Business Consulting

Staying ahead of disruptive change

The environment for business is changing faster now than at any time in recent history. Forces such as globalization and rapid technological changes are disrupting traditional business models and creating huge challenges for organizations, both privately owned and publicly listed.

AA&Co’s business consulting services help organizations improve operational performance and productivity throughout the growth life cycle.

The advent of the COVID 19 pandemic has brought about numerous challenges to an already complex business world globally and has reinforced the notion that businesses should “adapt”. The growing need for businesses to operate efficiently and be agile has never been any greater.

Typical challenges that businesses are currently facing are:

• Obsolete business models that are no longer relevant to the emergent environment
• Inadequate and complex business processes
• Inability to innovate
• Bloated overhead costs and
• Consequently, cash flow challenges

The output of our financial model is used for decision making and performing financial analysis, whether internally or externally. Internally, management would use financial models for:

• Performance
• Strategic Planning
• Restructuring of business models
• Budgeting and forecasting (planning for the years ahead)

 

For Project Finance organizations, such financial models would be used for:

• Making acquisitions / Investment decisions (businesses and/or assets)
• Selling or divesting assets and business units
• Capital allocation (priority of which projects to invest in)

 

For corporate transactions, such financial models would be used for:

• Raising capital (debt and/or equity)
• Valuing a business/security
• Growing the business organically (e.g., opening new stores, entering new markets, etc.)
• Mergers & Acquisitions.

Public Sector Consulting

AA&Co’s team strives for excellence ensuring that the public sector complies with national policies and procedures. AA&Co’s qualified professionals provide a wide range of services in this area, including but not limited to:

• Preparation and review of Annual Financial Statements and supporting audit files
• Compilation of Audit of Performance Information and assistance with preparation of POE Files and aligning of KPI to Annual Performance Report Assistance with rectifying non-compliance matter
• Audit query support that includes the compilation and monitoring of audit query corrective action plan
• Tracking of irregular expenditure, unauthorized, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIF&W)
• Compilation of UIF&W register
• UIF&W write-off processes assistance in terms of relevant regulations
• Reviewing and designing of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), including finance and supply chain
• Reviewing and designing of financial policies
• Capturing and reconciliations of financial transactions from the first principle
• Revenue enhancement
• Compilation and review of Asset Registers including Fixed Asset Registers and Investment Registers

Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Consulting

(skills development, enterprise and supplier development and socio-economic development)

It is widely known that the best driver for socio-economic transformation is small business development.

AA&Co’s team aims to create an enabling transformational environment with adequate access to market and business support for small businesses while developing robust eco-systems for small businesses to seize these opportunities.

AA&Co’s services are two folds both internal and external facing. AA&Co’s solutions will provide dashboards used as reporting tools with these programs and focus on measuring the impact from both the sponsor and beneficiary perspective.

We also specialize in Family Business Consulting,

AA&Co’s services are two folds both internal and external facing.

Internal

The internal facing-side focuses on assisting corporates to understand their supply chains and is enabled through the implementation of their Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) objectives that would be engineered to better integrate small enterprises into the supply chain of larger companies.

External

The external-facing side focuses on the implementation of ESD initiatives through business development support to selected SMME beneficiaries using innovation, incubation, and acceleration programs.

 Strategic Governance

AA&Co’s service offering includes Governance and Compliance and Trust Administration.

1. Governance and Compliance

In this fast-paced world, where unforeseen change has become the norm, it has become imperative for organizations to implement good corporate governance. As a result of the institutionalization of corporate governance in the world, there has been a greater demand by stakeholders for increased transparency in organizations.

AA&Co’s team assists large and small organizations with a variety of best practice corporate governance services in line with current legislation inclusive of, but not limited to relevant corporate governance frameworks, the Companies Act and the various corporate governance codes.

2. Trust Administration

One of the greatest setbacks for the administration of trusts is poor governance and it is therefore important that trusts are set up and managed properly. This will ensure the trust realizes its objectives to best benefit its beneficiaries.

AA&Co’s team helps empower trustees of a trust to perform their duties by exercising best practices through our guidance as advisers who act independently and ensure confidentiality.

