The Value Chain Report Jan 22

Business Plan: The Value Chain

Corporate Consulting Group, Pakistan B56, Block 5, Gulshan e Iqbal, Karachi 75350 Cell 00 92 (0) 333 2138742 & 00 92 (0) 333 Email: [email protected] January ‘2013

Alavi, Sohailuddin &

Ghazi, Muhammad Shehryar

This document presents recommendations on the

institutional structures and business strategies for

Fatima Khalid Publications Pvt. Limited, Pakistan

Proposal

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Table of Contents

I. Corporate Overview 4 a. Introduction 4 b. Proposed Vision and Values 5 c. Proposed Planning Process 5 d. Proposed Key Performance Indicators 5 e. Proposed Theme Logo 6 f. Proposed Corporate Structure 7

II. The Value Chain Magazine Division 8 a. Strategic Outlook 9

i. Market Competition Analysis 9 ii. Proposition 9

b. Proposed Product Benefits and Features 11 i. Introduction 11 ii. Benefits 11

iii. Features 12 c. Proposed Sales Plan, Strategies and Processes 13

i. Institutional Focus 13 ii. Individual Focus 13

d. Proposed Organization 15 i. Structure 15 ii. Performance areas and indicators 15

e. Indicative Budget Format 17 III. The Value Chain Training, Institutional Consulting and Business Research Division 19

a. Strategic Outlook 19 b. Emerging opportunities and challenges in Pakistani financial sector 20 c. Gap Analysis 21 d. Proposition 22

IV. Training Services 24 a. Context 24 b. Stakeholders needs and expectations analysis 24 c. Human resource development paradigm 25 d. Proposed policy framework 25 e. Proposed training process 28 f. Proposed organization 29 g. Proposed curriculum framework 30 h. Proposed faculty 32

V. Institutional Consulting and Research Services 33 a. Proposed consulting services 33 b. Proposed business research services 33

VI. Appendix 34 Exhibit 1 Baseline Survey on Training Impact Analysis 34 Exhibit 2 Indicative Contents for Accredited Training Programs 39

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Corporate Overview

1. Introduction

Fatima Khalid Publications is an emerging conglomerate aiming to contribute in the development and

growth of pragmatic business information for augmenting professionalism and knowledge for improved

business culture in Pakistan in particular. Dr. Zeeshan Khalid, Chief Executive Officer of KG Traders is the

sponsor of the conglomerate. Dr. Khalid has successfully mobilized a team of seasoned business-persons

and banking professionals to manage the conglomerate.

The conglomerate is a for-profit company with clear commitment to advance professionalism and

knowledge foundation in business and banking sectors. It is helping businesses and banks in unleashing

their opportunities and tackling challenges that are likely to deteriorate the potentials through

supplementing reliable and valid information and augmenting professionalism at all levels.

Vision of the conglomerate reflects its commitment. It says, “To continually Empower Perspectives for

Better Decisions”. The vision will be lived-by three distinct yet complementary initiatives, namely; The

Value-Chain Magazine, Value-Chain Corporate Research and Training Services, and Value-Chain

Advocacy and Publications.

The three distinct initiatives will operate under the umbrella of Fatima Khalid Publications Pvt. Limited

being the parent entity. Fatima Khalid Publications Pvt. Limited will be responsible for instilling strategic

directions, providing resources and monitoring accomplishments in each initiative. Nevertheless, each

initiative will be independently empowered to manage its operations in a suitable manner marching

towards its goals set by the parent organization.

Sales and Public Relations, Finance, Administration and Logistics services shall be available on shared

basis, and work under direct control of the parent organization. This arrangement will help maintain

cost of doing business within competitive limits though economies of scale.

The Value Chain Magazine

Value Chain Training,

Institutional Consulting and

Research Services

Value Chain Advocacy & Publications

Finance, Administration and Logistics

Sales and Public Relations

Vision

Empowering Perspectives

for better business decision making!

Fatima Khalid Publications Pvt. Limited

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2. Proposed Vision and Values

Our Vision: Empowering perspectives for better business decisions…

We shall live by our vision through continually: Investing in action research and disseminating information; and, Developing knowledge-base for home grown strategies and solutions for the existing and

emerging business opportunities and challenges, respectively. Our Values:

Always reaching out to increasing standards of professional integrity; ethics; and social norms…

Always striving to attain excellence in our products and processes…

Always adhering to the best professional practices and standards…

Always ensuring maximum value for our customers in particular and all stakeholders in general…

Always conducting in a responsible and productive manner…

Always be an exemplary Corporate Citizen…

3. Proposed Corporate Planning Process Corporate plans would ideally be decided on three-year horizon. These plans would cover the

followings:

Types of initiatives (Strategic Business Units) to be maintained

Market focus and penetration: overall and on individual unit basis

Profit targets: overall and on individual unit basis

A planning committee comprising of CEO as the committee chairperson, Chief Operating Officers of each

unit, Director marketing and Director Finance will be formed. The committee shall be responsible for

planning, implementation monitoring and performance evaluation. Preliminary deliberations on the

corporate plan shall begin amongst the members in the back drop of market feasibility and the last plan

at least three months prior to the date of plan initiation. Subsequent to general consensus and approval

of the corporate plan in the committee, the Finance Team shall prepare budgets which would later be

considered and approved by the committee. Committee members shall regularly meet on quarterly

basis for implementation monitoring and performance evaluation of the plans.

4. Proposed Key Performance Indicators

Key Performance Indicators provide specific and measurable measure of performance. Separate Key

Performance Indicators are being developed for each unit:

Unit Key Performance Indicators

Value Chain Magazine - Circulation / subscription - Readership

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- Revenue : Cost ratio

Value Chain Research and Training Services - Number of training courses delivered - Average number of participants per training

course - Aggregate training feedback - Revenue : Cost ratio

Value Chain Advocacy and Publications - Number of policy issues advocated - Number of publications - General response of businesses and banks - Revenue : Cost ratio

5. Proposed Theme Logo

Organizations’ vision or theme makes each organization different and focused. It is this vision that

provides reasoning and direction to individuals within the organization to align their actions towards the

organizational goals. Secondly, undoubtedly theme matters more than the product itself in customers’

buying decisions. Therefore it is imperative to develop and disseminate clearly organizations’ vision or

theme in the market, for it helps build differentiation; grab customers’ attention and develop customer

loyalty. Logo (insignia) is a powerful and effective way to communicate the vision or theme of

organizations, for it eliminates usual language barriers and becomes a universal mode of

communication. For example, PSO logo has Sun and a Crescent which communicates its 24/7 availability.

