Strategy development: aligning vision, mission, values and goals

Accounting Ahead | Original study resource | accountingahead.com.au

Strategy development: aligning vision,

mission, values and goals

MODULE 5 | 5.1 | STUDENT COMPANION

Strategy development weighs up the options generated earlier, decides which to pursue and turns them

into a roadmap the organisation can follow to reach its goals. Putting the roadmap into action is the subject

of Module 6.

What CPAs bring to strategy development

Skill What it involves

Forecasting Gathering business intelligence and data, analysing it and projecting where results are

heading

Market analysis Collecting data and building models to understand how profitable an industry is and

what its participants earn

Financial statement

analysis

Showing the current financial position and what the organisation can afford

Also Benchmarking against rivals, reporting interim results against budget and forecast,

contingency plans, and meaningful non-financial measures (sustainability, brand

value, digital performance)

Imagined example. A not-for-profit's draft four-year plan assumes government grants will grow by 5% a year.

The CPA notes that grants have been flat for three years, models a zero-growth case, and proposes a

contingency: delay one building project if funding falls short.

The strategy development sequence

1. Identify options

Growth options from

the analysis and

Module 4

2. Evaluate and

assess risk

Strategic fit, value and

effort, weighted

criteria, risk

3. Group into

themes

A handful of broad

options that work

together

4. Set KPIs and

measures

How we'll know the

strategy is working

5. Design

initiatives

Specific activities,

taken further in

Module 6

Strategy development chooses among options and turns the chosen ones into a roadmap

GLOBAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP | M5 | 5.1 | STUDENT COMPANION

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The chain of alignment

Vision Where are we going? The future position and role we want

Mission Why we exist, and how we will pursue the vision

Values The principles that guide decisions and behaviour

Goals Specific, measurable results, with dates (SMART)

Strategic themes The broad options that will achieve the goals

Initiatives Programs and projects within each theme

Actions Who does what, by when

A broken link (imagined). A financial planning firm says it puts clients first, but its goals and bonuses reward

advisers only for the number of products sold. Clients are sold products they don't need, trust erodes and

regulators step in. The fix is to change the goals and rewards, for example by adding client satisfaction,

complaints and the quality of advice.

Testing a vision: the seven questions from Module 1

Does it paint a clear picture of the future?

Would the people it serves and employs see it as in their long-term interest?

Are its goals realistic?

Is it clear enough to guide decisions...

...yet broad enough to leave room for initiative as conditions change?

Could you explain it in five minutes?

Is it bold enough to shake people out of their routines?

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Accounting Ahead | Original study resource | accountingahead.com.au

Ironbark Housing (imagined): from vision to action

Level Ironbark Housing

Vision Everyone in our region has a safe, affordable home

Mission We build, manage and maintain affordable homes, and support our tenants to thrive

Values Respect, fairness, accountability and care (tenants' safety comes before saving money on

repairs)

Goals (SMART) 300 more homes by 2030; tenant satisfaction of 85%; urgent repairs within 48 hours, 9

times in 10

Themes Grow the supply of homes; excellent tenancy services; stay financially sustainable

Initiative A partnership program with private developers

Action Sign agreements with two developers by June

The vision is deliberately ambitious (no single organisation can house a whole region), so the goals must

supply the realism. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Leaders

reinforce values by honouring them when it costs money, telling stories about staff who displayed them, and

rewarding people who act on them.

Ironbark Housing's goals on a balanced scorecard

Financial and mission Add 300 homes by 2030, with funding and a reputation strong enough to pay for them

Tenants Lift tenant satisfaction to 85%

Internal processes Complete urgent repairs within 48 hours, 9 times in 10

Learning and growth Skilled, stable staff who know their tenants and their homes

Read from the bottom up: people and processes drive service to tenants, which protects the funding that pays for new homes

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Case note: Who Gives A Crap

Launched in Melbourne in 2012 by Simon Griffiths, Jehan Ratnatunga and Danny Alexander, Who Gives A Crap

sells toilet paper and other household paper products. To fund its first production run, Griffiths sat on a toilet,

filmed live online, for about 50 hours in July 2012, until a crowdfunding campaign had raised US$50,000 in

pre-orders. The company donates 50% of its profits to water and sanitation charities, makes its paper from

recycled fibres or bamboo, wraps each roll in paper rather than plastic, and has been a certified B Corporation

since 2016. By late 2026 it had donated more than A$20 million. In 2025 it closed a sister brand to concentrate

on the work with the most impact: a clear mission makes it easy to rule out choices that would distract from it.

