Service · Decision & metrics audit · Watertown, NY
Check the beliefs you run the business on.
Every organization acts on assumptions nobody has re-checked in a while: about customers, costs, vendors and its own numbers. We find them, test the riskiest ones, and give each one an owner and a date to check again.
Sounds familiar?
When this helps
If one or more of these describes your organization, this is a good place to start.
Signs it's time
- Decisions get made on "that's how it's always been"
- Two reports disagree and nobody knows which one is right
- A metric looks fine, but the business feels worse
- Nobody remembers why an old decision was made
How it works
Four steps, one written result
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Collect the beliefs
We list the assumptions and numbers your key decisions depend on, and when each was last checked.
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Age them
Each belief gets an age. The old and the unknown ones are where the risk sits.
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Test the riskiest
We check the three riskiest beliefs against current facts and report what still holds.
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Set re-check dates
Every belief gets an owner and a date to look again, so it doesn't quietly go stale.
What you get
A result you keep
Each engagement covers one area of your operations and ends in writing, so the work outlasts the conversation.
You get
- A written belief ledger
- The three riskiest items, tested
- An owner for each belief
- Re-check dates that keep it current
What this isn't
- A financial audit or tax review
- Blame for past decisions
- A one-time report that goes in a drawer
From the research
Read before you call
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Epistemic Debt: Why Organizations Sound Confident Long After They Stop Knowing
Most organizations don't fail because they lack data. They fail because they lose track of why they believe what they believe.
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Decisions Without Expiry Dates: Why Organizations Can’t Review What They Decided
Most decision records preserve the choice and lose the assumptions that justified it. Without recorded conditions for revisiting, later review collapses into judging…
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Why Evidence Erodes: The Structural Pattern Behind Organizational Knowledge Decay
Analysis of epistemic debt — the systematic gap between what organizations believe and what is actually true — examining how it accumulates, why it goes undetected…
Questions
Before you get in touch
What is epistemic debt?
The gap between what an organization believes and what is actually true. It builds up quietly, and it is usually where AI and automation go wrong. This audit finds it.
What does it cost?
Every engagement is quoted up front. After a short call to understand the situation, we send a written proposal with scope, timing and price, before any work begins.
Do you work on site?
Yes, in Watertown and across Jefferson County and the North Country, or remotely anywhere. We work in English and Spanish.
Do you sell or install software?
No. We don't resell or configure vendor platforms, so the advice isn't tied to a product. If a tool is the right answer, we say which and why.
Who you work with
Local, and in writing
WBA is an independent advisory practice in Watertown, New York, working with small and mid-size organizations across Jefferson County and the North Country, on site or remotely.
More about WBAStart here
Tell us what's going on
A few sentences is enough. We usually reply within two business days, with questions or a suggestion on where to start, and an honest answer on whether we are the right fit.