CrossVal
M/HQ Group · Stage 1 Tech Strategy
Stage 1 · Tech Strategy · Delivered

The strategy, made visible in one place.

Everything Stage 1 produced, on one connected page: the summary, the deliverables, and the context documents behind them. Tech and systems lead; AI is the enabler, not the headline.

Why you received one link, not a stack of attachments

Our whole recommendation to the Group is: stop the fragmentation, keep one connected source of truth instead of documents scattered across email and shared drives. So the strategy itself arrives the same way: one page where everything connects, every claim links to its source, and there are no out-of-date copies floating around.

S1

Summary and recommendations

The headline, distilled from the deliverables. Every claim opens against the document that carries the detail.

C1–C3set the goal: accuracy, governance, scalability by Q4 2026 → D1found the root cause: how data gets in and how it moves → D2–D3designed and sequenced the answer below

The recommendation · a three-layer architecture

1

AI input layer

Automated intake, extraction and validation at the point of entry, governed and human-reviewed. Fixes capture, the root cause the gap report found.

↓
2

Owned data layer

The golden record and the single client and entity identifier, owned and controlled by the Group. This is the single source of truth.

↓
3

Specialist tools

Unified data written out to the tools each function runs on. None is load-bearing, and any can be swapped without touching the record.

Where to start · value against risk, all thirteen functions

Risk on failure →
Control
lower value, high exposure: de-risk
  • 8Fiduciary and private banking reviews
  • 9Systems, IT and data security
Prioritise
high value, externally examined: start here
  • 1Client onboarding and KYC
  • 2Regulatory compliance and monitoring
  • 3Audit
  • 4Annual accounting and tax
  • 5Master data and cross-entity reporting
  • 6Corporate secretarial and renewals
  • 7Invoicing and finance operations
Defer
lower value, contained exposure
  • 12HR and recruitment
  • 13Marketing
Efficiency plays
high value, contained exposure: automate without urgency
  • 10Corporate structuring
  • 11Lead management and CRM

Value of the function →

opens D1 · prioritisation matrix, with the scoring rationale
D

The three deliverables

Three written reports that answer three questions in order: where the Group stands today (D1), where it should go (D2), and how to get there (D3).

C

Context documents

The three documents that frame the engagement, from the original proposal through to where things stand now.

C1Shared

Initial proposal

The scope, the four candidate paths, and the acceptance criteria each deliverable is measured against.

Open initial proposal
C2Shared

Project plan (20 May)

Client leadership facing: plan against actual, the 80-hour envelope and the delivery date.

Open project plan
C3Shared

Mid-engagement update

The halfway checkpoint: progress against plan, blockers cleared, and the calibration on scope.

Open mid-engagement update
N

What happens next

Stage 1 answers where the Group stands and what it should do. This is how that becomes action, should the Group choose to pursue Stage 2.

N1The Group

Review this set

Three decisions are the inputs: the direction change (D2 §7), the onboarding owner and the sourcing model (D3 §6). The end-of-Stage review is the forum.

N2CrossVal

On expression of interest

The Stage 1 findings are synthesised into a Stage 2 proposal: scope, sequencing to the Q4 2026 window, sourcing and commercials on the hybrid model, and the delivery cadence. Delivered within five working days.

N3Either way

Or trigger it now

If the direction is already clear, one message is the trigger and the proposal work starts immediately. The earlier the start, the more of the Q4 2026 window the build keeps.