1.1          The entity - WeCanTrust

WeCanTrust is the name of a company used for this storytelling. This case study will cover key aspects of the sustainable value creation journey and will lead you through building a business-cum-financial model connected to a complete set of accounts for a single company. By the end of this storytelling you could have created a model that depicts a story and be clued in as to how the financial and non-financial metrics are seamlessly interwoven into one integrated thinking (process) underpinning the enterprise value for the company.

The storytelling also entails the setting up of Supporting Schedules to reflect a series of transactions that take place through the business flow and processes of WeCanTrust.   A number of simplified assumptions will be provided as we move along.

1.2          The Brief

StrategynExecute Consulting incorporated in Kingsland, have seen through the Asian financial crisis, Y2K and internet boom-and-bust and the more recent global financial meltdown, is an independent innovator and supplier of software solutions and services for team engagement; leveraging on ubiquitous enterprise-wide social networking platform. It is cloud-based with adequate information protection through security safeguards such as firewalls, authentication and encryption. The solutions allow their customers internal and external access to essential corporate network, essential for the network-centric focus of internet business strategies today.

Presently, it relies on customer royalty and referral for business lead generation. It faces challenges as it has limited pricing power and the sales and marketing efforts have limited success. Time and other precious resources are spent going through rounds of gate-keepers. When organisational setting is top-down, functionally segregated and compliance centric, there is limited appreciation and or empowerment even for relatively senior staff to exercise judgement in building relationships with suppliers / vendors based on trust. The standard refrain is cost cutting directive from the top, and will treat offerings as mere products (commodities). When price is the primary consideration in awarding contracts, the outcome is likely to be lose-lose at the expense of sustainable value creation. Indeed, it discovered that the associated pains to get the jobs done are shared by many in the marketplace. Many of these players are lean, innovative, take ownership of their businesses and can contribute to real productivity increase and gainful employment in the economy.

1.3          Business Model and Value Proposition

What is stopping these up-and-coming players from succeeding in the marketplace and be part of the rejuvenation revolution towards improving standard of living in a sustainable way? This question is keeping the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) awake at nights. The eureka moment came when he came to the realisation that the root problem lies with the major of companies focusing on shot-termism for profit maximisation –and unwittingly or otherwise at the expense of other stakeholders.

It is a negative externality and the cost is borne by the society and it is now recognised that such practices, although can be construed as competitive strategies is at best self-serving, and on the other end of the spectrum - morally indefensible, are NOT sustainable. To tilt the scale to the advantage of bona-fide sustainable value creation seekers, the CEO has identified 3 critical success factors for sustainable value creation i.e. domain know-hows, technology and networking.  

On one end of the scale, companies will need to incorporate integrated reporting and the associated thinking process to satisfy regulatory requirements. This means been more transparent and accountable. Short-term, unstainable practices may not be able to stand up to close scrutiny by stakeholders and companies will take steps to implement value creation processes that will be sustainable. Remunerations will be pegged to real economic activities and real productivity improvements.

On the other end of the scale, suppliers of capital (human, intellectual etc. ) will have to come well -prepared and -resourced to be treated as trusted partners capable of adding value.

The advisory board has proposed that the management after having invested in the roll-outs of the solutions to scale up the customer reach focusing on activities engaging customers as part of the kick-start of the integrated thinking process i.e. create awareness of needs, solutions; understanding the external environment, strategy and allocation of resources, business model, tactics, objectives, measures, target and initiatives. In other words to hone its competitive advantages.

As the solution offerings will be delivered via the Internet, production and distribution costs will be significantly reduced, as these solutions can be downloaded / uploaded with a ‘click’.

The management decided to investigate the viability of the business model and value proposition, and the possibility of forming a new entity company for this exercise - that they will call "WeCanTrust“

A model will have to be created to map the flow and forecast the financial impact of the CEO's plans and presented to the stakeholders for endorsement.