I am strongly committed to increasing the financial and management skills of SMEs in the Newcastle/Hunter region.
I provide essentially the key services an internal Financial Controller would provide, but do so on an at-call basis at a cost effective rate, to those generally smaller organisations who do not have the need (for whatever reason) for a full time internal Financial Controller.
I do not provide any tax or year-end compliance services as those are specialist aspects that need to continue to be provided by the external accountant/tax agent for the business. However I certainly work in closely with the external accountant, and indeed all other suppliers such as bookkeepers, bankers & solicitors, to ensure the business receives an integrated seamless service.
I find that the first stage of most assignments involves assisting the management team, including the bookkeeper of course, in developing formal processes and procedures to enhance financial management. The initial priority areas are often:
- preparation of a detailed budget for the ensuing financial year
- a staff costing model to incorporate direct and indirect labour costs together with an overhead recovery rate
- a detailed cash flow projection, based initially on a monthly timeframe but with capacity for weekly analysis
- a business performance summary to assist in the understanding of prior performance and better predict future performance. This includes key Profit &Loss and Balance Sheet trends/ratios plus a Cash flow Statement.
From this point discussions expand across all management areas according to the particular needs of the individual client.
A key outcome of my ongoing support is the up-skilling of management to enable them to progressively expand their understanding of the financial and management drivers of the business. In turn this assists the owners to better plan/manage the organisation and ultimately achieve their aims
Peter Coughlan
02 49 421 693
0425 266 118
14 Bianca Close,
Charlestown, 2290, NSW