The Nature of an External Audit

The purpose of an external audit is to develop a finite list of opportunities that could benefit a firm and
threats that should be avoided. As the term finite suggests, the external audit is not aimed at developing
an exhaustive list of every possible factor that could influence the business; rather, it is aimed at
identifying key variables that offer actionable responses. Firms should be able to respond either
offensively or defensively to the factors by formulating strategies that take advantage of external
opportunities or that minimize the impact of potential threats. Figure below illustrates how the external
audit fits into the trategicmanagement process..

Key External Forces;

External forces can be divided into five broad categories
. Economic forces;
. Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental forces;
. Political, governmental, and legal forces;
. Technological forces; and
. Competitive forces.
Relationships among these forces and an organization are depicted in Figure External trends and events
significantly affect all products, services, markets, and organizations in the world.
Relationships between Key External Forces and an Organization are shown in the above figure. Changes
in external forces translate into changes in consumer demand for both industrial and consumer products
and services. External forces affect the types of products developed, the nature of positioning and market
segmentation strategies, the types of services offered, and the choice of businesses to acquire or sell.
External forces directly affect both suppliers and distributors. Identifying and evaluating external
opportunities and threats enables organizations to develop a clear mission, to design strategies to
achieve long-term objectives, and to develop policies to achieve annual objectives.
The increasing complexity of business today is evidenced by more countries' developing the capacity and
will to compete aggressively in world markets. Foreign businesses and countries are willing to learn,
adapt, innovate, and invent to compete successfully in the marketplace. There are more competitive new
technologies in Europe and the Far East today than ever before. American businesses can no longer
beat
foreign competitors with ease.
The Process of Performing an External Audit
The process of performing an external audit must involve as many managers and employees as possible.
As emphasized in earlier discussions, involvement in the strategic-management process can lead to
understanding and commitment from organizational members. Individuals appreciate having the
opportunity to contribute ideas and to gain a better understanding of their firm's industry, competitors, and
markets.
To perform an external audit, a company first must gather competitive intelligence and information about
social, cultural, demographic, environmental, economic, political, legal, governmental, and technological
trends. Individuals can be asked to monitor various sources of information such as key magazines, trade
journals, and newspapers. These persons can submit periodic scanning reports to a committee of
managers charged with performing the external audit. This approach provides a continuous stream of
timely strategic information and involves many individuals in the external-audit process. The Internet
provides another
source for gathering strategic information, as do corporate, university, and public libraries. Suppliers,
distributors, salespersons, customers, and competitors represent other sources of vital information.
Once information is gathered, it should be assimilated and evaluated. A meeting or series of meetings of
managers is needed to collectively identify the most important opportunities and threats facing the firm.
These key external factors should be listed on flip charts or a blackboard. A prioritized list of these factors
could be obtained by requesting all managers to rank the factors identified, from 1 for the most important
opportunity/threat to 20 for the least important opportunity/threat. These key external factors can vary
over time and by industry. Relationships with suppliers or distributors are often a critical success factor.
Other variables commonly used include market share, breadth of competing products, world economies,
foreign affiliates, proprietary and key account advantages, price competitiveness, technological
advancements, population shifts, interest rates, and pollution abatement.
Freund emphasized that these key external factors should be:
Important to achieving long-term and annual objectives,
Measurable,
Applicable to all competing firms, and
Hierarchical in the sense that some will pertain to the overall company and others will be more narrowly
focused on functional or divisional areas.
A final list of the most important key external factors should be communicated and distributed widely in
the organization. Both opportunities and threats can be key external factors.
Economic Forces
Economic factors have a direct impact on the potential attractiveness of various strategies. For example,
as interest rates rise, then funds needed for capital expansion become more costly or unavailable. Also,
as interest rates rise, discretionary income declines, and the demand for discretionary goods falls. As
stock prices increase, the desirability of equity as a source of capital for market development increases.
Also, as
the market rises, consumer and business wealth expands. A summary of economic variables that often
represent opportunities and threats for organizations is provided in Table given below.

Social, Cultural, Demographic, and Environmental Forces

Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental changes have a major impact upon virtually all products
(Preferences change), services, markets, and customers. Small, large, for-profit, and nonprofit
organizations in all industries are being staggered and challenged by the opportunities and threats arising
from changes in social, cultural, demographic, and environmental variables. In every way, the United
States is much different today than it was yesterday, and tomorrow promises even greater changes. We
may use the following analysis in understanding the Social, Cultural, Demographic, and Environmental
Forces: Consider Pakista

