Appointed to support the commencement of a program delivering specialised care services in regional and remote communities for a major Queensland human services provider, we carried out a ground-up review of the organisation's existing service delivery governance processes and documentation, and assessed the same against relevant national service delivery standards.

We assessed key elements including uplifts required to meet the national standards relative to current performance, along with the gathering and preserving of necessary supporting evidence.

We handed over to BAU as the program commenced and became established within the organisation.

Appointed to support the Corporate Services Program Lead responsible for driving the modernisation of legacy finance systems and processes within a large, complex, state-wide human services provider, we delivered a range of outputs including:

• Business cases which identified achievable improvements in core operational processes and systems (including by way of workflow improvements, off-the-shelf SaaS solutions and necessary integrations)

• Identification of opportunities to generate cash, drive savings, and improve yield

• Cross-functional engagement to support the implementation of solutions identified

The business cases we delivered progressed through the organisation's approval and resource allocation processes, for implementation.

Appointed to assist a multi-site human services provider, we carried out a series of investigations into underlying performance challenges being faced by a number of business units, including analysing financial performance (historic and budgeted), workforce, market (competition; demand), and built environment.

Our work included:

• Obtaining, analysing and synthesising information from disparate data sources (at varying levels of data quality)

• Interviewing key business managers and team members in functional support roles (finance, HR, asset management, property, and other sector-specific areas)

• Site visits and engagement with business unit leaders, key staff and external stakeholders

• Authoring reports on the business units to ensure users were informed, and understood the challenges being faced at the business unit level

• Managing the project's governance program, including via Steering Committee and Board sub-Committee

• Preparing reports to the Steering Committee, Board sub-Committee and, ultimately, to the main Board

Our work culminated in the making of appropriate recommendations on the future of the business units involved.

At the business unit level, our recommendations were targeted at delivering cost savings and growing revenue affected by operational underperformance.  At the portfolio level, we recommended simplifying management via strategic decisions to alleviate operational challenges faced, and the optimisation of regional representation.

The organisation's main Board endorsed our recommendations, following which we developed frameworks for the delivery of our recommendations and handed over execution to the organisation's BAU teams.

We were engaged by a large provider of funded residential aged care services to review and establish functional requirements for accuracy and timeliness in billing and accounting for funding under the AN-ACC funding model, which commenced on 1 October 2022.  Challenges encountered included:

• The legacy core system was no longer supported by the original vendor

• A highly manual operating environment between external/revenue-source systems and internal/revenue-raising systems, coupled with a manual reconciliation process between multiple systems; and

• Aged and inconsistent core data, requiring significant rework and refreshing

We brought education, direction and leadership to the responsible teams, and helped drive the organisation's approach to addressing the impact of the AN-ACC funding model, enabling core systems to be reviewed, updated and deployed so that records were successfully transitioned, and claims could be made and reconciled in a timely manner.

Engaged to support the newly appointed CFO of a leading Queensland NFP service provider, our Principal worked with the CFO to help maintain stability during a very challenging time in the organisation's lifecycle.

Our support included:

• Team stability, resource, and continuity given a significant reduction in capacity prior to the new CFO's appointment, and further departures following his appointment

• Supporting the CFO in onboarding and engaging new team members

• Supporting the build of the 2022 budget (substantiating segment revenue; assessing model; challenging key assumptions for validity)

• Delivery of December 2021 audit and financial statements

• Ground-up review of Grants & Programs, and submission of quarterly and annual acquittals

• Comprehensive Investment Portfolio accounting review (including accounting policies/application of AASB Accounting Standards, and monthly reconciliation and accounting procedures)

• Deep-dive into two of the organisation's primary service lines: Accommodation (5 properties at $16m valuation) and Client Transport (fleet of 30 vehicles requiring intensive management)

At the conclusion of our assignment the CFO had stabilised his team and, having been able to remain focussed in a forward-looking manner due to our support, had substantially progressed a number of critical projects, and also supported the CEO in leading the Executive through the establishment of the organisation's strategic outlook.

Reporting and budgeting rebuild: as Treasurer of a multi-program community-based service provider, and in response to a number of red flags, our Principal carried out a deep dive into the organisation's financial reporting structure and underlying financial health.

Through this investigation a number of areas were identified for urgent attention, including:

• A budgeting and reporting environment that did not allow the governing body to fully understand the organisation's financial position

• Operating surpluses on viable programs being used to fund operating losses on other, unrelated, programs

• Limited visibility on the true level of central costs

We presented our report to the organisation's governing body, and then worked with the organisation to both (i) fully rebuild its financial reporting and accounting structure, and (ii) manage its budget to ensure it moved to a more stable financial footing in full alignment with its obligations to its funders.

Our Principal took a specialist multi-site retailer through the process of aligning its Mission, Vision and Values with practical, deliverable, operationalised actions which helped drive the business to outstanding double-digit LFL sales growth.

A fully-aligned performance measurement framework was designed and implemented and, utilising commercially-available productivity software, Operational Supervisors were given tools which enabled them to conduct in-store spot checks and collate observational data via their smartphones.

The cascade of the overarching framework was:

• Mission, Vision, Values

  • Attitudes and behaviours

    • Operationalised actions

      • KPIs and targets

        • Appraisal program

Via cultural mechanisms such as a weekly update, staff meetings, daily sales calls, regular feedback to the team and annual awards, along with the example set by management, the organisation’s culture led its operations, and the business outperformed its brand-name competitors in both sales volumes and customer service.

We led a complete rebuild of the AML/CTF compliance environment of a multi-site specialist financial services business (including manuals, training, and policies and procedures).

By establishing a sense of pride in delivering a thorough approach to regulatory compliance, we built a clear and enduring sense of purpose in this important area of the business.  Our principal acted as the businesses statutory compliance officer and the business maintained a clean record throughout.

In Non-Executive Leadership scenarios (including in a current role), alongside full participation at Board level, we have led subcommittees in the area of Finance and Risk.

By engaging with risk-owners in the organisation, we stay informed about key risks facing the organisation, and ensure Board stakeholders are fully informed.

We lead in a practical manner including by proactive workflow monitoring, supported by regular meetings to discuss progress and identify any issues that need to be addressed.

Over a short term contract we worked with a Brisbane NFP to support it as it hired to replace its incumbent CFO.  Our work, which was highly "hands on", included:

• Support to close the 30 June 2021 audit

• Preparation of the July and August 2021 financial statements

• Review and updating of key asset and liability accounts, including constructing usable roll-forward tables for FY22

• Full update of the funding compliance schedule (including key dates; reporting obligations and income profile)

• Insurance renewal for 2021/22

• Recommendations to the organisation about process improvements

As CEO of the organisation, our Principal led a specialist multi-site retailer through successful rollout of the businesses bricks-and-mortar presence, expanding from a strong presence in its home state into greenfield geographies, doubling in size to 30 locations down Australia's Eastern seaboard.

Key elements of the project included:

• Preparing and gaining stakeholder approval for an ambitious growth plan

• Executing demographic research in respect of the businesses target market

• Inspection, assessment and selection of multiple potential locations in target geographies

• Collaboration and development of partnerships to achieve the targeted growth, including leasing; retail; design; build; certification; hiring of both front of house and supervisory staff; wholesale arrangements; and referral network for business development

The business successfully challenged and swiftly acquired market share from competitors, setting a solid platform for future growth.