Conventionally banks’ logos used to have a Lion to depict security. Citi Bank use Umbrella as its logo to

assure that the bank provides umbrella when it rains a typical metaphor generally referred to for the

financiers. Likewise, the FedEx logo has a built in arrow that portrays speed and accuracy in logistics.

Fatima Khalid Publications Pvt. Limited needs to be

distinguished from many similar businesses in terms of its

commitment on one hand and it needs a rational basis to

connect different strategic business units operating within.

Nothing can be more cementing then a theme logo. The

proposed logo follows the vision or theme of the company.

The lines rising to 90o represent re-alignment of

perspective up-north i.e. needed for empowerment.

Secondly, as the lines move towards up-north they also

become thicker, which illustrates that the perspective is

getting stronger and reliable. Finally, Fatima Khalid

Publications Pvt. Limited products and services are

customized resources for empowering minds.

Res

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Emp

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6. Proposed Corporate Structure

Board of Directors

Chief Operating Officer, VC Magazine

Chief Operating Officer, VC

Research, Training and Consulting

Chief Operating Officer, VC

Advocacy and Publications

Director Marketing and Sales

Director Finance, and Administration

Planning Committee

Group Chief

Officer

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The Value Chain Magazine Division

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Strategic Outlook

a. Market Trends Analysis

Conventionally magazines have operated as inserts to national newspapers in Pakistan. Different

reasons such as reading habits of consumers have restricted growth of publishing houses. However with

the recent boom in creative fields such as economic globalization, technology, fashion, music and

movies have resulted in magazines gaining popularity.

An analysis of the top 10 magazines in Pakistan terms of circulation and readership, lifestyle magazines

have the highest share. Their target market is generally upper middle class and upper class segments.

They offer content along the lines of celebrity interviews, party coverage and reviews. They provide

their readers insider access to elite circles which otherwise cannot be penetrated.

Another important aspect is digital integration. The modern reader wants to experience content in real

life, not just on paper. Most magazines have identified this trend and have dedicated digital platform

which not only complement their print versions but enhance the content. For instance, a huge amount

of audio video content which accompanies events such as talk shows, fashion shows, concerts and

parties is available through the magazines’ online platforms.

In the context of Pakistani magazines focusing on business professionals generally have very low

circulation and consequently low readership. Business professionals rely on other mediums of

information such as television shows, their respective organizations and colleagues. Unlike lifestyle

magazines, business magazines are unable to offer a unique proposition to readers which they cannot

find elsewhere. The Pakistan & Gulf Economist which is the most successful business magazine in

Pakistan in terms of its circulation and outreach, has built both on its history and has incorporated a

decent digital component.

According to the consumption trends of readers and content analysis a ‘vacuum of advice’ is clearly

visible especially in business and professional magazines. Lifestyle magazines have been able to

capitalize on this concept whereby they connect ‘experts’ to readers. These ‘experts’ are individuals who

readers aspire to be or who’s lifestyle are appealing to the readers. Similar niche can be identified in the

business sphere. Content needs to be modified and positioned in a way which business professionals

find aspiring and relevant. Also, content that is not available through other channels hence giving

consumers incentive to invest in subscriptions. Market research focusing on needs of the business-

professionals in the corporate setting would reveal different themes which can be the key to targeted

content generation.

b. Proposition:

The modern reader demands information and content which is interactive, in real-time and exclusive.

More specifically the business professional wants information and content which will help him/her make

better decisions for their own selves and their organizations.

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The Value Chain magazine will offer the ‘value-added’ proposition. It will offer content which explicitly

adds value to different aspect of the readers’ life. A student of the business discipline will gain insights

into the corporate world and career advice. A new recruit will find interviews of executives that share

their experience in climbing the corporate ladder. Management will be able to relate to other

businesses through case studies covering experiences, initiatives and dilemmas various organizations

face. Executive personnel will have a medium to showcase their achievements and learning’s in the form

of interviews and opinions.

The Value chain magazine will challenge the status quo of business magazines and offer an interactive

platform through its digital component. A full functional website will be there for users to visit and

experience materials such as audio video which a print publication cannot. Some articles would be free,

while others would be given access to through online subscriptions.

Rather than working as a one-way communication mechanism, the Value Chain Magazine will encourage

consumers to interact and create content themselves in the form of blogs. Hence allowing the readers

to ‘be part’ of the conversation and not be merely ‘readers’.

Overall, The Value Chain magazine will be placed as a state-of-art platform in the business sphere

providing its consumers with content which enriches them to make better informed decisions, and

allowing its consumers to share their experience and spark an ongoing conversation which acts as a hub

for knowledge transfer, ideas exchange and intellectual growth.

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Value Chain Magazine – The Product

1. Overview

The Value Chain magazine is aiming to build its brand as “An innovative solution driven business

bulletin”, which offers reliable and valid analyses and articulate solutions for the contemporary

businesses and financial institutions besides building effective communication bridge between the

businesses on one side and the financial services institutions on the other

Thus it shall maintain focus on business managers and financial service professionals as its core

customers. Nevertheless it shall also cater to the learning needs of the students of business and finance

2. Benefits

Inspiration from accomplished professionals from within

Reliable and factual knowledge for informed decision making

Leads on emerging opportunities and challenges

EUREKA effect in solving business dilemmas!

3. Features

a. Profiles

This section tentatively should aim at identifying, acknowledging and taking stock of the achievements

and contributions of the select business and financial leaders, particularly in Pakistani context.

The objective is to pay tribute to them and to present them as role models for youth. The personality

analysis should focus on real time achievements, attitude towards life and work, moral values, and

quality of life. The profiles must culminate into a moral for others to follow.

b. Industry Analysis

This section tentatively should aim at describing in a candid and verbatim fashion the SWOT and the

Competition dynamics in particular of an industry or sector from the stand point of investors and

financiers.

The objective is to provide reliable and valid basic information on varied enterprises to directly aid the

investors and financiers make informed decisions and also to provide food for the policy process. The

analysis must culminate into specific recommendations vis-à-vis opportunities and how to approach

them.

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c. Financial Services

Banks are now correctly taken as next-of-kin for any business enterprise. However, much of the

potential advantages of banking services in leveraging business and lives remain untapped or could not

be accessed for lack of policy and process understanding by a vast majority of businesses and

individuals.

This section should tentatively unravel the hidden advantages and provide structured guidance on

availing the bank services in a befitting manner. In addition, play a proactive role in policy advocacy.

d. Management: Translating concepts into practice

The practice of management is surrounded by misnomers, thumb-rules, out of context theories and

most important of all self-proclaimed practices all leading to deterioration in the effectiveness of

management process.

This section should tentatively aim at developing more pragmatic and innovative perspective, necessary

for casting management solutions that fit within the contextual framework of the contemporary

businesses and their real life challenges.

e. Collage

This section would contain a host of articles in the following areas, namely; Emerging issues, Fiscal and

monetary policy and regulations, Innovative technology, Social and moral issues, Healthy living, Sports,

Light entertainment, etc.

The very purpose of this section is to provide a break from serious mind-boggling literature besides

creating awareness in diverse directions in subtle way. This would help develop holistic perspectives and

cognizance of emerging trends and their likely impact on business and banking.

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Sales Plan, Strategies and Processes

II. Institutional Focus

i. Pitching:

The pitch needs to be brief and aim towards highlighting

benefits to organization and its employees. For instance, while

pitching to a FMCG company focus should be on content which

provides insights into consumer’s buying habits, analysis of

marketing campaigns in Pakistan and global examples. Line

Managers: Considerable tailoring needs to start at this stage. It

is essential to identify what function the manager belongs to,

and be sent relevant content. For instance, when following up

with a supply chain manager content which revolves around

development of new distribution channels should be shared.

ii. Timely deliveries

It is extremely essential that magazines are delivered on time. Apart from delivering the magazine on

the correct date, it is imperative that content is also timely and relevant. For instance, a new product

launch should be covered in the same months issues it was launched.

iii. Communication

Corporate professionals often hold communication a very high priority. Hence, it is extremely important

to have clear lines of communication between readers and the magazine. Readers should be allowed to

comment and share the content. This can be done through digital as well as on paper where readers and

e-mail their queries etc.

iv. Customer Relationship

Building and maintaining a customer relationship database is also very beneficial. This will allow creating

a community and platform where opinion and ideas could be exchanged. Monitoring this database will

ensure Value Chain magazine knows its customers and provides them with content based on their

preferences. Digital integration is necessary for this to work. An online forum where readers can discuss

articles and get enhanced content through multimedia will not only increase recall for the magazine but

also strengthen the brand community.

III. Individual Focus

i. The Prospective Readers

Universities and colleges that offer business programs are ideal avenues which should be pursued. The

idea is to position Value Chain magazine as a supplement to the students’ course material which would

Business Develo0pment

Cycle

1. Pitch the CEOs

2. Follow up with line

managers to solicit

subscriptions

3. Ensuring timely delivery of magazines, all the times

4. Communicate

with Employees on

360o basis

5. Build Personalized

Customer Relations

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help in their professional development. Content revolving around career counseling and guidance would

serve the purpose.

ii. Incentivizing

Student packages need to be tailored. Online subscriptions may

sound more appealing to some students. Similarly offering

discount pricing or offering workshops on campus relevant to

their field of studies will spark conversation. Besides, offering

competitive commissions to retail outlets will encourage them to

sell the magazine more aggressively

iii. Timely Deliveries

The volumes shall be delivered always on schedule. This will allow readers certainty of getting the

magazine on time which will in turn help them plan their activities more precisely.

iv. Point of Contact

Identifying where readers purchase books and magazines would be necessary for this strategy. For

instance, bookstores in upcoming malls have a fairly wide reach in the upper and middle classes. Setting

up an interactive kiosk which would inform the customers regarding offerings of Value Chain magazine

would serve as a brand communication vehicle. Sales representatives must be presentable and well

versed in the content that Value Chain magazine carries.

Business Develo0pmen

t Cycle

1. Reach out the Prospective

Readers

2. Forge incentive based

relationships with outlets

3. Ensure timely deliveries of

magazines, all the times

4. Meet the customers at

the outlets and encourage

subscription

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Organization

1. Proposed Structure

Magazine organization structure comprises of three teams , namely;

Business policy and strategy,

Product development and

Product sales.

The unit’s business performance targets will planned and business performance will be measured on the

following criteria:

Circulation / subscription

Readership

Revenue to Cost Ratio

2. Proposed Performance Areas and Indicators

a. Business Policy and Strategy Team

It will be responsible for developing operational plans and strategies based on the corporate plan,

capture tabulate and analyze performance data and prepare recommendations for the Corporate

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Committee. The Business policy and strategy team will comprise of Chief Operating Officer / Editor in

Chief, Sales Manager and the Adviser. See diagram below

b. Product Development Team

The Chief Operating Officer / editor in Chief will lead the Product Development Team. The team will be

responsible for the development and production of the magazine. This includes following tasks:

Contents planning – deciding the topics for the issue

Identifying and contracting with individuals for writing articles

Review and editing of the articles/profiles

Text and page formatting of the magazine

Cover page design

Coordinating production of the magazine

The COO / Editor in Chief will have on board with him an assistant editor, CAD specialist and a logistics

coordinator. The Team’s performance will be measured on the following criteria:

Contents’ consistency, reliability and validity

Access to qualified contributors

Professional design

Cost effectiveness and timely printing

c. Product Sales Team

Sales or Business development team will work under the direct supervision Head of Sales and Marketing

as a shared resource. Main responsibilities of the Product Sales Team are as follows:

Institutional relationship development and management

Retail dealers relationship development and management

Managing subscriptions

Solicitation of advertisements for printing on regular basis

Promoting and monitoring sales

The Head of Marketing will have on board a dedicated Sales-Coordinator for the magazine, Field Sales

Officers, Tele marketing and Sales MIS Officer. The Team’s performance will be measured on the

following criteria:

Increased awareness of the magazine

Increased circulation

Selling at competitive price

Establish brand image

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Indicative Budget Format

Projected Sales / Circulation

i. Indicative Price Estimates

ii. Subscription (Indicate number of copies)

a. Institutions

b. Individuals

iii. Over the Counter (Indicate number of copies)

a. Book Shops

b. Fairs and Exhibitions

Projected Sources of Revenue

iv. Subscription Revenue

a. Institutions

b. Individuals

v. Over the Counter Revenue

a. Book Shops

b. Fairs and Exhibitions

vi. Revenue from Corporate Advertisements

a. Private Sector

b. Public Sector

vii. Gross Revenue

a. Subscription

b. Counter Sales

c. Corporate Advertisements

Projected Cost Drivers

viii. Product Cost

a. Paper and Printing Cost

b. Honorarium to Contributors

ix. Marketing and Sales Cost

a. Business development expenses

b. Publicity and advertisement expenses

c. Commission expenses

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d. Cost of complimentary copies

x. Overhead Expenses

a. Salaries

b. Utility charges

c. Rent of the premises

d. Office supplies including computer suppliers

e. Depreciation on office equipment

Projected Targets

xi. Gross Revenue

- Sales

- Corporate Advertisements

xii. Cost of product

- Variable

- Fixed

xiii. Net Profit before Income Tax

Note: The above budget projections shall be developed on quarterly basis, along the product-life-cycle.

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The Value Chain Training, Institutional Consulting and Research Division

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Strategic Outlook

1. Emerging Opportunities and Challenges in Pakistan’s Financial Services Sector

Financial Analysis

Potentially lowering margins and relatively

higher fixed cost structures are likely to shrink

profitability hence competitiveness, unless

institutions increase their business volumes,

reduce cost of doing business; and, improve

employee productivity at group and individual

levels

External Analysis

Opportunities: Financial services sector in

Pakistan particularly and in the neighboring

countries will continue to grow in terms of its

products, customer outreach, market size, etc.

Threats: Continuing growth in the sector is

likely to increase cost of attracting and

retaining customers; bring down the average

rates of financial services and increase

effective cost of doing business; increase

capital adequacy requirements; last but not

the least, customers are likely to become more

demanding and price conscious. Re-

regulations require adequate risk coverage.

Institutional Analysis

Strengths: Financial institutions, in particular

five major local banks are well sunk in the

markets; have fairly good experience and

knowledge of various segments of the

customers; matured processes and products;

etc. Re-regulations followed by Internet and

telecom banking has opened up innovative

and efficient ways of reaching out to

customers.

Weaknesses: Experienced but inadequately

trained human resources to cope up with the

modern day challenges; Institutional incapacity

to sustain profitable opportunities; last but not

the least, intuitive decision making are a few

major gaps in the sector.

Strategic Implications

Growth potentials in the

financial sector are likely

to attract new entrants;

increase competition;

entail higher efficacies;

and, last but not the

least, increase

institutional exposures

and the risks potentials

thereof.

Institutions’ competitive

advantage would largely

depend upon their

speed of learning;

innovation and change;

access to technology;

and, ability to attract,

develop, engage and

retain high caliber,

morally responsible

professionals.

Strategic Goals

To capture, tabulate and analyze data and for informed decision making

To partner with the institutions in upgrading functional, managerial and leadership capabilities of all employees without bias and discrimination what so ever.

To help institutions augment their systems and processes

Business Strategy

To develop state-of-the-art institution for

research, training and consulting to cater

to the emerging development needs of

Pakistan’ financial sector in particular, and

of the neighboring countries.

Action Plan

Develop trainings and certifications in broad specializations in banking and finance

Develop portfolio of customized institutional, business and marketing research and consulting services

Build alliances with national and international accredited training and certification, research, and consulting agencies

Develop relations with national and regional financial institutions

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Strategic Outlook

2. Gaps Analysis

Capacity building has been an important goal for the Govt. sector organizations and financial institutions

in particular. Traditionally focus of these institutions has been on developing operational and

administrative competencies amongst newly recruited incumbents and in service professionals,

respectively. Service, FMCG and pharmaceutical sectors have also been active in developing their

professionals. However, their focus is more on sales and marketing. Recently, there has been up surging

of personality development trainings, normally referred to as soft-skills, across the sectors. In certain

situations sales and soft-skills trainings have dominated the operational and management trainings.

Ironically, however, recent tides of quicker job switching have constrained the organizations from

investing in their employees’ development. Yet, for the sake of window dressing and image saving

organizations are taking interest in some the lighter trainings with much little professional substance.

We may conclude that the concept of human resources development is well established since long.

However, a holistic and systematic approach is needed to bring about real training impact in terms of

sustained professional incubation and empowerment, and organizational development.

At present, many of the financial institutions have the requisite infrastructure available for the training.

Five national flag career management training centres are operating in the country namely, the National

Institute of Management, Karachi, the Administrative Staff College, Lahore, National Institute of Banking

and Finance, Islamabad, Pakistan Institute of Management, Karachi and the Institute of Bankers

Pakistan. The National Institute of Management, formerly NIPA, specializes in in-service training of

government administrators; the Administrative Staff College is the apex institute for the training of

freshly recruited incumbents in Pakistan Civil Services with advanced courses for in-service civil servants;

the Institute of Banking and Finance operates under the auspices of State Bank of Pakistan primarily

catering to the in-house capacity building of State Bank of Pakistan. In addition to this role, NIBAF also

provides training to the staff members of other Central Banks in the region and organize specialized

seminars and certificate programs in banking and finance; the Institute of Bankers Pakistan is the

examining body for the professional qualification in Banking and Finance in Pakistan. Besides, the

institute also conducts short training courses in banking and finance for the in-service professionals

working in the financial institutions. Many organizations, particularly banks and financial institutions

have their in-house training facilities. Furthermore, alongside these public sector institutes and in-house

training facilities there has been a mushroom growth of private training institutes offering short training

courses in diverse areas but primarily on soft-skills.

Nevertheless, many of these institutions lack capacity to deliver what is needed. Recently a survey was

conducted in a local bank1 to assess the efficacy of elaborate training function within. The survey

focused on a number of dimensions the most important of all was whether training was effecting

change in behaviors? The respondents were HR line managers. While the bank has been committedly

investing in the training of their personnel, the overall response of 99% respondents was in negative.

Two basic problems were identified. Firstly, it was observed that the faculty in particular was unaware of

the impact of training that was needed. Consequently, end-of-training evaluations were done at the

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affective level to demonstrate that training is being done rightly. Secondly, training curriculum was

generally divorced from the real world of work. On one hand theoretical contents were demonstrated

without adjusting to the prevailing work context and on the other stereo-type curriculum was dominant.

