Introduction
Thank you for visiting my website.
Before introducing our “Profit Improvemence Plan and Financial Resilience Strategy” here’s a brief overview of my corporate background. With over 25 years’ experience in C-level roles—including CEO, CFO, and General Manager—I have worked with start-ups and multinational companies across six countries. I’ve also served as CFO for three ASX Top 50 companies and held board positions in large and small organisations.
As a business advisor, I help owners and CEOs uncover opportunities and solve critical challenges to drive sustainable growth and performance.
I support clients in enhancing both individual and organisational performance, aiming to achieve sustainable growth.
Profit Improvement Program
Our Profit Improvement Program is available in two forms :
- I typically work initially with Business Owners, mainly in one-on-one-meetings using zoom. Your CFO is welcome to attend at your discretion.
- Occasional Face to face meetings are available in Sydney and the Blue Mountains
Many organisations encounter challenges in meeting profit objectives and identifying sources of profit leakage during growth phases. Productivity shortfalls often persist due to uncertainty regarding their root causes. Our team specialises in diagnosing the fundamental issues that impair profit performance and addressing the inefficiencies that impact overall profitability.
Research demonstrates that waste and inefficiency can represent up to 30% of an organisation’s operating costs. We provide comprehensive assessments to uncover inefficient practices and missed opportunities, equipping clients with actionable strategies to maximise profitability.
Our Approach
Our senior advisors, each possessing extensive cross-industry experience, employ established tools and methodologies designed to enhance profitability and minimise inefficiency. Key components include:
- Profit Formula: An examination of core profit drivers, offering insights aimed at optimising revenue streams, minimising overheads, and reducing variable expenditures.
- Seven Wastes: A powerful process pioneered by Toyota that focuses on identifying where waste is occurring in your organisation and developing removal strategies leveraging a customised version of the renowned Seven Wastes methodology (developed and used by Toyota on their vehicle production lines) that will guide participants through an effective process that will identify and address inefficiencies, potentially up to 30% of operating expenses
Focus on Practical Results
We leverage proprietary tools to ensure the profit improvement process becomes seamlessly integrated within standard business operations:
Additionally, our team supports the implementing of profit improvement plans through a blend of face-to-face and online implementation services. This approach enhances the probability of successful outcomes by systematically tracking actions online, providing just-in-time training, and ensuring personnel accountability.
Your One-page plan should be monitored regularly by your CFO for any significant changes in between your quarterly executive committee or board meetings.
Financial Resilience
How to Build Financial Resilience in Your Business-Image from Pexels
Financial Resilience-Overview
The impact of covid 19 dramatically highlighted the importance of financial resilience. Strong Financial Resilience requires businesses to adapt their financial frameworks to deal with a much more volatile environment in which profitability, cashflow and access to funds are experiencing simultaneous pressure.
There are 3 key elements in creating financial resilience in your business:
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Cash Management and Stress Testing
At the time of writing in mid-2024, in spite of the high-level of uncertainty in the world, which increases the importance of accurate and timely cash management & forecasting, many businesses are still not taking action to improve their capabilities.
The current environment requires companies to have the capabilities required for both understanding their current cash position and how much cash they may require in the short to medium future.
Even for cash-rich companies, the potential benefits of accurate cashflow forecasting are numerous.
At the time of updating this document, some businesses that were healthy Pre Covit-19 were still under financial pressure, with staff members contracting covid 19 taking time off work whilst they are still infectious or unwell, and severe staff shortages as the level of unemployment is at record low levels, and with inflation at record high levels meaning their cost base has increased significantly.
The uncertainty and disruption, they are experiencing means they are also having to update their cashflow models frequently, in some cases revising them weekly, and making sure that they will have access to sufficient funds available to meet their short-term financial commitments.
To implement the above quickly, medium and large size businesses have been forming Agile Multi-Disciplinary teams, including talented people from functions such as IT, Admin, HR, Legal, Media and Communications, Finance and Operations.
The Agile team should still be focused on managing and upgrading their cashflow models to deal with the uncertainty and disruption that is showing no signs of resolution any time soon!
If you don’t have the required resources currently available in-house, you might consider bringing in a financial expert to set up your cash forecasting process and to train your finance-team to manage it going forward.
Small businesses with limited manpower resources should also consider bringing in a financial expert to set up their cash-forecasting process and to train your team to manage it ongoing.
Financial stress testing is about identifying the areas of vulnerability in your business so plans can be tested to address them in a timely and proactive manner should the need arise.
This will allow you to determine the length of time your business can trade under different scenarios and give you time to engage with key stakeholders (shareholders, regulators, banks & any other potential sources of funds) to negotiate outcomes.
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Liquidity & Financing
Ongoing uncertainty over demand and supply chain resilience is creating liquidity pressure across the business.
Your Agile Team will need to evaluate funding strategy options, including existing lenders and other sources of capital in order to meeting your funding needs in the time available.
You should continue to engage regularly with other key stakeholders to keep them informed of any potential short-term funding concerns and maintain awareness of any changes to interim funding and payment alleviation options supported by government.
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Financial Crisis Response & Contingency Planning
Businesses in immediate cash crisis had to take steps to preserve cash balances by restricting payments to only the most business‑critical vendors as they mobilise contingency plans
If insolvency looks unavoidable, carry out contingency planning to decide the insolvency strategy most likely to protect value for creditors.
Directors should consider their duties in a financially distressed situation, the duties owed by directors’ shifts from shareholders to creditors. Personal liability and disqualification risks should be considered.
Strong Ongoing Financial Resilience will require businesses to adapt their existing financial frameworks to deal with a much more volatile environment in which profitability, cashflow and access to funds are experiencing simultaneous pressure.
To support the cash position and forecast the key underlying ratios should be available to the executive team. The key ratios would vary from business to business but would typically be:
- Current Ratio: Current assets/Current liabilities
- Quick Ratio: Current Assets-Stock/Current liabilities
- Accounts receivable days
- Accounts payable days, and
- Inventory day
An ongoing process should be in place to manage these factors and they should be regularly reviewed by top management.
Next Steps
If you believe I might add significant value by working with you in an advisory role, to take your business and personal life to the next level, and you would like to learn more, just click on the button below to:
You will receive an email confirmation and a reminder from my booking system prior to the meeting.
You can View my LinkedIn Profile Here
Funding Options for your Growth Plan.
If you are really serious about growing your business–unless you are fortunate enough to have cash or liquid assets available to fund your business, you’ll have to embrace funding. Funding, whether it’s debt or equity, always involves due diligence. So, the business books need to be watertight.
They’re going to want to know every single aspect of your business, because they need to confirm the value of your business. Cash is the fuel for your business. Growth requires more cash.
I have access to a number of sources of funding. In todays market, there are numerous potential sources of funding available. To learn more click on the link below: