BPI ENTITY-LEVEL BUSINESS MODEL

As shown below, the entity–level business model is used to describe the interlinking activities carried out within a business entity, the external forces that bear upon the entity, and the business relationships with persons outside the entity. The items included in the entity–level business model include the following components:

• External forces and agents are those factors, pressures and forces from outside the entity that often are threats to the attainment of the entity’s objectives.
• Markets/formats are the segments of an industry that are applicable to the entity. Formats identify the design and location of the facilities.
• The strategic management process is the process that:

• develops the entity’s mission;
• defines the entity’s business objectives;
• identifies the business risks that threaten attainment of the business objectives;
• manages the business risks by establishing business processes; and
• monitors progress toward meeting the business objectives.

• Core business processes are the processes that develop, produce, sell and distribute an entity’s products and services. These processes do not follow traditional organizational or functional lines, but reflect the grouping of related business activities.
• Resource management processes are business processes that provide appropriate resources to the other business processes.    
• Alliances are established by an entity to
• attain business objectives;
• expand business opportunities; and
• reduce or transfer business     risk.    

• Core products and services are the entity’s products and services.
• Customers involve relationships that are usually the entity’s primary focus
  Test

TEL-COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS MODEL EXAMPLE

EXTERNAL FORCES and AGENTS Lifestyle Trends Regulators New Entrants National/International Politics Customers Stockholders Suppliers Competitors Economy Technology Capital Markets
Direct Sales Agents Company-owned Stores Telemarketers Re-sellers Bills/Bill Inserts Direct Mail Debit Cards Advertising	Strategic Management Process		Cellular PCS Cable Long Distance CLEC ILEC Energy Companies: ∙ Electric utilities ∙ Gas utilities Railroads Content Providers Vendors Equipment Mfrs. International
	Core Business Processes
	Developing new services & products	Managing & operating the network
	Resource Management Processes
	Human Resources	Information Management
	Financial / Treasury Management	Legal & Regulatory Management
Strategic Management Process
Process Description	Strategic management is the process of defining the vision of the company, formalizing it into a mission statement and converting the statement into objectives that identify market niches and products and services to be offered. The mission may be singular or multiple. The community served may be local, regional, national or international and may be different for each objective. The objectives will then be codified into a strategic plan for the company. The strategic plan is co-ordinated with shorter-term operating plans (operating budgets, capital budgets, etc.).
Process    Objectives	Develop and communicate mission and vision Determine strategic objectives (ie, profitability / market growth) Identify and allocate resources necessary to execute business strategy Manage performance Measure business performance against strategic objectives Promote culture of continuous change / improvement Communicate values and behaviour
Inputs	Technology Trends Competitive positioning Market Needs, wants and trends	Customer design concepts Economic factors Prior long-range plans	Demographics Global         markets Previous track record for success
Activities
Outputs	Vision     statement Mission statement and long range plan Information technology strategy	Human resource needs Investment strategy Financial capital strategy	R&D strategy Organizational structure Entity level communications needs and plan
Systems	Executive information systems	Competitor database	Project     management system
Classes of Transactions	Routine None	Non-routine Mergers & acquisitions Non-routine investments Executive compensation contracts Divestitures	Accounting Estimates Recover-ability of existing physical assets Capital needs / requirements Recover-ability     of intangible assets
Risks Which Threaten Objectives		Controls Linked to Risks
Poor communication of mission and vision Poor operating capabilities / lack of appropriate resources		Formal board approval of strategy and establishment of targets and objectives through the organization to support its delivery
Inadequate co-ordination between resource management and core business processes		Formal board approval of strategy and establishment of targets and objectives through the organization to support its delivery
Missed opportunities / unforeseen threats (new competitors) / changing customer needs		Monitoring and responding to external forces
Lack of access to required capital and ability to service department		Proper capital planning and management
Loss of focus or inability to foster change		Planned performance reviews, disciplined change management
Critical Success Factors (CSFs)		KPIs     Linked to CSFs
Critical success factors (CSFs) are the prerequisites and areas of dependency for a process to be successful. CSFs may be inputs, parallel or supporting activities or aspects of a business’s philosophy or infrastructure necessary to ensure the proper delivery of the process.		Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the quantitative measurements, both financial and non-financial, of the process’s ability to meet its objectives through trend analyses within a company or bench-marking against a peer of the company or its industry. The KPIs listed are not all of the KPIs that exist relative to each process, but rather are examples that the company may or may not measure. While most KPIs can be linked to CSFs, this may not always be the case.
Other Symptoms of Poor Performance	Other symptoms of poor performance represent other evidence which may exist that indicates the process may not be operating to its most effective level. The items listed here should lead to performance improvement opportunities listed below.
Performance Improvement Opportunities	Performance     improvement opportunities are areas for performance or process improvement. This improvement may be achieved internally by the client or through External Consultant or other third-party assistance.
Key issues and considerations for the telecommunications industry	For each core business process, common key issues and considerations specific to the tel-communications industry have been highlighted to assist audit teams in identifying potential issues that need to be monitored and followed up during the course of their audit. It should be noted that the issues identified are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all tel-communication issues that may exist for that process and audit staff must use their judgement in determining what issues are applicable to their clients.

Core Business Processes Model

Strategic Management Process	Direct Sales Company-owned Stores Telemarketers Resellers Bills/Bill Inserts Railroads Content Providers	Direct Mail Debit Cards Advertising Cellular PCS Cable Vendors Equipment Mfrs.	Long Distance CLEC ILEC Energy Companies: Electric utilities Gas utilities International Agents
Resource Management Processes	Financial / Treasury Management Legal & Regulatory Management Information Management Channels Alliances Core Products/ Services Customers (Domestic & Int’l) Human Resources Developing new services & products Managing & operating the network