An operations audit finds where your business is losing time and money to inefficient processes, puts a dollar figure on each problem, and maps every finding to a fix. It is for operations and finance leaders who can tell work is slower and more expensive than it should be, but cannot yet point to where.
Who it is for
- Leaders who know work is slower and more expensive than it should be, but not exactly where.
- Teams re-keying data between systems, chasing status, or rebuilding the same report every month.
- Companies paying for software that overlaps or sits unused.
- Anyone who needs a number in front of leadership before asking for budget to fix it.
When we are not the right fit
We are probably not the right fit if you want software resold to you, if you want a large team on site, or if the problem is small enough that fixing it costs more than the problem. We will tell you on the first call.
What we examine
- Manual steps: copy and paste between tools, re-keying, spreadsheets that bridge two systems.
- Handoffs that stall: work waiting on another team, approvals with no owner, status nobody can see.
- Software spend: overlapping tools, unused seats, contracts nobody has reviewed.
- AI tools and spending: what you pay for AI, including add-ons nobody switched on, and which tools are in use without approval and what company information goes into them. You get one number for your total AI spend and a plan to cut the waste without slowing anyone down.
- Reporting: how long it takes to answer a common question, and how many people it pulls in.
What we need from you
The audit moves fastest when four things are in place from the start. We do the measuring and the writing; your team keeps running the business.
- One person who knows the work. Someone who can answer our questions and point us to the right people.
- A few short conversations. With the people who do the work, about an hour or two a week of their time while the audit runs.
- Access to what is in scope. The reports, exports and software contracts for the areas we agreed to examine. You control the access; how we handle it is covered below.
- A shared picture of a good result. We agree at the start what success looks like, so the report answers the question you actually have.
What happens, step by step
- Scope. We agree which areas, teams and systems are in, and fix the price in writing before work starts.
- Sit with the work. We talk to the leader who owns the problem, the people who do the work, and whoever manages the software contracts.
- Measure. Every finding gets a number: hours per week, dollars per year, an error rate. If something cannot be measured honestly, it is listed separately as an observation, never given an invented figure.
- Map to a fix. Each finding is matched to the fix that fits it, whether that is a process change, a tool, a custom build, or AI.
- Walk you through it, then you decide. We present the report and answer your questions. Then you make a clear go or no-go call: go ahead with some or all of the fixes, do them in-house with the report, or stop there. There is no obligation either way.
An audit of one process takes about three to four weeks. A wider review takes longer, up to about seven weeks for the whole company.
What you get: the report
- Executive summary. One page with the total dollar figure at stake, the two or three biggest problems, and where to start.
- AI spend snapshot. One page with your total monthly AI spend, the waste found, where unapproved tools are in use, and a keep, cut or replace call on each tool. It closes with the simple rules to put in place: a usage policy, a monthly budget per team and an approved-tools list.
- Findings, ranked by value at stake. Biggest cost first. Each finding shows the old way next to the fixed way: what the problem costs today in hours, dollars or error rate, and the result we expect once the fix is in. A result we cannot measure honestly is marked as an estimate.
- Prescription map. Every finding matched to its fix.
- Suggested sequencing. What to tackle first, second and third, and why.
Everything delivered is yours to keep. The report maps every finding to a fix, and each fix is agreed with you in writing before it starts.
How we handle your data
- Agreements. Every engagement runs under a signed confidentiality agreement, and if you want a mutual non-disclosure agreement before you share details, we sign one first.
- Access. We see only the systems and records the current phase needs. You grant the access, it is limited to that scope, and you can withdraw that access at any time.
- Survey answers. The staff survey does not ask for names or record who answered. We report its answers only for groups of five or more people, and AI spending only by team and tool, never by person. You receive the grouped results only; the individual answers are destroyed when the audit ends.
- Where your data lives. Your data stays in your own systems wherever possible.
- When the work ends. After the engagement ends, including if you stop after the audit or simply go quiet, your data is returned to you or destroyed, with written confirmation.
- Getting data back. You can also ask for any of it at any time, except individual survey answers, which are never handed over; if the work in progress still needs it, we tell you and you decide.
- What stays with us. We keep only our own copy of the work, our emails and messages with you, backups until they expire, anonymized figures that identify no one, and anything the law requires.
How pricing works
You know what you will pay before any work starts. These are the only points where we charge:
- The first conversation is free. A 30-minute call to see whether we can help and where to start. No obligation.
- Most engagements start with the Operations Audit. The fee is agreed in writing before work starts, based on how much of the business is in scope. A reporting dashboard can start on its own.
- Every fix is priced in writing before it begins. You can stop after the audit, and a longer engagement carries one monthly fee for an agreed term.
- Nothing else. No hourly meter, no surprise invoice, no vendor commissions. Everything delivered is yours to keep.
Most engagements start with the Operations Audit. A reporting dashboard can start on its own.
Delivered remotely, with on-site visits when useful.
Proof
Delivered by our Founder inside a large enterprise, before Pharos Lumen: a finance team waited one to three weeks for partner data before every stress-test cycle. Finding that handoff and connecting straight to the systems of record removed the wait and cut the reporting cycle by 60%. Read the case study.
In the same role, standard templates and automated data pulls gave back more than 200 hours a year on a nine-figure expense portfolio. Read the case study.
Want to see the math an audit runs? Guide: what inefficient processes cost, with a worked example.
Questions
How long does an operations audit take?
About three to four weeks for one process, four to five for one department, and five to seven for several departments or the whole company. The timeline is fixed in writing before we start.
How much of my team's time does it take?
For a one-process audit, expect a short kickoff, about five short interviews, some time watching the process run, and one walkthrough of the report. The full list of what we need from you is under “What we need from you” above.
How do you find out which AI tools our staff use?
From your expense reports, card statements and approved-app list, plus a five-minute staff survey about which tools people use and what for. The point is to find waste and risk, not to name anyone; how the answers are handled is covered under “How we handle your data” above.
What if you cannot put a number on something?
We say so. It goes in a separate list of observations, so you know we saw it, but it is never ranked or priced as if the payoff were proven.
What happens after the audit?
The decision is yours, as set out in step 5 above. The report and its fix map are yours to keep, and every fix is priced and agreed in writing before it begins.
Do you earn anything from the software you recommend?
No. We sell no software and take no vendor commissions, so a recommendation to buy, build, or change nothing is made on fit alone.