Services.
What we do.
The new world of business is transparent and interconnected. Our clients can do more, see more, and connect more. But you still need guidance and advice from expert partners you can trust. Partners like us. We believe being professional means including the personal, because trust and understanding are what success is built on. We look after you as people, not numbers. We keep it real.
So – where shall we begin?
Accounting services.
This is the heart of what we do and where all the numbers come from so we can provide you with advice, plans, strategies and forecasts.
There’s a lot more to accounting services than meets the eye, so check out our full range of services.
If accounting services were part of a book, they would be Chapter One – which everything else hinges on. From here we get to know you and your business and discuss with you how we can help you achieve your goals.
If you want to skip ahead to the end, then check out business transformation or financial services.
Business advisory.
The numbers are one thing, but what does that really tell us? We know what happened but we are more interested in what is going to happen. What should we plan for? How best should we prepare for change? What change do we want to make happen?
Every decision you make in your business comes with significant costs, the most notable being time and money. So let us help you. We can use your data to run through some scenarios, we can talk with you and your management team to find out where you want to head, what you need to get there, and help you plan and put your strategy in place.
The strategy not only takes into account the all-important numbers, but we make sure your business is primed and ready for change. It’s all about the big picture – your people, systems, processes and plans. Do you have an overall strategy? Do you know what you are aiming for?
What are the key cost drivers of your business?
When you sat down and looked at your financial statements, could you see where the main costs are in your business, whether that’s changed from last year, and whether it makes sense?
“Sometimes it’s the simple things that we look at all the time that if we spent a little time on them would make such a big difference,” says Graeme Rhodes, our business efficiency guru.
“In our financial accounts we include the gross profit percentage for the current year and the previous year. Even that gives you an indication of how things are tracking because profitability is important. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle,” continues Graeme.
It’s one thing to deliver a set of accounts and another to understand what they are telling us. Our business advisory services do just that – take the information we have and interpret it for you and your business.
Tax planning and compliance.
We have a highly talented team of accountants who will assist with the preparation of your annual accounts, management reports, GST and FBT returns, tax returns and all the other bits and pieces you need to be compliant.
That’s all well and good, but don’t you want to know you are doing things the right way, paying the right amount of tax and have the best structure in place? Do you have the right software for your business and is it helping you run your business, or making it harder?
We like the tough questions! From the moment your financials touch our desks we start looking for clues that you might need some advice on how to make your business better and make the most of what you’ve got.
We’re also a Xero certified practice, so if you haven’t already made the switch we are more than happy to help you get there. We’ll train you on the best way to use your software and all the apps and extensions that can help even more.
Business lifecycle.
Just like we go through ages and stages, so do businesses. And we can help with each of the hurdles your business faces through its life.
Whether that relates to a change of shareholders or directors as people move in and out of the business, or if it’s succession planning as you pass your business onto the next generation or next owners, we are here to help.
Maybe it’s time for you to consider selling your business. We can help by running due diligence on your current business and make suggestions to make it more attractive to sell, so you achieve the rewards for all of your hard work.
Or, you might be in the market to purchase another business and increase your share.
Whatever stage or decision process you are about to embark on, let’s talk first, and we can advise you on the way forward and help with your plans, valuations, strategies and more.
What is the value of your business?
When it comes down to the decision to sell your business, quite simply you want to know what you can get for it. But what is the value of your business? Is it the balance sheet number? But what about your product sales potential and growth opportunity?
That’s the first place to start when we look at readying a business for sale. Because to maximise the value of the return, you need to ensure it’s a sound operating business. The new owner needs to walk in and see your people, systems and process are all in working order.
Alternatively, if you are looking to acquire another business, how well is that priced? By looking at the financial statements you can make a sound assessment on how it’s trading to know the price is worth it.
Come and talk to us – we can find the simple answers you’re looking for.
Forensic accounting.
There are situations where we need to go through accounting records with a fine-tooth comb. It may be a few questionable transactions that have come to light, it may be as part of a matrimonial dispute, or as part of a wider review of processes so internal controls can be established to ensure mistakes don’t happen in the future.
Whatever brings you to forensics, it’s an increasing part of our work and Oxford Edge Director Belinda is often in court. She’s on the right side of the law, by the way, usually giving evidence after reviewing the accounts. She’s our qualified expert in this field, and will be happy to help.
If you’re a legal firm looking for some assistance then Belinda can provide guidance and advice.
Belinda Canton – our forensic accounting expert.
Being called into a courtroom isn’t unusual for Belinda. Having completed her studies in forensic accounting, she regularly provides expert witness testimony for cases throughout New Zealand.
Recently, Belinda has been working on a case for a company that noticed a problem when large amounts of cash were being paid to a supplier that technically didn’t provide the business any services.
“The internal accountant involved raised a few red flags with the CEO which lead to a staff member being terminated,” says Belinda. From there, it was a case of back-tracking through several years of transactions to see when the dubious transactions started and to identify just how much money was being stolen.
Once the case is heard and the money is refunded, it’s time for Belinda to provide advice and support to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again. By setting up internal controls through additional levels of payment approval you can protect your business from fraud.