Political, Governmental, and Legal Forces

Federal, state, local, and foreign governments are major regulators, deregulators, subsidizers,
employers,and customers of organizations. Political, governmental, and legal factors, therefore, can
represent key opportunities or threats for both small and large organizations. For industries and firms that
depend heavily on government contracts or subsidies, political forecasts can be the most important part
of an external
audit. Changes in patent laws, antitrust legislation, tax rates, and lobbying activities can affect firms
significantly.
In the world of impolitic, Americans are still deeply divided over issues such as assisted suicide, genetic
testing, genetic engineering, cloning, and abortion. Such political issues have great ramifications for
companies in many industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to computers.
The increasing global interdependence among economies, markets, governments, and organizations
makes it imperative that firms consider the possible impact of political variables on the formulation and
implementation of competitive strategies
technological forces:
Revolutionary technological changes and discoveries such as superconductivity, computer engineering,
thinking computers, robotics, unemployed factories, miracle drugs, space communications, space
manufacturing, lasers, cloning, satellite networks, fiber optics, biometrics, and electronic funds transfer
are having a dramatic impact on organizations. Superconductivity advancements alone, which increase
the power of electrical products by lowering resistance to current, are revolutionizing business operations,
especially in the transportation, utility, health care, electrical, and computer industries.
The Internet is acting as a national and even global economic engine that is spurring productivity, a
critical factor in a country's ability to improve living standards.
he Internet is saving companies billions of dollars in distribution and transaction costs from direct sales to
self-service systems. For example, the familiar Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is being replaced by
Extensible Markup Language (XML). XML is a
programming language based on "tags" whereby a number represents a price, an invoice, a date, a zip
code, or whatever. XML is forcing companies to make a major strategic decision in terms of whether to
open their information to the world in the form of catalogs, inventories, prices and specifications, or
attempt to hold their data closely to preserve some perceived advantage. XML is reshaping industries,
reducing prices,
accelerating global trade, and revolutionizing all commerce. Microsoft has reoriented most of its software
development around XML, replacing HTML.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communications that sends information on tiny wave pulses may soon
replace continuous radio waves, allowing ever-smaller devices to do vastly more powerful wireless
communications. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is slow to approve UWB in fear of its
disrupting existing wireless communication, but UWB technology pioneered by Time Domain of
Huntsville, Alabama, has the potential to permanently change the way all individuals and businesses
communicate worldwide.

Competitive Forces
Collecting and evaluating information on competitors is essential for successful strategy formulation.
Identifying major competitors is not always easy because many firms have divisions that compete in
different industries. Most multidivisional firms generally do not provide sales and profit information on a
divisional basis for competitive reasons. Also, privately held firms do not publish any financial or
marketing information.
Despite the problems mentioned above, information on leading competitors in particular industries can be
found in publications such as Moody's Manuals, Standard Corporation Descriptions, Value Line
Investment Surveys, Ward's Business Directory, Dun's Business Rankings, Standard & Poor's Industry
Surveys, Industry Week, Forbes,
Fortune, Business Week, and Inc. However, many businesses use the Internet to obtain most of their
information on competitors. The Internet is fast, thorough, accurate, and increasingly indispensable in this
regard. Questions about competitors such as those presented in Table are important to address in
performing an external audit.

competitive analysis porter's five forces model

Michael Porter provided a framework that models an industry as being influenced by five forces. The
strategic business manager seeking to develop an edge over rival firms can use this model to better
understand the industry context in which the firm operates.

Rivalry among competing firms;

Economists measure rivalry by indicators of industry concentration. The Concentration Ratio (CR) is one
such measure. The Bureau of Census periodically reports the CR for major Standard Industrial
Classifications (SIC's). The CR indicates the percent of market share held by the four largest firms (CR's
for the largest 8, 25, and 50 firms in an industry also are available). A high concentration ratio indicates
that a high concentration of market share is held by the largest firms - the industry is concentrated. With
only a few firms holding a large market share, the competitive landscape is less competitive (closer to a
monopoly). A low concentration ratio indicates that the industry is characterized by many rivals, none of
which has a significant market share. These fragmented markets are said to be competitive. The
concentration ratio is not the only available measure; the trend is to define industries in terms that convey
more information than distribution of market share.

Potential entry of new competitors;