In short, much focus is on transferring the raw information rather than empowering the participants to

be able to analyze real life situations and dilemmas and learn to improve on a continuous basis. Sadly

but factually trainers operate more from administrative orientation than as a process specialist.

Moreover, the trainers lack first hand and current understanding of the real life work situation either

because of being in the training function for long their understanding of the current work environment

became obsolete or they never were practicing managers. The cited survey clearly demonstrates urgent

need for up-grading the institutional capacity and curriculum, and integration of training within the

overall human resource management process to secure the target training impact.

We have basis to believe that similar problems are faced by most of the financial institutions in

managing their in-house training facilities. The evidence is that to overcome lack of institutional capacity

many financial institutions are resorting on training consultants. Subsequently, there has been

unprecedented emergence of freelance trainers and training firms. On one hand this has provided to the

financial institutions greater flexibility and choice but on the other hand some new challenges have

come up reducing the efficacy of training investments. The outside trainers lack understanding of the

work culture and context of the organization. Sometimes they even lack subject knowledge or at least

the application of it in the work situation. As a compromise, both the financial institutions and trainers

have resorted to focus on rather mundane training areas while ignoring substantial contents – the so

called motivational trainings and trainers. Last but not the least challenge facing the financial institutions

in developing their human resources is cost benefit of investing in them. Absence of long term

commitment and loyalty of the employees and hiring on contractual basis by the organizations have

effectively reduced the average term of employment relationships. In the given scenario investing in the

development of human resources is a difficult decision for the institutions.

3. Proposition

The Value Chain Training, Institutional Consulting and Research Division will carve its niche in the

corporate world of work by focusing on integrated services i.e. Training, Institutional Consulting and

Research. It will accordingly build its capacity commensurate with its defined role to offer stat-of-the-art

services in business training, consulting and research to gain competitive advantage in the market.

I. Training shall be the core activity of the Division. Focus on ‘high-end’ programs; and, ‘back-end’

training processes will be the value chain strategy. The high-end programs would include

corporate conferences, professional forums and policy roundtables. Back-end consultancy

would encompass competency profiling, curriculum development, modules development,

training process engineering, and train-the-trainers programs. It is hoped that this strategy

would provide sustainable competitive advantage and would allow premium pricing of the

services.

It will develop accredited trainings and certifications in diverse disciplines such as banking,

Islamic finance, micro-finance, enterprise management, supply chain management, and

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information technology with special emphasis on ERP solutions. All trainings and certifications

will essentially focus on immediate advantages to the participants and their organizations. The

Division shall build relations with Universities, Financial Institutions, Industry and Trade

Associations for technical collaboration and accreditation.

II. Institutional consulting services is the second leg to compliment human resource capacity

building initiatives of partner institutions. The consulting services will be offered in Business

planning and feasibility development, Human Resources including head-hunting and third party

employment, Institutional development, Business Process Improvement and ERP solutions,

Marketing and Supply chain management.

III. Business research is the third leg aiming to solicit outsourced research projects from partner

institutions. The research services provide support in the areas of business research, in-company

diagnostic surveys, business planning and feasibilities, marketing focus groups, etc.

A coordination council consisting of accomplished and practicing human resources and training

professionals shall be commissioned to build effective linkage with the constituents and access

communication channel to assess market needs and expectations. The council membership shall be by

nomination and voluntary for a term of two years. The council members shall appoint the chairman

amongst themselves for a term of two years. The Chief Executive Officer of Fatima Khalid (Publications)

Pvt. Limited and the Chief Operating Officer of the Division shall be the permanent members of the

council. While the Director Marketing and Administration shall participate in the council as non-

members. The council shall convene on quarterly basis to review the activities of the preceding quarter

in retrospect and to make recommendations for the next quarter activities.

1. Please refer to Exhibit 1 for detailed survey findings

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Training Services

1. Context Upon auditing the contemporary scenario, we have basis to say that following practices are much

prevalent. These trends have impacted upon the human resources development goals and orientation.

Thus it is imperative to take into account these practices while articulating new training strategy:

Organizations are becoming lean, which is inducing multi-tasking at individuals’ level, which in

turn means complex jobs and fewer head count for higher competitiveness

Technology has enabled transformation of operational tasks into much simpler at the front end.

Hence IT and Customer Management competence dominates over procedural skills

The new entrants have focused preparation in professional education such as accounting,

economics, finance and banking but alongside they seem in a rush to climb up the hierarchy and

are reluctant to work at the front end. Similarly, officers with ten years or more experience are

now becoming plateaued although they are the ones who have much understanding of the work

environment and can contribute at much higher level. Training curriculum needs to address

these and similar challenges.

Organization structures are being transformed into teams raising the need for improved

interpersonal skills, empowerment, coordination, decision making and shifting focus from status

to roles across the echelons

Increasing competition amongst traditional and non-traditional players warrants competitive

mindsets and a sense of urgency for results

Last but not the least, re regulations and governance are now much significant in doing the

business, which has led to sophistication in the business processes and decision making. In turn

all this has entailed specializations in various critical functions such as corporate governance,

risk management, compliance, etc.

2. Stakeholders’ Needs and Expectations Analysis

The statement that, “Training is the prerogative of the trainer” is a myth. It has no meaningful basis. In

reality an effective training process is essentially driven by three critical groups, namely; The Trainee,

the Trainees’ work organizations, and the Trainer (Training Organization). This leads to a further

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clarification that “Training” is not the end in itself. Rather training

should essentially cause change-for-better at the Trainees as well

Trainees’ work organizations levels. This is only possible when the

Training Organization takes into account the specific needs and

expectations of the other two groups in designing, development

and delivery of training programs.

Typically Trainees would expect enhanced work capacity as an immediate return from a training

program. In addition to this, the Trainees also look for long term benefits of participating in a training

program, such as improved chances of career advancement and mobility. Similarly, Trainees’ work

organizations sponsor implicit as well as explicit cost of training. Hence, the organizations envision

positive return on this investment in the form of improved employee productivity and their readiness to

perform in the changing environment, which will likely to be different from today.

3. Human Resource Development Paradigm:

Human resources development is a complex process

compared to training which is rather a simplistic process of

instilling task knowledge and skills alone. In other words, a

typical human resource development process spans across

individuals’ career and has multiple dimensions to it. At the

Value Chain we describe the human resource development

paradigm as a three stage process, namely; imparting task related knowledge and skills, inculcating

professionalism, and developing leadership. This is accomplished through a multi-directional

development strategy whereby the employees are given the task related knowledge and skills,

inculcated professionalism and leadership competencies.

