Business Integrity Assessment (BIA)™ – Business Integrity Assessment is just what it sounds like.  Business, Your Business!  Integrity, according to Dictionary.com Unabridged (v1.1) is defined as adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.  The integrity I am talking about is epitomized by the Online Etymology Dictionary’s definition  - "wholeness, perfect condition.”  The condition of your business and how close it is to perfect. 

The last piece is Assessment; the thorough going over of your business from head to toe.  Yes, that means looking at financials (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheets, Cash Flow Statements, Aging Reports, Inventory Reports and Productivity Reports).  Assessing whether you are making or losing money, why, and how to continue to achieve your goals or begin achieving your goals is the end result of such assessment. 

There is nothing perfect on this planet, at least nothing man made and your business is man made.  Understanding how to move your business closer to perfection is what we are striving to achieve.  Perfection is a relative term. Perfection might mean that you take home the profits you dreamed about when you started the company.  It might mean it pays a nice salary to you, or pays for your kid’s college.  It also might mean it gives you the freedom to do the things you want to do.  These are things that we dream about with our wives, children and friends.

You remember how it felt when you told your family and friends you started a business or you run a business.  It felt good!  There was power in the statement.  There was an air of freedom and responsibility.  Just telling someone that you are a business owner gives you a great feeling of accomplishment and respect.  How many of you have then left your friends side only to talk to your spouse or friends about how bad business is or how the bank is hanging over your head or you just don’t know how you are going to make it to next year.  What might be worse is living this terrible double reality alone.  You cannot tell anyone because you do not want anyone to know how bad things are. There is nothing worse than living two business lives.  One life in front of friends and family that business is great and the other in front of your bank, your vendors and employees, all while wondering how you are going to make the next payroll or the lease payments.

The heart of Affari Consulting is the BIA™.  You cannot having a marketing plan, or IT plan or website marketing without understanding the fundamentals of your business and using those fundamentals to drive the areas of your company instead of the other way around.  Do not let a company fool you into believing that adding a new marketing campaign to your business will fix what is wrong.  If you do not know your own business fundamentals, you cannot help your company.  Call Affari to schedule a consultation to understand how you can change this and understand your business fundaments. (Contact us).