Outsourcing.
Outsourcing is a great way of moving those essential parts of your business that need to be done, to others who are experts in the field (and who can power through it rather quickly). So why not move your accounting data processing through to our team of super-fast numbers people?
You can focus on what you do best and know that the experts are sorting out your accounts, in the right way. You only need to jump in when you have to pay tax and keep an eye on your cashflow.
There are a range of service levels available depending on your needs. Call us to have a chat and we can tailor a solution that meets your requirements.
Don’t spend your precious time on things that we can do for you.
Enquire about outsourcing your accounting.
If you want to know more about our outsourcing services, get in touch and tell us a bit about your business. Our experts would love to have a chat about how we can help.
Xero.
Unless you’ve been asleep for the last decade or so, you would have heard about Xero.
We’re proud to be Platinum Partners with Xero and believe in the power of this cloud-based accounting software. As a practice, we now live inside the Xero ecosystem, and use it to run our practice and to prepare financial accounts for our clients.
We’re such big fans of Xero, we can’t help but extol its virtues to anyone who will listen. You may be:
- Using Xero but not maximising all it has to offer;
- Afraid of switching because you’ve only just got the hang of the system you are using;
- Already using it, but have only a basic knowledge and want to know more; or
- Interested in one of the connected ‘apps’ that would make working in your business even easier.
Whichever situation you find yourself in, we are here to help.
Business transformation.
Remember when things were simple? When you started out and served your customers and everything worked well. But then you got a bit bigger, and you had more customers, more orders, and things became a little more complex.
Yet you’ve made it work. You and your team are going above and beyond to fill the gaps in the process, or creating work-arounds so the software doesn’t break, or delaying holidays because it’s not safe to leave at month end.
Unfortunately, all of this extra effort starts to take its toll and staff leave. You get stuck in the day-to-day and your stress levels rise as your ability to grow the business falls.
This is where the transformation team comes in – we make things simple again.
We help you put efficient processes in place, get smart integrated systems up and running and ensure you have the right people in the business doing the right things.
What we transform.
We start by asking what it is you want to achieve. By knowing what you want to achieve and where you are headed, we can provide a solution that will meet your current and future needs. We want to solve the problems, not exacerbate them!
Once we understand what you want to achieve, we then look at the way things are done now, the people involved, the processes you have running and the customers you have.
We put that together into a flow diagram and think about the technology solutions that could help to bring that together. Then we look at any additional “bolt-ons” for if you want your different software suites to talk to one another.
The benefit of our advice is that we aren’t beholden to any one solution or technology provider, so we assess your individual needs, your industry, your processes and your customers and find the solution for you.
How we transform.
We talk to everyone. Yes, it’s a simple as that. We need to talk to everyone in your business who uses systems to find out what they do, how they do, where and with what.
Only then can we understand the complexity of what you are working with, the work-arounds, the nice-to-haves, and everything in between.
Once we have a plan mapped out we will approach the technology providers on your behalf, then work on a proposal that includes the costs of the software, implementation and training.
We work with you to ensure the implementation goes without a hitch and are there to support you and your team as you make the transition and work with your new solution.
We transform businesses every day. Let the next one be yours.
Financial services.
Now, when we talk about financial services, what we really mean is your finance obligations. Or specifically: your debt.
Which inevitably leads us to talk about banks. And that’s good, because our team know the “bank speak” and are here to help our clients transact with their banks on a whole new level.
What does that mean exactly? Well, they can do a range of things for you, but they like pictures (they are bankers after all), so here’s their services in a nutshell and how they can help.
- Review your existing funding structure and make sure it meets your current and future needs.
- Restructure your current funding arrangements so it works more effectively both now and into the future.
- Represent you in discussions with your bank, saving you time and energy.
- Refinance to an alternative provider if your existing bank isn’t giving you the best deal for you.
- Report on your behalf to your bank in a language they understand and continue to support you.
What we hear.
Often our clients tell us their bank doesn’t understand their business. The next question is, well, does that matter? Would that impact the level of service you get from the bank, or indeed what your bank offers you?
Another challenge for our clients is that their relationship manager at the bank changes, and they seem to have a new contact person each week. The new people are a little greener than the person they were dealing with, so they aren’t getting the true bank smarts most of the time.
When our clients do need to have “that” chat with their bank, they’re not always sure what information they need to provide. What do you need to tell them? What paperwork do you need? All of this takes time, and often it’s time you can’t afford.
Clients are also confused about what they are signing up for and whether their costs are appropriate given their size and industry. They also ask whether the rules and regulations they have in their contract are standard. Do you understand the covenants you are signing up for?
How we can help.
That depends! Yes, we know that isn’t really an answer. But the thing with Richard and Matt is that they are so experienced – having seen it and heard it all before – that they can tailor their service to what you require.
At the end of it all, they want to make sure you:
- Have a great relationship with your bank;
- Have a bank who understands your business;
- Sign up for financial arrangements that suit you and are cost competitive; and
- Are aware of your obligations and can meet them.