We supply competent experienced staff to ensure operational efficiency through the provision of secretarial services inclusive of accounting services, the management of trust assets, risk advisory and streamlined communication avenues using our tailored platform to ensure optimal document management.

 

Human capital

AA&Co’s service offering includes Change and Programme Management and Human Resource Management.

1. Change and Programme Management

Change is inevitable and with the rapid developments in technology affecting the people aspect within the context of an organization, there is a great need for employees of an organization to be able to both adopt and adapt when such changes take place. It is without a doubt that humans in their innate nature are resistant to change.

AA&Co’s team helps organizations with large scale transformative program employee adoption, such as post-merger integration efforts, in both structural and technological changes. We apply a structured approach to transitioning organizations from their current state to their desired future state, ensuring that change is fully integrated and sustainable across a business.

 

2. Human Resource Management

People are the driving force behind any enterprise and a shortage of the right people is a top concern for executives worldwide. AA&Co’s deep experience tailored optimization tools and focus on business outcomes help our clients meet this challenge and turn talent into a competitive advantage.

AA&Co’s team supports businesses with the strategic elements of HR process effectiveness challenges they face through the alignment of the HR process to the HR operating model, strategy, technology architecture and the overall corporate strategy.

 

Specialty consulting

AA&Co’s service offering includes Financial Management and Financial Costing and Modelling Services.

1. Financial Management

Successful financial transformation will increase the value of organizations financial functions by shifting its focus from managing transactions to analyzing information and informing decision-makers.

We strengthen finance operations through a review and improvement of financial processes, systems and functions to help drive profitable growth, business understanding and reduce costs. We also provide Business Outsourcing (People and Systems) to further strengthen our client’s organizations.

 

2. Financial Costing and Modelling Services

Costing and modelling of products or services is an integral part of any business in order to turn a profit. We help businesses understand where the costs are generated within the business and how to manage these costs. We provide cost modelling services specializing in Activity Based Costing, Standard Costing and Process Costing.

AA&Co’s robust cost modelling utilizes a fully absorbed methodology to calculate product or service profitability and also pricing. We scrutinize all aspects of an organization by providing management decision information to better support clients to ensure that organizations are cost-effective whilst maintaining a level of profitability.

 

Productivity Improvement

To maintain growth, organizations must remain flexible, agile and profitable – which requires systematic improvement across people, processes and technology. The key is to understand which activities are no longer needed and which ones should remain.

We help our clients optimize processes across the organization, leveraging appropriate technologies, and considering the impact on people to help achieve strategic growth goals and reduce risk. Utilizing our framework and set of tools we are able to encourage wider and more meaningful conversations which are focused solely on areas of client growth.

 

Technology

AA&Co’s technology solutions services address a broad range of process, technology and organizational needs across finance, supply chain, HR functions and cybersecurity. We support businesses and technology functions to engage, specify and deliver scalable solutions for both the business and its customers.

Working with the technology community to develop solutions in data collection systems, mobile applications, social media and knowledge management platforms, monitoring, and improved data sharing between parties.

AA&Co’s process includes:

• Providing recommendations for technology improvements (e.g., existing training platforms, e-learning modules, smart applications, tracking and criminal database management, or monitoring, response, and data analysis)
• Identifying needs and opportunities and communicating them to the technology community within clients
• Work with technology innovators to bring proposed solutions to scale

 

Strategy Formulation

Business strategy can be a complex journey incorporating a myriad of decisions that are constantly made in a dynamic and ever-changing environment. AA&Co’s strategy and performance improvement professionals have the tools, experience, expertise, and insights to support our client’s growth ambitions throughout their strategic journey in today’s constantly evolving global economy.

We assist our client’s with defining their current and future capabilities, identifying business influencing factors, recognizing and targeting markets, determining vision, mission and objectives as well as monitor tracking processes to ensure the expected future is realized.

 

Feasibility Studies and Business Plans

Solid and well-written feasibility studies and business plans are key elements of a successful funding application. AA&Co’s team have extensive experience with compiling clear, concise and comprehensive reports comprising of an in-depth market assessment and financial analysis.