Optimise your finance function - global businesses
Some companies employ local staff to represent their Australian interests. Relying on a single or small number of employees however comes with its own risks, including employee retention and potential downtime. It can be difficult to effectively manage employees overseas, and when you aren’t familiar with the tax, accounting and legal environment, there’s limited capacity for oversight.
Our dedicated team ensures continuity – we can be your finance function or supplement your existing team, either way there will always be one of our experienced professionals on the ground who understands your business and is looking after it, all year round.
Optimise your finance function - Australian businesses
No matter what stage of the lifecycle your business is in, you may be a startup in growth phase or a mature business, we can get your finance function up and running quickly, or supplement your existing team.
Outsourcing your finance function
In simple terms, we can do everything that a CFO can do. Whether you’re a foreign investor or local business, working with us means knowing your finance function is being managed expertly and safely.
We can provide:
- Basic bookkeeping
- Monthly management reports, including profit and loss, balance sheet and cashflow
- GST compliance and tax returns
- Annual financial statements (and lodge them with the Australian regulator)
- Both a contact point, and person on the ground for your auditors
- Cashflow forecasting – advising on the amount of cash you may need in Australia or when you can take it out
- Acquisition and restructuring assistance
- Payroll service for any employees you have in Australia
- Helping you to establish a business in Australia
We take complex information and present it in a straightforward way so you can make informed decisions about your Australian interests.
What value can we bring your business?
Cost-effectiveness
Get the functions of a finance team headed by a CFO, without the recruitment processes or commitment of having full time employees. Your finance function can scale up or down as your business changes.
Risk mitigation
Our expertise in Australian accounting and tax, combined with our proactive approach allows you to focus on your other priorities, knowing all your finance obligations are being managed properly.
Continuity
We have a dedicated team of people, and whilst we may seek expertise from other areas of the firm, you have one point of contact throughout the year.
Client case studies
Expanding in an unfamiliar environment
For international organisations looking to expand their operations into Australia, ensuring you comply with local financial reporting and tax requirements can be a daunting task. Our team of dedicated specialists can be your team ‘on the ground’, working alongside your finance team to help navigate Australia’s complex regulatory environment.
Our client, a global luxury retailer with an established presence across Asia, was looking to expand their retail presence in Australia. Unfamiliar with the Australian tax and legal landscape, our client approached PwC to support their global finance team and ensure they were meeting local financial reporting and tax requirements.
Engaging with stakeholders from the local store manager to the CFO in Hong Kong, our team of tax and legal specialists managed all elements of our client’s finance function; ensuring they met local financial reporting requirements as well as managing tasks such as day-to-day bookkeeping, cash reconciliations, GST compliance and monthly reporting, leaving our client free to focus on the successful launch of their Australian stores.
Limited by time and budget
When your business is independent and not-for-profit, completing your business’ objectives when you have budget constraints is a challenge. We can act as your finance team, so you don’t have to invest in a full finance function or a CFO and the associated infrastructure.
Our client was a not-for-profit business set up for a limited time, with committed funds. They also had to report to global stakeholders, each one with their own stringent audit requirements. In order to fulfill reporting requirements and make the most of their budget, the client engaged us to act as their finance function and their CFO.
We handled their financial reporting, ensuring that each global stakeholder’s requirements were met. We concentrated on cash management and budgeting so the CEO and COO, who had non-finance roles, could concentrate on achieving the business’ mandate.
Optimising your restructure to meet business needs
Restructuring your business can be difficult, especially when you have no experience with local tax, corporate and regulatory requirements. How can you ensure that you have considered all the available options and select the business structure which best suits your needs?
Our client, a foreign sovereign wealth fund, acquired a large portfolio of hotels in Australia which required restructuring, based on their commercial objectives. They did not want to establish a finance function in Australia but were concerned with reputational risk if they were not compliant and they were overwhelmed with the complexity of the restructure; so they engaged our team to manage the restructure process.
We presented complex information to the client in a way that they could understand, so they could make informed decisions about their assets in Australia. As a result of the successful restructure, we continued to provide ongoing services to ensure the client received timely financial information and be confident that all of its tax, GST and regulatory requirements in Australia are fulfilled.
Balancing internal demands with external requirements
Often, multinational companies can have complex business structures with exacting internal reporting routines. It can be hard ensuring you meet these internal demands, but even harder when you have to balance this with external demands that you have little knowledge of, such as local tax compliance laws.
Our client, a major global steel maker, held minority investments in a number of coal and iron ore mining joint ventures in Australia for many years. In acting for the client for over fifteen years, we navigate their complex business structure to meet their internal reporting routines. We also ensure that numerous tax and GST issues are appropriately dealt with and reported in Australia.
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