- We have years of experience in establishing new businesses: ascertaining the most appropriate structure for the business operations, whether it be Sole Trader, Company, Beneficial Trust, Unit Trust, or a combination of any of these. We have even worked with Discretionary Mutuals. Setting up the capital structure with an eye to the future growth, and working with tax and legal experts to ensure the right measures are put in place, are just the start of our service offering. We help to develop structured and achievable Business Plans, as guides to navigate by and benchmarks to monitor progress.
- Strategic Plan Development is so much broader than just the numbers, as it also encompasses areas of the business such as product, sales, marketing, business environment, logistics and competition. There is little benefit in concentrating on numbers alone. We have sat on Strategic Development committees and been the catalyst driving growth. There are huge advantages in having our “measurement” expertise involved with this aspect of your business. But as with all our services, we don’t just get involved with the high level planning; we also implement these plans to bring them to ultimate fruition.
- Business financing (from seed to growth capital) and acquisition funding. Finance and cashflow is the lifeblood of any business and in spite of profitability, businesses can perish without adequate funding. This is not something that can be approached in some piece-meal fashion, but rather an essential ingredient that must be the product of structured planning. We assist business owners to assess their requirements, the different types of funding and establishing what it most appropriate for their circumstances. With us on your side, we can also help source any external funding that may be required. Financing can be required at start-up, for growth, acquisition or other development. CFO Pro will be your partner at all these major milestones in your business’s development.
- Mergers & Acquisitions assessment. We have assessed dozens of potential acquisitions for clients, and recommended to either proceed or not in the process. And while we take a “numbers” view on the decision, we also factor in the non-financial factors which can be just as important, such as continuity of supply/distribution, synergies, marketplace perceptions and the like. But we go the extra step and assist clients with the actual merger or acquisition, implementing the integration of systems, processes and cultures.
- Due diligence – We have represented both buyers and sellers in both formal and informal due diligence processes. Often existing CFO’s and Finance Teams are fully committed in their time and ability in servicing the day-to- day functions of their business, and get swamped when faced with the added responsibilities of undertaking a Due Diligence process. Here CFO Pro can step in and fill this role with minimal disruption to the BAU operations. These clients are typically listed companies, but are sometimes large private ventures also.
- Implementation of accounting and reporting systems – Xero, MYOB, Click View etc. The implementation is paramount. While the sourcing and selection of systems is important, it can all fall flat if it is not implemented in the most effective manner, taking into account the business operations and workflows within the operation, and the ultimate goals of you, the business owner. In other words, one size doesn’t fit all. While a generic system may be put forward as the best solution for your business, it is not to be implemented in a generic way. It has to be implemented in a manner that will give the best result with the least input; no duplication of duties, simplified operation, documented procedures to free you from reliance on any one employee.
- Financial reporting, analysis and KPI development. Reporting for the sake of producing a report is a waste of resources. You should not produce reports to keep your bank, your accountant or the tax office happy. Reports have to have integrity and most of all, be of significant use and benefit to the business owners. We produce reports that count; reports that mean something. We drill into your business to ascertain what the main drivers are and make sure that you have your hands on these levers of control of your business.
- Re-engineering of existing finance and reporting systems to improve efficiency of systems and usefulness of reports. We don’t always throw out everything that is already in place. Often there is merit in what has been developed over time, but they have lost direction. Our underlying methodology is always to go in and listen and learn before we take any remedial action. In that way we can assure our clients that we will not be re-inventing what they already have, but rather understanding where they are and delivering measurable improvements.
- BAS & IAS returns, and other GST requirements. We are Registered BAS Agents and can attend to all your GST requirements. This includes BAS, IAS, WET and PAYG. Our preference however is simply to put the processes in place so that you can prepare your own returns, empowering your business to be self-sufficient. We are not interested in preparing these returns on a regular basis. Rather, we implement the systems with a thorough knowledge of GST, for you to drive into the future.
