Fyrirtækið breytir stefnunni.

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So here:

• fyrirtæki = company
• fyrirtækið = the company

and

• stefna = policy / strategy
• stefnunni = the policy / strategy, but in the dative form

This suffixing of the article is one of the most noticeable differences from English.

The forms you would normally look up are:

• fyrirtæki = company
• breyta = to change
• stefna = policy, strategy, direction, course

The sentence uses inflected forms:

• fyrirtækið comes from fyrirtæki
• breytir comes from breyta
• stefnunni comes from stefna

• Fyrirtækið is nominative singular. It is the subject of the sentence, so nominative is expected.
• Stefnunni is dative singular. It is the object of breytir, and this verb takes the dative in this meaning.

So even though English would just say the policy with no visible case marking, Icelandic shows the grammar directly in the noun ending.

Because in Icelandic, many verbs require a specific case on the noun that follows them. This is called case government.

You learn this verb as:

• breyta + dative = to change something

So:

• breyta stefnu or breyta stefnunni uses a dative object

This is not something you can always predict from English. In English, change just takes a normal direct object. In Icelandic, the verb still means change, but the grammar requires the dative.

A very useful habit is to memorize Icelandic verbs together with the case they require.

Breytir is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of breyta.

Here that matches the subject fyrirtækið, which is singular:

• ég breyti = I change
• þú breytir = you change
• hann / hún / það breytir = he / she / it changes

So Fyrirtækið breytir stefnunni literally has the structure The company changes the policy/strategy.

Yes. Icelandic present tense often covers both:

• changes
• is changing

Which one sounds best in English depends on context.

So this sentence could be understood as either:

• The company changes the policy
• The company is changing the policy

If Icelandic wants to stress that something is happening right now, it can also use:

• vera að + infinitive

For example:

• Fyrirtækið er að breyta stefnunni.

That more clearly emphasizes an ongoing action.

Yes, but with rules.

This sentence has a normal, neutral order:

• Fyrirtækið breytir stefnunni.
• subject + verb + object

In Icelandic main clauses, the finite verb usually stays in second position. This is the V2 pattern.

So if you move another element to the front, the verb still stays second:

• Núna breytir fyrirtækið stefnunni. = Now the company changes/is changing the policy.

You can also front the object for emphasis or contrast, but that sounds more marked:

• Stefnunni breytir fyrirtækið.

So yes, the order can change, but not freely in the same way as English learners sometimes expect.

Stefna can have several related meanings, including:

• policy
• strategy
• direction
• course

In a sentence about a company, the most natural meanings are usually policy or strategy.

So the exact English choice depends on context. If the surrounding text is about business planning, strategy may fit better. If it is about rules or corporate decisions, policy may fit better.