Consultancy Firm Crisis Management

The Challenge

An organisation faced the imminent loss of its ISO 27001 certification after the management system had been entirely neglected for a year. No internal audits had been conducted, significant organisational changes had gone unrecorded, and the remaining project team had completely stepped away, believing recertification was entirely unachievable. With a punishing three-month deadline before the external assessment, the business faced massive commercial risk, as losing the accreditation would breach critical client contracts and halt new business pipelines.

The Solution

Gary took total ownership of the failing compliance programme to stage an immediate recovery. Infusing the project with structure and momentum from day one, Gary rapidly executed an emergency turnaround strategy:

• Gap Analysis & Mapping: Gary swiftly identified the process deficiencies and unmapped structural changes that had accumulated over the previous 12 months.

• Rapid Audit Execution: He systematically planned and completed a comprehensive internal audit across the entire business scope within the compressed timeframe.

• Stakeholder & Auditor Management: Gary rebuilt internal confidence and proactively established a transparent, constructive working relationship with the external certification body ahead of their formal site visit.

Gary’s methodical approach and deep expertise completely flipped the project's trajectory, transforming a defeated internal culture into an audit-ready team.

The Impact

• Perfect Audit Pass: Gary successfully guided the organisation through the rigorous recertification process with zero adverse findings or non-conformities.

• Commercial Safeguarding: Retained the firm's prestigious security accreditation, successfully protecting existing revenue streams and commercial credibility.

• Compliance Restored: Revitalised a abandoned Information Security Management System (ISMS), leaving the business with a sustainable framework for future governance.