FY2027 Annual Operating Plan

Hartwell Advisory Group — Expansion into Risk Advisory & Family Office Services

Date: 2026-05-30 · Prepared by: Resolvix · Status: Sample Deliverable
Deliverable type: Strategy & Business Planning — Annual Operating Plan (~$875)
Industry: B2B Professional Services / Accounting & Advisory

About this sample. This is one example of what a successful Resolvix deliverable looks like at this scope and type — not a template that every engagement follows. Your expert brings their own expertise and judgment to the work: the structure, the emphasis, which angles they dig into, and how they organize their findings will all vary based on your industry, your specific question, and where the research leads. What stays consistent across every engagement is the standard: analysis grounded in evidence, prioritized recommendations, concrete action steps, and a phased implementation plan. All company names, figures, and scenarios in this sample are illustrative.

Executive Summary

Hartwell Advisory Group (HAG) enters FY2027 at $18.2M in trailing revenue, with EBITDA of $3.1M (17.0% margin) and a 94-person headcount across three offices (Cincinnati HQ, Columbus, and Louisville). The firm's core tax and audit practice is mature and profitable but growing at only 4–5% annually — in line with mid-market accounting industry norms but insufficient to fund the talent and technology investments required to defend market position against consolidating regional competitors.

This operating plan governs HAG's expansion into two new service lines: (1) Risk & Internal Controls Advisory (RICA) and (2) Family Office Services (FOS). Both lines were approved by the Management Committee in March 2026 following a nine-month feasibility study. This document translates that strategic decision into a funded, staffed, and milestoned operating plan for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2027.

FY2027 headline targets:
- Total revenue: $20.9M (up 14.8% from $18.2M)
- EBITDA: $3.0M (14.4% margin — compressed in Year 1 due to build investment)
- Net new service-line revenue: $2.3M combined (RICA: $1.4M, FOS: $0.9M)
- Year-end headcount: 112 (up from 94; 11 net new hires in new lines, 7 in core growth)
- Client satisfaction (NPS): maintain ≥ 61 firm-wide

Situation Analysis

Core Practice Performance (FY2026 Actuals)

Transaction Advisory is the highest-growth and highest-margin line but is episodic and deal-dependent. The Outsourced CFO practice is the fastest-growing recurring line and serves as the demand signal that makes Family Office Services a natural adjacency.

Competitive Context

The Cincinnati/Columbus/Louisville corridor has seen meaningful competitive movement over the past 24 months:

• Plante Moran expanded its Columbus office in Q1 2025, adding a dedicated HNWI (high-net-worth individual) advisory team that competes directly for the clients HAG's Outsourced CFO practice serves.
• BDO acquired regional firm Crawford & Lowe (Louisville, $12M revenue) in Q3 2025, bringing enterprise-grade risk and compliance capabilities to a market that previously lacked them.
• Clark Schaefer Hackett has been actively recruiting HAG's mid-level managers, citing partnership track timelines.

The risk: standing still in core services means losing ground to larger consolidated players at the top and to tech-enabled boutiques (Bench Accounting, Kruze Consulting) at the lower end. The opportunity: both RICA and FOS remain fragmented regionally, with no clear dominant local provider.

Why These Two Service Lines

Risk & Internal Controls Advisory (RICA): Mid-market companies under $500M revenue face increasing regulatory pressure (state-level cybersecurity reporting requirements, intensifying SOC 2 demand from enterprise customers, SEC climate disclosure rules for private-company supply chains). HAG's audit practice has latent RICA capability — three existing staff hold CISA or CIA credentials — but the firm has never productized it. The total addressable market among HAG's 340+ existing audit clients alone is estimated at $2.1M annually.

Family Office Services (FOS): HAG currently serves 38 clients who meet a reasonable family office threshold ($10M+ investable assets, multi-entity structures, estate complexity). These clients are underserved — HAG does their tax returns and maybe their entity accounting, but provides no investment governance, bill pay, reporting consolidation, or philanthropic advisory. Regional competitors charge $40K–$120K/year for true family office service. This is an upsell play into an existing, high-trust client base.

FY2027 Financial Plan

Revenue Build

Note: Q1 revenue reflects tax-season concentration in existing lines; new service lines ramp slowly through H1 as pilots convert.

Revised total: $20.3M reflects refined Q4 pipeline assumptions. The $20.9M headline target remains the stretch goal; $20.3M is the base case.

EBITDA Bridge: FY2026 → FY2027

EBITDA margin compresses from 17.0% to approximately 15.2% in FY2027. This is deliberate and pre-approved by the Management Committee. The return on this investment should manifest in FY2028 margins of 18–20% as the new lines mature, assuming targets are met.

