The ability to research and write a formal business plan is an important skill in effective middle or senior managers. The business plan may serve as a roadmap to the business, and/or as a device to help secure strategic assets such as investment funding and key personnel. Without a business plan, firms may proceed from crisis to crisis. This could be avoided by adequate forward planning. Persons starting their own business and companies wishing to expand require business planning skills. Employers want graduates who can research and write formal business plans that integrate all aspects of a business into a coherent document.