Case Studies

Auscool Services enlists Kennerlys to progress from managing the books to managing rapid growth and future planning

The company name is Auscool Services, yet the pace of growth has been red hot for this owner/operator business in Malaga, Western Australia. 

Auscool Services provides refrigeration, air conditioning, electrical and building services in commercial and industrial markets across WA.  Auscool’s range of services runs from the design level, through to supply, installation, service, maintenance and ongoing equipment monitoring.

The business was founded in 2007 by brothers, Adam and Grant Flanagan, who both have extensive electrical trade experience.  Auscool soon built itself a reputation for providing high quality work from skilled and qualified tradesmen, backed with prompt and exceptional customer service.

Fast growth and new challenges

Auscool’s clientele list was rapidly expanding and included several large pubs, hotels and supermarkets.  In just four years since its inception Auscool had gone from two founders to having 11 employees—while still seeking more staff—and proudly has Coles Supermarkets as its biggest client.

Such rapid growth came with some challenges for the Flanagan brothers.  They wanted to add new clients in other market areas, while continuing to provide existing clients with the exceptional service they were known for.  “The supermarkets were driving the company growth which was great,” said Adam Flanagan, owner and director.  “However it was dragging our focus away from other parts of the business.”

Adam and Grant also required a clearer insight into what was happening within the business on a weekly and monthly basis.  This way changes and improvements could be made quickly, or any potential problem areas could be addressed before they escalated. 

“We were sort of dealing in the past with the business,” explained Adam.  “We lodged our accounts at tax time, but that was too late to make any core changes to the business when we were already at the end of the financial year.”

Word-of-mouth leads to Enterprise Development Services

Auscool was using another firm for its bookkeeping and accounting requirements.  However when Adam and Grant realised they needed transparency into the business and a strategic approach to growth, the brothers asked colleagues and clients for recommendations.  Several people mentioned Kennerlys for accounting assistance and also for wider business services.  The positive responses resulted in the directors meeting with Lejo Ouwendyk, Managing Partner with Kennerlys.  Auscool soon signed up the Kennerlys team to take over its accounting and bookkeeping functions and also began implementing Kennerlys Enterprise Development Services.

Results

Kennerlys developed a strategic business plan for Auscool, “ ... which among other things, gives us the ability to look at our figures for each month, check our budgets, and see how our projects are progressing,” explained Adam

The Kennerlys team also produce a comprehensive, 50-page, monthly report which provides the directors with information such as the company’s financial position at any given point, project updates, staffing and assets levels, cash flow and monthly comparisons.  The directors meet each month with Lejo from Kennerlys and armed with the necessary information and the business advice from Lejo, the Flanagans can now plan on how to expand their business into other market areas in the short and longer term.

“It’s great when the boss of the firm meets with us for three hours each month to go over the report, discuss the highlights and any areas of concern, as well as providing  advice and options on any adjustments to be made,” Adam said.

“Lejo has good ideas and we are already implementing some.  He is professional and really understands our business.  Kennerlys was already helping us on the tax side, and now we’ve hugely benefited already by having them help us in a broader and deeper business sense.”

There were some other surprising benefits that Adam and Grant derived after teaming up with Lejo and implementing the Enterprise Development Services.  “One of the highlights of our work with Lejo is that he has also helped us develop our management and leadership skills and this benefits not only us, but the company, our clients and our employees.”

So while Auscool is not about to cool its growth, Adam explains that Kennerlys has enabled Grant and himself to better manage the business on its rapid forward trajectory.  “We are still growing fast, but instead of chaotic growth, it’s controlled growth.”


End.





Meridian Services uses Accounting and Financial Planning for
Future Business Growth – A Kennerlys Client Case Study

When you’re the best in the investigation, surveillance, assessment and security business who do you turn to when your company’s accounting and financial planning functions need some surveillance and assessment of its own?

That was the question pondered by Kevin Minchinton, director of National Investigation Services of Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Meridian Services, when he realised the firm was growing faster than he and his internal accounting team could effectively manage.

Meridian Services was established in 1981 and is one of the largest and highly regarded licensed investigation and security companies in Western Australia. Providing all sectors of the community with honest and reliable consultation, assessment, investigation and security services, the company’s results often far exceeded its clients’ expectations and as such was experiencing rapid growth.

Time to outsource

Minchinton soon realised he needed to outsource the management of the company’s accounting tasks and he also wanted assistance with financial growth planning, performance and professional business management advice.

Doing what he does best; Minchinton began investigating the best accounting and financial planning business partner to work with, and word-of-mouth referrals from business colleagues pointed him in the direction of Kennerlys. First impressions were high, and after an in-depth meeting with Lejo Ouwendyk, Managing Partner with Kennerlys, Minchinton decided Kennerlys was the right firm to meet Meridian Services accounting and financial planning needs.

“Lejo was approachable and understood the structure of our business,” said Minchinton. “He was very open to new ideas and really wants to help us understand the bottom line and how to grow the company.”

Enterprise Development Services

Minchinton’s company uses Kennerlys Enterprise Development Services which provides a holistic and integrated approach to managing the accounting, finance and business planning functions of Meridian Services.

The specific services that Kennerlys provide to Meridian Services include:

• Business structuring
• Management accounting services
• Bookkeeping
• Corporate secretarial
• Cash flow management
• Performance reporting
• Business management advice
• Strategic planning

“After thoroughly reviewing Meridian Services business, we put together a comprehensive business plan and introduced this to the company. The Meridian management team can now work towards key financial goals, monitor performance and review this against current business objectives,” said Lejo Ouwendyk. “We are committed to helping Kevin make his business an even bigger success.”

Results

While the full implementation of Kennerlys Enterprise Development Services is still being rolled out at Meridian, Minchinton can already see some early benefits. “The services are very helpful in progressing our business, especially with the supply of a structured business plan and introducing this to the company,” he said.

Minchinton also sees huge benefits in freeing up his time and that of his management team to focus on key business growth objectives, while regular accounting and financial management tasks are efficiently managed by Kennerlys. “Once the business plan and associated services are fully implemented it will assist the owners and directors to be able to work ‘on’ the business more effectively rather than ‘in’ the business,” he said.
“Kennerlys’ have shown us that it’s all about the bottom line and that we are able to identify and choose the most profitable part of the business and pursue that goal,” Minchinton added.

With Minchinton and his team now having a strategic business plan to work against in order to meet clear business objectives — and having outsourced bookkeeping and accounting tasks — they will in turn be able to continue to provide an unparalleled level of service to their clients.


End.