Headcount Plan

Mid-year hires are budgeted at 50–75% of annualized cost for FY2027. Net new FTE cost impact: approximately $1.04M in FY2027.

Key Financial Ratios & Guardrails

Any two guardrails breaching simultaneously triggers a mandatory Management Committee review within 30 days.

Service Line Operating Plans

RICA: Risk & Internal Controls Advisory

FY2027 revenue target: $1.4M
Target clients: Existing audit clients with $20M–$200M revenue; new-to-firm SOC 2 / cybersecurity advisory engagements
Average engagement size: $45K–$85K for initial assessment; $25K–$40K/year for ongoing monitoring retainer
Lead generation: Referrals from audit team (primary), direct outreach to CFOs of existing clients, co-marketing with regional law firms on cyber incident response

Q1 priorities:
- Hire RICA Practice Leader and Senior Manager
- Audit existing client base for RICA entry points (target: 40 qualified conversations by April 30)
- Define three standard service packages: SOC 2 Readiness, Internal Controls Assessment, and ERM Lite
- Price and scope all three packages; build proposal templates

Q2 priorities:
- Launch with 4 pilot engagements (from Q1 pipeline)
- Begin partner-level RICA training for existing audit partners
- Submit two responses to RFPs sourced through regional referral partners

H2 targets:
- 12 active or completed engagements
- First annual monitoring retainers signed (minimum 4)
- RICA pipeline ≥ $1.8M for FY2028 planning

FOS: Family Office Services

FY2027 revenue target: $0.9M
Target clients: 18 existing HAG clients meeting FOS threshold; 5 net-new external referrals
Average annual fee: $38K–$65K depending on complexity tier (Basic, Comprehensive, Premium)
Lead generation: Personal outreach by Managing Partners to 38 pre-qualified existing clients; referrals from estate planning attorneys and private bankers

Q1 priorities:
- Hire Family Office Director
- Conduct discovery meetings with 38 pre-qualified clients to assess interest and scope
- Select and contract technology platform (evaluating Addepar, Orion, and Tamarac for reporting consolidation)
- Define three service tiers and corresponding pricing

Q2 priorities:
- Onboard first 6 FOS clients
- Implement technology platform; complete client portal buildout
- Hire two Client Managers to support onboarding load

H2 targets:
- 15–18 clients enrolled and paying
- Monthly reporting cadence operational for all enrolled clients
- 100% of enrolled clients have completed estate/entity mapping

Operating Priorities by Quarter

Q1 2027: Foundation

• Complete all Q1 hires (RICA leader, FOS director, tax senior associates, marketing coordinator)
• Launch RICA and FOS market positioning (website, capability statements, partner talking points)
• Conduct all-staff operating plan rollout meeting by January 15
• Establish monthly KPI dashboard (revenue vs. plan, pipeline, utilization, DSO)

Q2 2027: Ignition

• RICA: close first 4 engagements; present RICA capabilities at Ohio Society of CPAs regional conference (May)
• FOS: enroll first 6 clients; go live on technology platform
• Core: submit Q2 realization and utilization report; address any red flags before summer staffing season
• Firm-wide: complete market compensation study to inform retention strategy

Q3 2027: Acceleration

• RICA: 10+ active engagements; first monitoring retainers signed
• FOS: 12 clients enrolled; refine onboarding playbook based on H1 learnings
• Core: begin Q4 tax planning campaign for existing clients; retain >90% of expiring audit engagements
• Firm-wide: complete mid-year performance reviews; identify promotion candidates

Q4 2027: Lock-In

• RICA: close year at $1.4M+ revenue; develop FY2028 service line plan
• FOS: close at 18 enrolled clients; present FY2028 expansion proposal (add investment governance capability)
• Firm-wide: complete FY2028 AOP process; set new-line revenue targets for Year 2
• Assess whether FOS warrants additional technology investment (Addepar premium tier) based on enrolled AUM

Recommendations

1. Hire the RICA Practice Leader in January — do not slip this date. The RICA line's entire FY2027 revenue ramp depends on having a credentialed, relationship-bearing leader in seat by mid-January. Every month of delay compresses the pipeline by approximately $115K in first-year revenue. Authorize above-band compensation ($195K–$210K) if needed to secure the right candidate — the math justifies it.

2. Conduct personal partner outreach to all 38 FOS-eligible clients before March 31. The Family Office conversion rate is highly sensitive to relationship quality. This cannot be delegated to a marketing campaign or a new hire. The three managing partners should each own a list of 12–13 clients and complete personal conversations (phone or in-person) in Q1. Follow-up can then be handed to the incoming FOS Director.