4. Proposed Policy Framework

At the (“Value Chain”) we believe HRD initiatives should essentially lead to higher productivity and

career benefits to the organizations and their participants, respectively. Thus we express our policy

commitment in terms of the value the training function is responsible to create in response to the

envisaged needs and aspirations of the partner financial institutions and participants…

Leadership

Professionalism

Knowledgeable

and Skillful

The HRD Paradigm

Participants

Career

Development

Opportunities

Enhanced

capacity to

work

NBP

Management

Improved on

the job

performance

Readiness to

perform in the

future

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5. Living the Commitment

Together with partner organizations aim to unleash the human resource potentials into Smart-Competence, and harness it towards improved business productivity; competitiveness; and, higher career prospects!!!

Mission

We shall continually invest in our institutional capacity and competitiveness; adopt customer

focused strategy; guarantee demand driven process based and result oriented curriculum; engage

high caliber faculty; provide adult learning environment; and state of the art infrastructure and

training facility.

Focus

Smart competencies are a set of generalized contours that are likely to enhance employees’ on

the job productivity and future potentials for building and sustaining organizational competitive

advantage today and tomorrow. Each competence is elaborated in terms of its specific and

measurable characteristics. Together with our constituents, we aim to inculcate following

essential SMART competencies:

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i. Professionalism:

Moral character; social responsibility; self-awareness; independence of thoughts and decisions;

commitment; attention to details; harnessed motivation; attitude; assertiveness; ownership;

predictable behavior and presentable personality; and, last but not the least discipline per se i.e.

living the organizational values and norms

ii. Empowerment:

Knowledge of the context; sense of right and wrong; sense of direction; ability to make good

decisions; know the outcome of one’s own decisions and/or action; ability to think in terms of a

bigger picture; and last but not the least, clarity of vision

iii. Profit focus:

Focus on profitability; concern for effectiveness and efficiency; understanding risk and their

mitigates; ability to see opportunities and threats; ability to focus on bank’s interests

iv. Customer focus:

Value for customers; empathy for their problems; concern for their solutions; and, responsibility

towards customers

v. Proficiency:

Job knowledge and skills; doing right things right; systems thinking; business rationality;

regulatory and policy compliance; product and process knowledge and skills; time management;

and, team work

vi. Development:

Continuous learning and improving; expanding horizon; and, readiness to move to higher

responsibility level

Strategy

Evolve standardized competency based accredited curriculum

Ensure demand driven process based and result oriented training contents

Make learning convenient, exciting and rewarding experience

Identify relevant and skilled resource persons

Expand outreach

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6. Proposed Training Process

i. The key objectives of the educational or training process is:

a. Better performance by the student of his or her job (current or future)

b. Improved motivation for the student;

c. Additional specific competencies (knowledge and skills) that helps him or her perform the job

efficiently and effectively

d. That the student should be able to explain the importance of the lessons that he or she has

taken/learned;

e. Better understanding by the student of the significance of his or her performance/job in the

context of overall department and/or organization goals / strategy.

f. Better decision-making by the student within his or her job context.

ii. Building Blocks of Optimal Learning

To make trainings effective it is imperative to understand the building blocks of optimal learning, that is,

the variables that affect student learning. The relationship of these variables is rather complex depends

considerably on a good understanding of the local conditions, as well as on international best practices.

a. Learning is individualized, depending upon the individuals’ learning needs, motivation and flair.

b. In a group, learning will always be along a bell-curve as a smaller percentage of students will

demonstrate optimum learning while a larger group will have average learning and a smaller

percentage of students will experience a lower level of learning.

c. External factors will also affect the learning. Namely; the trainee-organization and the training-

environment.

Work environment: whether the organization of the employee-bank or MFI (immediate line

manager in particular) identifies the right learning needs, facilitates learning objectives,

encourages implementation of newly learned knowledge and skills, last but not the least

organizational culture.

Training environment: The training environment and particularly the trainer(s) competence

and personality have a significant impact on learning. For instance, the trainer has to have a

good facility in the subject matter, needs to use appropriate learning methodologies and

tools, can develop/provide easy to study reading materials, and last but not the least

demonstrate an inspirational attitude that encourages learning. The training contents

should also have practical relevance and validity and the timings and logistics must be

considered.

iii. Critical Learning Steps

The following points outline probable critical learning steps that being considered to aid optimal learning. However, these steps are meant to be illustrative, and not exhaustive.

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i. Focus on Competencies: Key point for success depends on developing new or better capacities in the students. Students should be able to better understand the subject matter and relevance of the topic, the lesson and relevant steps (process).

ii. Assessing Understanding: Testing through oral or written examinations, the intellectual knowledge (concepts and vocabulary);

iii. Testing through demonstration: Practical knowledge (capability) can be best tested through demonstration – what the student can do. For instance, for internal audit the student should be able to go a department and set up an audit plan and implement it. Similarly, if the training is on how to make presentations then a good test would be that the student should give a presentation at a short notice on a topic.

iv. Internalization of lessons: Ultimately the success has to do with how well a person has internalized the lessons, has taken them into their own way of thinking and how well they can use this information to develop further answers to problems. (problem solving approach)

v. Repeated implementation: Learning will come through repeated implementation of the information or techniques – to really learn a new word one must use it several times.

vi. Motivation and inspiration: Motivation cannot be done mechanically: through a rote process of certain steps. It cannot be a simple recipe, but requires passion on the part of the trainers, and real understanding.

vii. Local context and language: Motivation is context-driven. Discourse in a foreign contents and language will be less effective and may not work at all.

viii. Personal motivation: Motivation is personal. At the end of the day, a personal relation is necessary to develop and encourage motivation. This is a matter of the personality of the teacher and/or trainer. Trainers who cannot motivate, no matter how good the methodology of a course, the learning will be only marginally successful

ix. A combination of factors needed for success: One must have a combination of good methodology, developed in the context of the student, and good people for the teaching, who can inspire other people and motivate them.

