Scenario:

You and Sam have been in touch since the Palm Beach Business Development Luncheon, and he has expressed interest in your working on his business audit. The two of you make plans to meet for lunch, but this time at his deli in Boca.

Sam would like a proposal for the services you (T&M) can offer. If he likes the proposal, he is prepared to sign a follow-up engagement letter.

You go back to the office to start work on the proposal. You have learned the Sams Deli is a privately-owned company with annual sales of 1.2 million. The two locations combined have 40-50 employees at any given time. The company has an outstanding bank loan. The bank requires an audit.

Additional Info:

Include T&Ms fee structure in your proposal. Sam will be billed hourly based on the type of work being done and the level of expertise of the auditor. As partners, both Seth and Anna bill at $250 per hour. Supervisor and manager rates are $170 per hour. Senior staff rates are $125 per hour, and junior staff rates are $80 per hour.

The proposal needs to identify what you (T&M) will do and layout the fees for the job at hand, the audit. You will have to estimate how many hours will be needed and who will be performing what type of work for the audit. Bookkeeping, payroll and write up work will be done by junior staff accountants and reviewed by a senior staff member. Tax services will be provided by senior staff and reviewed by Seth or Anna, and the final audit will be reviewed by Anna or Seth.

Planning Memo:

Sam is pleased with your proposal, and as you had agreed, you write the engagement letter, and Sam signs it. You meet with Seth and Anna to share the good news: you have brought your first client to T&M.

You also want to discuss strategies for working with your new client. As Seth, Anna, and you have coffee in Annas office, you spell out the details of what has transpired between Sam and you. You all agree that committing this information to writing is a good idea. You head back to your office to write the Planning Memo/ Memo to File.

Write a planning memo/memo to file summarizing the chronology of events in securing Sams Super Deli as a client. Make sure Anna and Seth understand that Sam is a client that you have brought to the firm and that he wants you to personally handle and head up the audit and any other services that he may require. Note: Your tone here is important. You want to sound confident and focused, but you do not want to sound demanding or pushy.

Start with your marketing idea, the invitation to speak at the conference, how you met Sam, and what you discussed. You do not have to include information contained in your proposal; pretend you have attached the proposal as well as the engagement letter.

Tell what and how you plan to work with this client and your hopes of getting more work beyond the audit from him.

You might end with a list of action items, or an offer to be a resource if there are questions, or an offer to set up a follow-up meeting for further discussion.

Please write a planning memo for Sam Super Deli for Audit service.