Financial Management
Cygnet Bay Pearls
Senior financial leadership across ten entities, without the cost of a full-time CFO — and more than $5m a year in R&D rebates and tax offsets.
Results at a glance
Entities under one compliance framework
10
Annual R&D rebates and tax offsets
$5m+
Forecasting
Three-way modelling
The challenge
Where they were
Cygnet Bay Pearls needed a highly experienced CFO. The business had reached the size and complexity where its financial systems, its financial strategy and its accounting team all needed senior oversight — and where the absence of that oversight was starting to show.
What it could not justify was a full-time appointment at that level. The choice appeared to be between paying for capability the business did not need every day, or continuing without it.
What we did
- Provided part-time CFO services — senior financial leadership scaled to what the business actually required, with direct oversight of the accounting team
- Integrated point-of-sale systems into the financial reporting stack so trading data and financial data told the same story
- Managed R&D funding claims, board packs, budgets and CAPEX planning as a single connected cycle
- Established three-way cashflow forecasting and modelling to support both day-to-day cash management and larger investment decisions
- Built a sophisticated financial management system the business can continue to run itself
The outcome
What changed
Compliance accounting is now overseen across ten entities under one framework. Annual R&D rebates and tax offsets exceed $5m. Three-way forecasting and modelling has improved cashflow management and given the board a proper basis for investment decisions. The business has CFO-grade financial leadership on the days it needs it, and a financial management system that holds together on the days it does not.
Measured results
- Compliance accounting overseen across 10 entities
- More than $5m a year in R&D rebates and tax offsets
- Point-of-sale systems integrated into financial reporting
- Three-way forecasting supporting cashflow and investment decisions
Related work
WGAC
Asset and project feasibility
A $9m expansion at Ngula Jar Island, tested before a dollar was committed — and modelled so that government and private funders could both say yes.
$9m secured
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Part-time CFO services
$15.6m in funding secured and a growth plan the whole business is working to — Australia first, then the offshore markets behind it.
$15.6m secured
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5S implementation
Operations up 60%, downtime down 55%, errors down 40%, schedule adherence at 98% — from 5S, Kanban and a management team that now runs its own improvement cycle.
60%
Read the case studyRecognise the problem
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