7. Proposed Organizational Structure

SMART Competency

Professionalism

Empowerment

Profit focus

Customer Focus

Productivity and Proficiency

Development

Corporate Seminars Portfolio:

Corporate seminars and policy roundtables

Functional Trainings Portfolio:

Certificated / accredited trainings in specialized banking skills

Management Trainings Portfolio:

Certificated / accredited trainings in business, leadership and

organizational skills

Planning and CoordinationDeveloping training policy and curriculum, Planning of training programs, Review of training programs, Establishing quality standards and processes

IT Support

Administration and Logistics Support

Marketing Support

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The organization structure is envisaged in line with the indicative curriculum framework. Hence, the

training process shall have virtual functional hubs, namely; the planning and coordination function, core

function (Functional training portfolio, Management training portfolio, and Corporate seminars

portfolio) and critical support functions (Marketing & Business Development, IT and Administration).

Each function shall have distinct scope of work described in as explicit manner as possible. The support

functions will be common and serve every division within the group. See figure above.

8. Proposed Curriculum Framework

Curriculum refers to a standard set of courses or

programs leading to a specified qualification. In

our context, curriculum would be relatively a

broader concept, for in banking we offer streams

of courses each leading to a different qualification.

For instance, the stream of courses in credits

would be rather independent of stream of courses

in financial services marketing. Having said this, we

need a set of curriculum to offer qualifications in

various facets of modern banking. However, we

would still need standard stream of courses for

each curriculum. See the figure next.

We at the Value-Chain envisage offering training programs under the following categories:

Accredited Training Programs Business Seminars and Workshops Policy Roundtables and Forums

Accredited trainings programs aim to develop specialized professional and managerial competence to

prepare the young professionals perform even better on-the-job and also to develop necessary

competence along their career paths2. The specializations would cover Credits, International Trade and

Finance, Compliance, Internal Controls and Risk Management, Retail banking operations, Corporate

banking operations, International banking operations, Islamic banking operations, Effective

management and supervision. Business seminars and workshops are designed to cater to the continuing

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professional development needs of the middle managers and heads of the departments in particular.

Fast track front line managers and Officer can also benefit from these programs. Main thrust of these

programs is on professional refreshers and leadership development. Policy roundtables and forums

provide effective platform for senior corporate managers to jointly deliberate and advocate enabling

policy environment and promote standard professional practices to gain better business

competitiveness and sustainability.

“Proposed Value Chain Capacity Building Initiatives at a Glance”

Accredited Training Programs

Business Seminars and Workshops

Policy Roundtables and Forums

Focus Immediate work

performance

Development along the

career path

Continuing professional

development

Deliberation and

advocacy on policy

environment

Promote standard

professional practices

through forums

Subject matter Specialized professional

and managerial

competence building

Professional refreshers

and leadership

development

Review, brainstorm and

advocate enabling policy

environment

Identify and advocate

standard professional

practices

Outcome(s) Improved current job

knowledge and skills

Increased on-the-job

performance

Enhanced professional

and managerial capacity

to deal with the business

emerging challenges

Better understanding of

the policy issues and

effective advocacy for

creating enabling policy

environment

Help in establishing

standard professional

practices to gain higher

business competitiveness

and sustainability

Measurement Criteria Participants’ performance

in post training

assessment and training

feedback

Participants’ assessment

in group discussions and

peer evaluations

Quality of analyses and

recommendations

Methodology Discourses, class

activities, presentations,

home assignments,

projects

Case studies, syndicate

work, group discussions

and presentations

Paper readings,

deliberations and group

discussions

Target Audience First line managers,

Officers and functionaries

Middle Managers, Heads

of department

Senior corporate

managers

Duration Long term, sandwiched

program

One to two full working

days

One to half day sessions

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9. Proposed Faculty

The Value Chain shall develop a pool of accomplished practicing managers and trainers to deliver its

training programs. A team of at least three resource persons shall deliver a training program. However,

in exceptional cases depending upon the topics, training program may be delivered by a lone trainer.

Below is the indicative list of visiting resource persons who may be recruited into the faculty pool:

Banking Skills i. Dr. Asrar H. Siddiqui, Senior Adviser Human Resources, MCB Bank ii. Mr. A. B. Shahid, Senior Consultant

iii. Mr. Muhammad Saleem Umar, Director (Executive MBA) Institute of Business Administration, Karachi

iv. Ms. Tahira Raza, SEVP/Group Chief, National Bank of Pakistan v. Mr. Shoaib Arif, Chief Operating Officer, ASA Pakistan (Microfinance) Institute vi. Mr. Sumair Siraj, Associate Professor, Sindh Madrasatul Islam Institute of Business

Institutional Management Skills

i. Abdul Ghafoor, Adviser Karachi Electric Supply Corporation ii. Mr. Ozair A. Hanafi, Senior Consultant

iii. Dr. Athar Siddiqui, Associate Professor, Dawood School of Business and Leadership iv. Ms. Azra Maqsood, Executive Director INJAZ

Organizational Skills

i. Mr. Ozair A. Hanafi, Senior Consultant ii. Mr. Zia-ur-Rahman, Management Consultant

2. Please refer to Exhibit 2 for indicative training contents on accredited training programs

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Institutional Consulting & Research Services

Introduction:

Institutional development is a well recognized need to continually enhance organizational productivity,

quality and competitiveness in modern times. The Value-Chain consulting services will solicit

assignments relating to institutional development, research and other non-core activities.

i. Consulting Services will be offered in following areas in particular:

Business planning and feasibility development, with special focus on transformation of

Microfinance Institutions into fully regulated Banks

Human Resources

o HR policies and systems

o Positions’ (job) analysis and profiling

o Competencies’ analysis

o Employees’ assessments and training needs analysis

o Testing and Recruitment

o Head hunting

o Third party employment contracting

Business Process Improvement and ERP solutions

o Business process analysis and improvement

o ERP (SAP) project management & implementation

o IT process improvement and quality assurance

Marketing and Supply chain management

Project Management

ii. Business Research Services:

In house employee surveys and assessments

HR surveys on industry practices, compensation, etc.

Qualitative market research: focus groups, panel discussions, etc.

Quantitative market research: various types of surveys

Baseline surveys in multiple areas

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Appendix

Exhibit 1

Baseline survey on Training Impact Assessment

The objective was to map the perception of representative group from the field on the impact of

training on building SMART competencies across the cadres, solicit feedback on probable gaps and

recommendations on training curriculum, methodology, immediate training environment and available

physical facilities.

