For the Strategic Audit you will be performing a check-up on the condition of a company of your choosing and using what you learn to make strategic recommendations going forward. The link between the past (in particular: how the company has performed over time with an emphasis on competitive advantage-which means you have to think of performance relative to others), the present (in particular: the current strategy and trajectory), and the future (in particular: what type of strategy would best enable the company to achieve or maintain competitive advantage in light of the internal and external environment) is key. For each section make sure you tie back to the company's strategy.
For the presentation you can think of yourselves as a team of consultants who are presenting your strategic audit to the company's board of directors and top management team (CEO, CFO, COO etc.). Presentations should be about 10 minutes long and cover the four main parts (strategy, performance, external, and internal analysis) and the conclusions and recommendations.
For the written report, each section should be about a page long (excluding tables and figures) with 1-2 pages for the conclusion and recommendations for a total of 6-7 pages.
Below is a guideline of what you can include in each section. You do not have to stick to this guideline rigidly, but everyone should address points with bold typeface.
I. Executive Summary
i. A brief description of the company and industry (present general facts you think here and try not to include them in the rest of the report)
ii. An overview of the industry/industries in which your company operates
iii. Key information from the 4 parts of the audit that you will expand on in the body
iv. A short description of your conclusion (to be linked with the strategy/performance/internal/external analyses later, and expanded upon in the conclusion)
b. Performance Analysis
i. How has your company done relative to its competitors - does it have competitive advantage
1. Key financial metrics for the industry are important (See Table 1.1)
2. There are often important non-financial metrics for a given industry (e.g. occupancy rate for hotel chains, new customer activations for wireless network carriers, new product releases/patents for technology companies, etc.)
3. Don't forget metrics that are more important to your industry (it's OK to use more common metrics like ROA/revenue growth/TWCC, but don't only present these)
4. Make sure to benchmark (against competitors, against the company's past performance, and against stated goals (when available; theses may be disclosed in annual reports or investors' meetings)
ii. How has the current strategy affected performance (remember that some long term strategies entail short-term sacrifices early in their implementation)?