17 August 2021

Being in business can be challenging, scary and lonely. But it can also be very rewarding when you find the right business partners who can help you through your ups and downs, support you through decision making, and step in to help when you need it.

As the CEO of Hawksbury Community Living Trust, a network of residential support services that assist adults with intellectual disabilities to live in their community, Kim Morton understands how the right accounting partner can provide more than just tax support.

Hawksbury has used Findex as an outsourced finance function for over five years and strongly values the benefits of the service, which helps enable their support staff to be out with residents where ‘they are making people’s lives better every single day’, rather than tied to their desk.

Adding value through virtual finance services

Dealing with administration, complicated payroll legislation and calculations, chasing bad debts, and working out what technology solutions you need are all parts of running a business that many leaders struggle with. But, unfortunately, many fall into the trap of thinking their business is too small to justify using an accountant as a virtual finance partner.

But what about the opportunities lost because you didn’t have time to do something? What about the broader impact you could have by not being tied to administration? What about having the time and energy back to focus on the things you are good at and letting experts deal with the things they’re good at? Wouldn’t that be better for everyone?

What your business requires from a virtual finance partner will depend on your specific circumstances. Depending on your needs, they can serve as any combination of your:

• Payroll clerk.

• Accounts payable person.

• Finance administrator.

• Insurance and banking broker.

• Business adviser.

• Financial support partner.

What your business could gain from a virtual finance partner

A good virtual finance partner should operate as an integral adviser working within your business, providing you with access to expertise in a wide variety of areas such as financial management, payroll, HR, and insurance to name a few.

They will help manage your financial compliance obligations, and provide advice and recommendations on your employment, tax, or general obligations under the Companies Act. And their knowledge in best practice systems and processes can help your business stay relevant, respond quickly and stay connected to your customers.

There’s also the added bonus of eliminating some employment challenges like the inconsistent delivery of outputs, turnover of senior staff and impacts of annual, sick, parental, or unplanned leave. Not to mention the added time it allows you as the business owner or leader to focus on doing what you enjoy or what is critical to push the business forward.

Hawksbury chose to work with Findex in order to simplify their everyday business needs and we have been able to assist in several areas including budgeting, periodic reporting, preparation of annual accounts, payroll, cashflow forecasting, systems implementation, customer invoicing and supplier invoicing, in order to efficiently manage the day-to-day needs of the Trust. This has given the staff at Hawksbury the time to focus on what’s most important to them – making people’s lives better every single day.

WatchHawksbury Community Living Trust’s storyor listen to theextended versionof their story on our podcast.

To see how Findex helps empower our clients with the tools to write their story the way they want it to be, visitYour Story is Our Business.