Initially, General Managers (Human Resources) from 14 regions were given this survey. Considering the

consistency of responses we had basis to say that the trends were indicative. However, because of the

smaller group size of the respondents, it was inconclusive. Subsequently, the survey was done across the

regions. The respondents were the Regional Chiefs and all General Managers working under a Regional

Chief. The survey was also conducted internally amongst the training faculty. Findings are reported

hereunder.

Survey findings are presented below: 1. Impact of Training – External Perception (n = 135)

65% (9 out of 14) or more respondents perceive low training impact on developing professionalism,

empowerment, customer focus, productivity and development. 50% (7 out of 14) respondents perceive

low training impact in fostering profit focus. We have basis to say that on the whole training impact is

being perceived as low.

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2. Training Gaps (n = 135)

Major gaps perceived by the respondents are that training contents not properly targetted; trainers’

capacity needs improvement; same training topics (contents) are continued successively. Other gaps

include, lack of continuity of training for individuals, lengthy training materials, less focus on case

studies, communication gap, trainers with no banking background, training followup process is missing,

insuffecient training duration, training not focused on resolving desk related problems, trainees are not

inovled, etc.

3. How to Make Trainings Useful for the Participants (n = 135)

Major areas for improvement include the followings: Training contents should relate with practices,

faculty should adopt new techniques, training at door step. Other areas include the followings:

continuity of trainings per individual, reduced volume of training materials, pre and post training

assessments, trainers from the field/operations are more beneficial, training material should be

provided before hand, trainings should be linked with career development, same trainings should be

repeated with some intervals.

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4. How to make training useful for the bank (n = 135)

Most important of all the improvements is that training faculty should have working expereince on the

topic. Next important areas include ensuring friendlier / adult behavior with the trainees, TNA needs to

done participatively and short duration programs are to be offered at the door step. Finally, training

need to focus on helping participants find solutions for their desk related problems and training on new

policies, procedures and products should essentially be conducted prior to implementation of the same.

5. Recommended Training Areas (n = 135)

More than 75% respondents recommend trainings in IT Skills / CBS, Management and Leadership,

Operations and Soft skills. Other important training topics include, compliance and regulations,

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customer care, risk management, loans and credits, internal controls, team building, EDP/SSR 1980,

Cashiers’ training, and culture.

6. Average Training Requirements (n = 135)

Officers / fresh inductees 20 days on average, Managers / AVPs about 15 days on average, VPs and SVPs

10 days on average and senior executives about 5 days on avarege in a calander year.

7. Training Environment (n = 135)

Almost 50% respondents suggested change in the behavior of the trainers and training managers. Other

dimensions include fostering supportive environment, better treatement of the trainees and reduced

daily training hours. About 50% did not respond to this question.

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8. Physical Facilities (n = 135)

More than 50% of respondents believe there is a need to modernize the training rooms, introduce

computer labs, provide access to internet and library should have current materials. About 45% did not

respond to this question.

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Exhibit 2

Indicative Contents for Accredited Training Programs

i. Certified Branch Managers’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Business Planning and Strategy

- Bank Marketing, Consumer Behavior and Selling

- Leadership Development

- People Management

- Business Communication

- Decision Making and Problem Solving

- Business Development and Networking

- Financial Planning and Budgeting

b. Target Group: Branch Managers.

ii. Certified Operations Managers’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Banking Regulations, Policies and Practices

- Banking Products and Processes

- Operations Planning and Monitoring

- Risk Management and Fraud Prevention

- AML/CFT Compliance

- Decision Making and Problem Solving

- Employee Supervision

b. Target Group: Operations Managers

iii. Certified Credit Managers’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Credit Regulations, Policies and Practices

- Credit Products and Processes

- Tools for Credit Analysis

- Credit Risk Management and Fraud Prevention

- Writing Credit Proposals

- Decision Making and Problem Solving

- Credit Monitoring, End use evaluation and Recovery

- Credit Delinquency Management

b. Target Group: Credit Managers / Analysts.

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iv. Certified AML Practitioners’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Anti Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Law; - Law on combating the financing of terrorism; - AML Regulation: Financial Institutions’ responsibility; - Money Laundering: Effects on Economic Development and International Standards: - International Conventions, Resolutions, International Standards for legal measures FATF recommendation numbers 1-4, 20, 23, 24, 31, 33, 34 - Institutional and Follow-up measures for combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and Reporting Suspicious transactions - Measures to be taken by Financial Institutions and Non- Financial Businesses and Professions:

b. Target Group: Compliance Managers / Officers.

v. Certified Bank Marketing Practitioners’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Marketing Basics

- Consumer Behavior

- Bank Marketing Management

- Financial Product Innovation and Development

- Service Quality Management

- Methods in Market Research and Report Writing

- Customer Relationship/Profitability Analysis

- Product / Portfolio Profitability Analysis

- Selling and Customer Service

- Public Relations and Networking

b. Target Group: Marketing Managers / Officers.

vi. Certified Bank Risk Practitioners’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Overview of Risk Management Framework

- Operational Risk Management

- Credit Risk Management

- FEX Risk Management

- Liquidity Risk Management

- Interest Rate Risk Management

- Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process

b. Target Group: Risk Managers / Officers.

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vii. Certified Human Resource Practitioners’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Human Resource Management Basics

- Organization Behavior

- Labor Laws in Afghanistan

- Selection and Recruitment

- Induction and Placement

- Employee Compensation

- Employee Training and Development

- Employee Career Planning

- Handling Problem Employees

- Disciplinary Actions

- Employee Performance Appraisal

b. Target Group: HR / Training Managers / Officers.

viii. Certified Islamic Banking and Finance Practitioners’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Introduction to Islamic Sharia with reference to

Economics and Banking

- International Regulations in Islamic Finance and Banking

- Islamic Banking Laws and Practices in Afghanistan

- Analysis of conventional vs. Islamic banking products

- Current trends in Islamic banking and finance

- Accounting Standards for Islamic Finance and Banking

b. Target Group: Islamic Banking Manager / Officers.

ix. Certified Internal and IT Audit Practitioners’ Program

a. Curriculum Focus: - Overview of the Auditing Function;

- Internal Controls and Risk Assessment;

- Techniques and Procedures of Audit

- Managing the Auditing Function

- Auditing Foreign Exchange Transactions

- Asset Liability Management

- Fraud Detection and Prevention

- IT System based Audit of Banking Operations

- IT System based Controls

Target Group: Internal Auditors