Chapter IX.

Three engagement shapes.

Every mandate the firm signs is scoped against one of three shapes. Fixed Fee Advisory for defined deliverables. Contingency or Gainshare for verified-savings work against a documented baseline. Annual Retainer for buyers carrying continuous exposure across multiple publishers. The shape is matched to the buyer's risk and timing. It is never matched to the firm's revenue preference.

Speak with a Senior Advisor Compare the shapes

The firm carries three engagement shapes because the buyer's exposure to a software publisher arrives in three shapes. An audit notification is bounded and time-pressured. A renewal anchor is bounded but distant. Continuous exposure across multiple publishers is not bounded at all. The shape of the engagement is the shape of the risk that the buyer is asking the firm to hold.

Every mandate opens with a written scope letter, a named senior advisor, and a two-signature countersignature discipline. The scope letter sets the engagement deliverables, the named advisor on the file, the second-partner countersigner, the retention period for every position paper, and the fee structure under one of the three shapes above. The scope is signed by the buyer, by the named advisor, and by the second partner. The same three signatures appear on every transmitted position during the engagement.

How the shape is selected.

The shape is matched to the buyer's risk and timing during the opening conversation. Fixed Fee Advisory is used where the deliverable is bounded and the timeline is short. Contingency or Gainshare is used where the buyer wants the fee tied to verified savings against a documented baseline. Annual Retainer is used where the buyer carries continuous exposure across multiple publishers and prefers a standing advisory function with all-year, all-vendor access. The firm does not push a shape against the buyer's preference. The firm declines to scope an engagement at the wrong shape.

What every shape holds in common.

Every shape is buyer-side at every line of the scope letter. Every shape is led by a named senior advisor who signs every position transmitted on the engagement. Every shape uses the two-signature countersignature discipline. Every shape closes with a written baseline reset and five-year retention of every position paper. The shape changes the fee mechanics. The shape does not change the firm's working method.

Comparison

How the shapes differ in mechanics.

Mechanic

Fee structure

Fixed Fee is fixed at scope letter and never re-quoted. Contingency is a defined percentage of verified savings at closing. Annual Retainer is a fixed annual fee banded against the buyer's relevant publisher spend, billed quarterly in advance.

Mechanic

ii.

Timing

Fixed Fee runs four to sixteen weeks. Contingency runs twelve to twenty-six weeks against a typical audit or renewal cycle. Annual Retainer runs a twelve-month rolling commitment, renewed against a documented review.

Mechanic

iii.

Scope

Fixed Fee is scoped to a single publisher and a single deliverable. Contingency is scoped to a single publisher and a defined baseline. Annual Retainer covers every publisher inside the firm's fourteen practices, every renewal anchor in the calendar, and any audit notification that arrives during the retainer.

Mechanic

iv.

Risk

Fixed Fee places the cost risk on the firm if the deliverable is heavier than expected. Contingency places the closing risk on the firm. Annual Retainer carries no per-engagement cost risk for either party, balanced through the retainer review at year-end.

Mechanic

Named advisor commitment

Identical across every shape. One named senior advisor signs every position. A second partner countersigns. The two named signatures stay through to closing. The named advisor does not rotate and does not delegate to a junior team under any shape.

Mechanic

vi.

Closing baseline reset

Identical across every shape. Every engagement closes with a written baseline reset, a closing memorandum, and a five-year retention of every position paper, counter-position, and scope letter inside the firm.

Named senior advisor

The advisor on the engagement letter signs every position document. There is no leverage model, no rotation of junior consultants onto the audit response, and no anonymous correspondence with the publisher.

II.

Two signatures on every position

Every written counter-position is signed by the senior advisor and countersigned by a second partner before transmission. The buyer holds two named signatures on every position document for the five-year retention period.

III.

Independence at every shape

Admodum is not a partner, reseller, or affiliate of any software vendor. No reseller margin, no referral commission, no audit subcontract from any publisher. The independence undertaking is in every engagement letter and reviewed annually.

IV.

Written scope letter

Every engagement opens with a written scope letter signed by the buyer, the named advisor, and the second partner. Scope creep is rejected in writing. Any expansion of scope is signed against an addendum to the original letter.

Closing baseline reset

Every engagement closes with a written baseline reset. The closing position, the contractual amendments accepted, and the live obligations carried forward are tied into the next preparation cycle through the Renewal Programme.

VI.

Counsel coordination, never displacement

Where an engagement escalates to a legal threshold, the senior advisor coordinates with the buyer's counsel through to legal close. Admodum remains advisory. Counsel remains the legal lead. The two roles are explicitly distinct in the engagement letter.

Three engagement shapes.

The shape is the scope letter.

How the shape is selected.

What every shape holds in common.

Match the shape to the exposure.