It is not only incumbent rivals that pose a threat to firms in an industry; the possibility that new firms may
enter the industry also affects competition. In theory, any firm should be able to enter and exit a market,
and if free entry and exit exists, then profits always should be nominal. In reality, however, industries
possess characteristics that protect the high profit levels of firms in the market and inhibit additional rivals
from entering the market. These are barriers to entry.
Barriers to entry are more than the normal equilibrium adjustments that markets typically make. For
example, when industry profits increase, we would expect additional firms to enter the market to take
advantage of the high profit levels, over time driving down profits for all firms in the industry. When profits
decrease, we would expect some firms to exit the market thus restoring a market equilibrium. Falling
prices, or the expectation that future prices will fall, deters rivals from entering a market. Firms also may
be reluctant to enter markets that are extremely uncertain, especially if entering involves expensive start-
up costs. These are normal accommodations to market conditions. But if firms individually (collective
action would be illegal collusion) keep prices artificially low as a strategy to prevent potential entrants
from entering the market, such entry-deterring pricing establishes a barrier.
Barriers to entry are unique industry characteristics that define the industry. Barriers reduce the rate of
entry of new firms, thus maintaining a level of profits for those already in the industry. From a strategic
perspective, barriers can be created or exploited to enhance a firm's competitive advantage. Barriers to
entry arise from several sources:
Potentional development of substitute product;
In Porter's model, substitute products refer to products in other industries. To the economist, a threat of
substitutes exists when a product's demand is affected by the price change of a substitute product. A
product's price elasticity is affected by substitute products - as more substitutes become available, the
demand becomes more elastic since customers have more alternatives. A close substitute product
constrains the ability of firms in an industry to raise prices.
The competition engendered by a Threat of Substitute comes from products outside the industry. The
price of aluminum beverage cans is constrained by the price of glass bottles, steel cans, and plastic
containers. These containers are substitutes, yet they are not rivals in the aluminum can industry. To the
manufacturer of automobile tires, tire retreads are a substitute. Today, new tires are not so expensive that
car owners give much consideration to retreading old tires. But in the trucking industry new tires are
expensive and tires must be replaced often. In the truck tire market, retreading remains a viable
substitute industry. In the disposable diaper industry, cloth diapers are a substitute and their prices
constrain the price of disposables.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Suppliers are the businesses that supply materials & other products into the industry.
The cost of items bought from suppliers (e.g. raw materials, components) can have a significant impact
on a company's profitability. If suppliers have high bargaining power over a company, then in theory the
company's industry is less attractive. The bargaining power of suppliers will be high when:
- There are many buyers and few dominant suppliers
- There are undifferentiated, highly valued products
- Suppliers threaten to integrate forward into the industry (e.g. brand manufacturers threatening to set up
their own retail outlets)
- Buyers do not threaten to integrate backwards into supply
- The industry is not a key customer group to the suppliers

Bargaining Power of Buyers

Buyers are the people / organisations who create demand in an industry
The bargaining power of buyers is greater when
- There are few dominant buyers and many sellers in the industry
- Products are standardised
- Buyers threaten to integrate backward into the industry
- Suppliers do not threaten to integrate forward into the buyer's industry
- The industry is not a key supplying group for buyers

Industry Analysis: The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix

We can prepare EFE matrix after evaluating the key external factors discuss in the later lectures. There
are all key factors which are needed to be summarized in order to make EFE matrix. An External Factor
Evaluation (EFE) Matrix allows strategists to summarize and evaluate economic, social, cultural,
demographic, environmental, political, governmental, legal, technological, and competitive information.
The EFE matrix consists of five steps process.
Five-Step process:
• List key external factors
1. List key external factors as identified in the external-audit process. Include a total of from ten to twenty
factors, including both opportunities and threats affecting the firm and its industry. List the
opportunities first and then the threats. Be as specific as possible, using percentages, ratios, and
comparative numbers whenever possible.
2. Assign to each factor a weight that ranges from 0.0 (not important) to 1.0 (very important). The weight
indicates the relative importance of that factor to being successful in the firm's industry.
Opportunities often receive higher weights than threats, but threats too can receive high weights if they
are especially severe or threatening. Appropriate weights can be determined by comparing successful
with unsuccessful competitors or by discussing the factor and reaching a group consensus. The sum of
all weights assigned to the factors must equal 1.0.
3. Assign a 1-to-4 rating to each key external factor to indicate how effectively the firm's current strategies
respond to the factor, where 4 5 the response is superior, 3 5 the response is above average, 2 5 the
response is average, and 1 5 the response is poor. Ratings are based on effectiveness of the firm's
strategies. Ratings are, thus, company based, whereas the weights in Step 2 are industry based. It is
important to note that both threats and opportunities can receive a 1, 2, 3, or 4.
4. Multiply each factor's weight by its rating to determine a weighted score.
5. Sum the weighted scores for each variable to determine the total weighted score for the
organization.
EFE matrix example
The Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM)
The Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) identifies a firm's major competitors and their particular strengths
and weaknesses in relation to a sample firm's strategic position.
The weights and total weighted scores in both a CPM and EFE have the same meaning. However, the
factors in a CPM include both internal and external issues; therefore, the ratings refer to strengths and
weaknesses, where 4 5 major strength, 3 5 minor strength, 2 5 minor weakness, and 1 5 major
weakness. There are some important differences between the EFE and CPM. First of all, the critical
success factors in a CPM are broader; they do not include specific or factual data and even may focus on
internal issues. The critical success factors in a CPM also are not grouped into opportunities and threats
as they are in an EFE.
In a CPM the ratings and total weighted scores for rival firms can be compared to the sample firm. This
comparative analysis provides important internal strategic information.

A sample Competitive Profile Matrix is provided in Table. In this example, advertising and global
expansion are the most important critical success factors, as indicated by a weight of 0.20. Avon's and
L'Oreal's product quality is superior, as evidenced by a rating of 4; L'Oreal's "financial position" is good,
as indicated by a rating of 3; Procter & Gamble is the weakest firm overall, as indicated by a total
weighted score of 2.80.