Sources: Who Gives A Crap 'Our impact' page and company blog (March 2025); TriplePundit, 20 July 2012; CNBC, 7 October 2021.

What leaders and managers need

An honest look back at past performance, and at what has changed around them, including competitors

A clear view of what the organisation can and can't do

A steady flow of new ideas aimed at new customers and markets

A culture that keeps the strategy in focus, and decisions grounded in data and sound measures

The agility to change course quickly, and belief in the strategy across the organisation

Managers with the authority to encourage ideas, make evidence-based decisions and report against the

goals

Common alignment problems

A vision so generic it could belong to any organisation in the industry

Values printed on the wall but missing from the bonus scheme and promotion decisions

Goals with no numbers or dates, so nobody can tell whether they were met

Themes and initiatives that cannot be traced back to any goal

A strategy chosen first, with the vision rewritten afterwards to fit it

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Practice questions

MODULE 5 | 5.1 | TRY THESE BEFORE THE WORKED ANSWERS

Question 1 - Test a vision

Coastline Bank is an imagined regional bank with 40 branches along the New South Wales coast. Test its vision,

then suggest a better one.

Question Coastline Bank: 'To be the best bank in Australia, delivering superior

value for all stakeholders through excellence in everything we do.'

Clear picture of the future?

In stakeholders' long-term interest?

Realistic goals?

Clear enough to guide decisions?

Broad enough to allow initiative?

Explainable in five minutes?

Bold enough to shake routines?

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Question 2 - SMART goals on a scorecard

Bright Smile Dental is an imagined clinic with three dentists, revenue of $2 million and long waits for

appointments. Write one SMART goal for each perspective of the balanced scorecard (financial, customer,

internal processes, learning and growth), and explain how the goals connect.

Question 3 - Find the broken links

SkyLark Air (imagined) lists its values as 'safety above all' and 'care for every passenger'. Its goals include the

fastest aircraft turnaround in the region. Ground crews earn bonuses based only on turnaround time; cabin

crews earn bonuses on onboard sales; and pilots earn bonuses for fuel savings. Identify where the values, goals

and rewards are out of line, and suggest fixes.

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Accounting Ahead | Original study resource | accountingahead.com.au

Worked answers

MODULE 5 | 5.1 | WORKED ANSWERS - ATTEMPT THE QUESTIONS FIRST

Question 1 - Coastline Bank

Question Assessment

Clear picture? No: 'best bank' paints no picture of what will be different

Stakeholders' interest? Vague: 'superior value' for everyone says nothing specific

Realistic? No: a 40-branch regional bank is unlikely to be the best in Australia

Guides decisions? No: almost any decision could be justified

Allows initiative? Yes, but only because it is empty

Five minutes? Easy to say, but there is nothing to explain

Bold? Superficially, but generic ambition rarely shifts routines

A better vision 'Every family and small business on our coast can bank with people who know them.' It

paints a picture, fits a regional bank's strengths and guides choices such as keeping

local branches and lending decisions close to customers.

Question 2 - Bright Smile Dental (sample goals)

Perspective SMART goal

Learning and growth Each dentist completes 20 hours of training in clear aligners by 30 June 2027

Internal processes Raise chair use from 70% to 85% by December 2027, through online booking and

reminders

Customer Cut the wait for a check-up to under 7 days, and reach 90% patient satisfaction, by

December 2027

Financial Grow revenue by 10% to $2.2 million in 2027-28

How they connect New skills (aligners) and better scheduling (chair use) shorten waits and lift satisfaction,

which brings repeat visits and referrals that grow revenue

Question 3 - SkyLark Air

Turnaround bonus vs safety: speed-only pay tempts rushed checks; gate it on zero safety breaches.

Sales bonus vs care: it rewards pushy selling; add passenger satisfaction and complaints.

Fuel bonus vs safety: it may encourage minimum fuel; reward savings only within the safety rules.

The goal: change 'fastest turnaround' to 'safe, on-time turnarounds', to match the values.

GLOBAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP | M5 | 5.1 | WORKED ANSWERS

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