaks down sales, operational and financial elements as well as technologies and tactical

• All team members must be willing to do whatever it takes to complete tasks

What are Some of the Gotchas for This Organization?

We then begin to consider...
 

• Do you have right talent on board-- the willingness to spend on people and systems?

• Is there an appreciation for the costs to make this a successful turnaround- how will capital be sourced?

• Is there a solid mix of talent-- both inside and outside to 'vet' all the issues in a timely fashion? How about follow-up as you implement?

• Is there an understanding of how to evaluate risks versus the harvesting of opportunities?

• Does the organization have a real handle on measuring risk/ reward and optimizing what it already has done?

• Is there a real or underlying tension between various internal groups?

• Is there an appetite to look at all the parts of the organization and address?

• Is there an internal champion for this effort at the top??

We Then Set A Life Cycle:

We develop an aggressive plan to complete all aspects of the evaluation & review...