Establish the starting position
The first phase should produce a shared understanding of the business, records, and scope. Assign one internal document coordinator and identify the adviser responsible for requests. Provide an entity map, recent filings, current financial information, and the decision calendar agreed for the project.
Ask the firm to acknowledge what is complete and what is missing. Uploading documents is not the same as finishing intake. A concise missing-item list prevents repeated searches and makes it clear which work is waiting on your team.
Agree on the review milestones
The timing depends on scope and record quality, so avoid assuming that a particular number of days is universal. Ask for milestones tied to work: intake complete, preliminary review, decision meeting, written deliverable, and implementation assignments.
Use the decision meeting to resolve facts and priorities. If the company is considering several actions, ask which need immediate attention and which can wait. A useful first phase should reduce uncertainty rather than create a long list of ideas with no sequence.
- Confirm who attends the decision meeting.
- List assumptions requiring owner approval.
- Record dependencies on outside professionals.
Turn recommendations into assignments
For each agreed action, record an owner, deadline, required document, and completion evidence. Some tasks belong to the adviser, others to your bookkeeper, payroll provider, attorney, or management team. Ask who tracks the combined list and how stalled tasks are escalated.
If the scope covers analysis only, decide who will manage implementation before the analysis is delivered. Otherwise, a valuable report can become an unowned project. Use a separate engagement where more support is needed.
Review the relationship early
At the end of the first substantial phase, compare delivery with the agreement. Were explanations understandable? Were requests consolidated? Did the team identify issues before relevant decisions? Have responsibilities become clearer?
This is a service review, not a demand for an immediate savings result. Some recommendations depend on future events or turn out to be unsuitable after review. Judge whether the firm has produced sound analysis and a usable workflow within the scope purchased.
- Next step: agree on three onboarding milestones and the evidence required to close each one.