This guide walks you through configuring your ActionPath — Step 1 of the ActionPath framework. By the end, you will have a complete improvement plan with selected strategies, target ratios, and a projected FHR. For background on what ActionPath is and the three-step framework around it, see Introducing ActionPath.
Before starting, make sure your FHR has been generated for your most recent financial submission. ActionPath uses your FHR analysis as the foundation for prioritizing goals and recommending strategies.
Step 1: Review your financial goals
When you open ActionPath, you are presented with the financial areas impacting your rating and the specific ratios that require attention. Each goal is prioritized — Critical, High, Moderate, or Low — based on your FHR assessment. Critical and High priority goals deliver the largest projected FHR impact and are the recommended starting point.
Step 2: Select your strategies
Click View Strategy on a goal to see the strategies available for that financial area. ActionPath surfaces the most critical strategies first, so you can focus on the highest-impact options. You can add multiple strategies to your plan — they often compound, especially when you combine complementary approaches across categories (for example, pairing a revenue strategy with an operational efficiency one).
Step 3: Define your implementation plan
Each strategy presents up to nine practical implementation suggestions to help you execute. Select the suggestions most relevant to your situation — these become your actionable items. ActionPath also provides suggested commentary you can use to explain what you plan to do and how. You can use the suggested text as written, edit it, or replace it entirely with your own.
Step 4: Set your target
Below the commentary, set a target ratio you want to achieve. As you input values, the benchmarking chart updates in real time, showing four reference points: your current performance, the high-risk industry average, the low-risk industry average, and a suggested target. Use these to calibrate — set a target that stretches performance while remaining achievable given your capabilities.
When you finish, click Add to ActionPath and move on to the next strategy. As you build up strategies, the panel at the bottom of the page updates to show how many you have added and the projected FHR improvement if you achieve your targets.
Step 5: Review your plan
When you navigate back to your account summary, you see a summary of your complete ActionPath with three metrics: your current FHR (for example, 51 — Medium Default Risk), the expected improvement from your selected strategies (for example, +15 points), and your projected FHR if all your targets are achieved (for example, 66 — Low Default Risk). You can edit or delete any individual strategy from the summary at any time.
Best practices
To get the most out of ActionPath, focus first on your Critical and High priority goals — these deliver the largest projected FHR impact. Combine complementary strategies where they make sense; pairing a revenue strategy with an operational efficiency one tends to compound effects. Set targets that stretch performance while remaining realistic given your capabilities and the industry benchmarks ActionPath surfaces. Keep your plan updated as you execute by uploading new financial data. And share the plan with stakeholders — clients, leadership, your finance team — to demonstrate commitment and create alignment around the work.
Next steps
Once your plan is complete, you can share it with your clients. See ActionPath Sharing Overview for how sharing works and ActionPath Sharing: A How-To Guide for the step-by-step. For an explanation of how the projected FHR is calculated under the hood, see How ActionPath Models the FHR Projection.