- Designing or refining of budgeting and cash-flow forecasting models. Budgets and Cash Flow Forecasts are vital ongoing tools to guide your business, and by which you can measure progress. But like the real data, they have to have integrity. We can develop sophisticated models specifically for your business, models that can be re-used year on year and only updated when circumstances change. These will allow meaningful assessment of actual results and allow business owners to fully understand where their businesses are, and why.
- Resource planning to meet business calendar. Many businesses, by virtue of the industry or sector they operate within, are subject to varying demands on resources over time. We can help your business to predict and plan for these changes, resulting in the most efficient application of resources to the business tasks.
- Assessment of appropriate industry specific business systems. With years of detailed knowledge in specific business sectors, we have a wealth of experience in assessing systems to best suit the requirements of these specific sectors. At the same time we ensure that they satisfy general requirements of all stakeholders, primarily the business owners and operators, but also ASIC, ATO, APRA, Banks, ACCC and any other party specific to your business.
- Establishing or improving Board reporting to ensure effective decision-making and risk management. Our experience in reporting to business owners and operators from single operators to international Boards places us in the best possible position to develop business specific reporting of both financial and non-financial metrics.
- Company secretarial duties & corporate compliance. Our Chief Virtual CFO is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and has been the Company Secretary of many companies over more than 20 years. This wealth of formal training and on-the-job experience is available to your business.
- Audit committee. Larger clients can benefit greatly from having our CFO sitting on their Audit Committee to ensure integrity and compliance with regards to both internal and external audit functions.
- AFSL Compliance. With significant experience applying for and gaining a number of Australian Financial Service licences and then maintaining and ensuring compliance with those licences, we have a wealth of experience to offer clients in this sector.
- Contractual and Legal Compliance. Many clients have a range of legal contracts that they have to comply with, from their premises leases to employment contracts, bank agreements, equipment leases, car finance, sub-contractor agreements, insurance contracts and supplier contracts. These contracts have a great many obligations that have to be fulfilled and we have implemented systems to monitor all of the actions required and performed to ensure compliance.
- New opportunity and special project evaluation. With our financial modelling expertise and business experience, we can evaluate opportunities that you see within your marketplace. In doing so, we can clearing quantify these courses of action and assist your decision making.
- Contract negotiation – use our experience and remove yourself from the burden of negotiating contracts, whether they be premises leases, finance contracts or other business related contracts.
- Determine quantitative and qualitative impacts on the business of new initiatives. We can assess the financial as well as the non-financial results of undertaking particular coursed of action. Our business experience lets us identify key synergies and other scalable benefits that can be brought into your business.
- Mentoring & coaching of finance staff. Having the best systems in place is ineffective if they’re not being used in the best possible way. For that reason we conduct training of your staff to show them the best way to use the systems, the easiest way, with the best results. We explain the “why” so your staff buy-in to the process and have an understanding of what they are doing. Where short-cuts are available, we like to show your staff how to use them to save them time, and you money.
- Creating a positive environment with focus on team effort. Having led many teams, we understand how your staff will function so much better as a team than as a collection of individuals. We ensure that there is redundancy built into the training so that one staff member can fill in for another as and when required and that each in his or her own role works for the benefit of the others in their respective roles.
- Developing learning culture and succession plan for finance departments. As well as developing efficient systems, we can fully document these processes which gives you two main advantages. Firstly, in the event of an unplanned employment termination, you are in a solid position to install a new employee into the role with easily understood instructions readily available. Secondly, by having these procedures fully documented, the value of your business increases significantly as one that a buyer could step into. We always keep a business owner’s exit strategy in mind, no matter how far down the track this may be.
- Evaluating Payroll and other HR systems. Although we are not Industrial Relations experts, we are financial systems experts and the payroll system is one of the financial systems. We have had significant experience setting up and operating various payroll systems and are happy to make this experience available to you.
- Superannuation processing such as SuperStream. This is an extension of the payroll system and one that is becoming more highly regulated. It can be a very time consuming area, so the advantage of a well set-up superannuation system for your employees saves time and therefore costs to you on an ongoing basis.
- Assessing training plans. Many training plans are put in place for compliance purposes. With our expertise we are able to assess these plans and ensure that they are structured to benefit your organisation and a first priority, and to comply along the way.