3. Establish a unified pipeline review meeting (biweekly, cross-line). RICA and FOS will share business development bandwidth with existing partners. Without a structured forum, new-line opportunities will consistently lose to urgent existing-client demands. A standing biweekly pipeline review — attended by the Managing Partner, RICA Practice Leader, FOS Director, and Marketing Coordinator — forces visibility and accountability.

4. Set a hard decision gate for FOS technology by February 28. Addepar, Orion, and Tamarac have meaningfully different cost structures and client experience profiles. A prolonged evaluation will delay the client portal buildout and push FOS onboarding into Q3. Assign the FOS Director (once hired) a 30-day evaluation window with a signed contract required by end of February.

5. Protect the core practice realization rate. EBITDA compression in FY2027 is acceptable only if it's caused by planned build investment — not by core practice leakage. Assign the Operations Manager to produce a monthly realization report by service line, flagged against the 85% target. Partners whose portfolios fall below 80% realization for two consecutive months should be on a performance improvement plan by Q3.

6. Run a retention campaign for the 14 audit engagements expiring in FY2027. BDO's acquisition of Crawford & Lowe has made it a direct competitor in Louisville for mid-market audit. Proactive retention outreach (executive meeting, fee review, cross-sell conversation) should begin in Q2 for all expiring engagements — not in Q4 when the renewal decision has already been made.

7. Build RICA co-marketing relationships with two regional law firms by end of Q2. The most credible RICA lead source for HAG is referrals from attorneys handling cyber incidents, M&A due diligence, or litigation support. Identify two Cincinnati/Columbus law firms with complementary practice areas and establish a formal referral arrangement (co-authored content, shared event presence, documented referral protocol).

Action Steps

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Build (January – June 2027)

Objective: Get both new service lines from zero to operational — hired, tooled, positioned, and generating initial revenue.

Outputs / Milestones:
- All Q1 and Q2 hires completed by May 31
- RICA: 4+ active engagements signed; SOC 2 and Internal Controls service packages published
- FOS: 6+ clients enrolled; technology platform live; client portal functional
- RICA and FOS capability materials published and distributed firm-wide
- Cross-line pipeline review meeting cadence operational
- Realization rate dashboard live and producing monthly reports
- Law firm co-marketing relationship established with at least one firm

Success Criteria:
- RICA revenue ≥ $400K through Q2
- FOS clients enrolled ≥ 6 by June 30
- Firm-wide realization rate ≥ 84%
- No guardrail breaches without documented remediation plan
- Staff turnover ≤ 12% through H1

Dependencies:
- RICA Practice Leader hired by January 31 (critical path for all RICA milestones)
- FOS Director hired by February 15 (critical path for FOS technology decision)
- Management Committee approval of FOS technology contract by February 28
- Partner willingness to make personal FOS outreach calls in Q1 (non-delegable)

Phase 2: Accelerate (July – December 2027)

Objective: Grow both service lines toward year-end targets, lock in retention on core practice, and set up FY2028 from a position of proven capability.

Outputs / Milestones:
- RICA: 12+ total engagements (active or completed); first monitoring retainers signed (4+); FY2028 pipeline ≥ $1.8M
- FOS: 18 clients enrolled; 100% have completed entity/estate mapping; FY2028 expansion proposal submitted
- Core: ≥ 90% retention on expiring audit engagements; Q4 tax planning campaign completed
- FY2028 AOP process launched in October with new service line leaders participating
- All-staff mid-year review completed with compensation study findings incorporated

Success Criteria:
- Total FY2027 revenue ≥ $20.3M (base case)
- RICA full-year revenue ≥ $1.3M (base case); $1.4M (target)
- FOS full-year revenue ≥ $0.85M (base case); $0.9M (target)
- EBITDA ≥ $2.8M (no worse than 13.8% margin)
- Year-end staff turnover ≤ 12% firm-wide
- FOS client NPS ≥ 55 in first annual survey (November)

Dependencies:
- H1 RICA and FOS pipelines converting at ≥ 60% close rate
- Core realization rate held above 83% to fund new-line investment without EBITDA breach
- Retention of the 14 expiring audit engagements at ≥ 80% (11+ retained)
- FOS technology platform stable and fully adopted by all enrolled clients by August 31

Risk Register

Document owner: Operations Manager (Linda Chen) · Review cadence: Monthly KPI review; quarterly full AOP review against actuals · Next scheduled full review: April 15, 2027