Testimonials

Miaja Design Group

What does Miaja do?
We are an international design firm which provides interior and architectural design services for Luxury Hotels, Resorts , Spas, High-end Residential and Office Development projects around the world. The company’s main focus has been working with hotel operators like ACCOR, TAJ, IHG and Radisson around the globe including the Middle East, India and South East Asia.

What prompted you to take on a CFO Centre CFO?
My business was struggling from a cash flow perspective, leading to a continuous distraction to my team and I from the core business. An “angel” email from CFO Centre popped up in my inbox. Very soon I met Steve Settle, the Regional Director –Asia at CFO Centre. He very quickly understood what we needed, brought in a CFO candidate and in a very short time I had a CFO working part-time for my business.

What specific benefits did you see in taking on a part-time CFO over an additional full-time resource?
In a nutshell, your company gets the best of a seasoned CFO in a very short time. No need to go through the time-consuming process of hiring such a senior professional and making such an investment. No need to wait months to ensure your new hire is fully on board. The CFO Centre CFO was ready to contribute from the very first day.

What was specifically attractive about your CFO’s skillset?
The CFO has brought to my company a palette of skills which a small company is rarely exposed to. Best practices in finance, capabilities to support the business development and operations teams but, primarily, a great dose of business partner’s skills. In addition, a very generous approach to coaching and helping anyone in the organisation

How has having a CFO Centre CFO specifically benefited your business?
The company was geared towards a governance change and it needed to find the right person to guide us in that process, I feel we definitely found that person in our CFO Centre CFO. The Miaja team has found renewed sense of empowerment and confidence and feel we are “headed” in the right direction.
How has it affected your confidence in the future of the business knowing you have a CFO Centre CFO on the team?
Our CFO Centre CFO has learnt with us the pitfalls of our industry and, as much as we were somewhat aware of the difficulties, we never really identified ways to improve or change our methods. He has forced us to look at them individually and find solutions or resolutions. Challenging our steps and looking at better ways together has improved the capacities of growth and awareness in ourselves.
How has having a CFO Centre CFO on your team benefited you personally in terms of your role as CEO?
Having a CFO Centre CFO has been a big eye opener for me as well as the team. It has also helped find within the organisation, existing staff, who started raising to the challenges in ways that changed the company as a whole. We are acquiring maturity and a high sense of responsibility. Each and every person is now involved with their own survival as well as the company’s. The sense of being part of a team has increased and there is no hiding behind poorly managed processes, as these processes are being challenged and changed to increase the financial visibility and give everyone a goal to achieve within their own capabilities.

What message would you have for other growth businesses who are considering taking on a part-time CFO?
Nothing replaces the perseverance and the business instinct of an entrepreneur. However, having a CFO on your side will definitely make the journey more successful and strengthen your company’s resilience to overcome the obstacles.

Amplifier Agency Pty Ltd

Challenge: Amplifier Agency Pty Ltd specialises in providing custom built mobile application solutions for international and Australian clients. Its two enterprises are a cross-platform shareable app called “Snapps” and an interactive music platform for mobile devices – “AirJ”. Amplifier also has other systems in development and is at the forefront of burgeoning mobile applications technology. Due to the success of these leading-edge technologies, the company was experiencing rapid change, growth and operational frustrations. As a result, it required new direction, additional resources and the expertise of a finance executive. CEO Adam Friedman has a strong background in marketing and advertising and is highly creative and interpersonal, but he needed direction financially on how to adopt a cash-flow strategy and reporting structure to manage expansion while mitigating risk. He also needed to free up his time in order for him to focus on the running of his business. Adam had been working with an accountant, who was providing him with advice on past and historic information which was of no value to him. While Adam was working with a number of industry specialists, they lacked commercial experience on a strategic and operational level. Essentially, Adam needed a value add solution that would enable him to grow his business, improve current processes so that he could reap the benefits of his innovative technology-based product while it was “hot” and a market leader.

Solution: CFO Centre’s Alan Sharfman provided Amplifier Agency with insight into how to best manage change and growth. In order to formulate a clear picture, Alan took Adam through the CFO Centre’s 12 Step Model in order to clearly identify those areas within the business that needed improvements. Alan developed a robust financial reporting system that provided Amplifier with reporting structures to measure financial results against budgets and forecasts on a monthly and quarterly basis. He extracted current financial data from Amplifier Agency’s reporting system and provided strategic direction for the CEO, from which he would use to make important operational decisions, solve problems and identify lucrative sales channels. Having identified weaknesses in the reporting of financial information, Alan next step was to provide for a funding strategy for the company’s growth, based on four levels of planning, 12 months, five years, 10 years and finally, an exit strategy. Alan incorporated the total strategic assumptions together with connected financial data to create a medium and long term strategic model for the organisation. From here, they were able to obtain a very realistic view of the resources, marketing and cash flow requirements needed to plan the future stages of growth. Alan then introduced Adam to a select group of venture capitalists and investment banks as they negotiate a funding and strategic plan to grow the company to its next and future stages.

Result: The CFO Centre has now created clear pathway that will support the Amplifier Agency’s products and services and allow expansion given the current opportunities within the mobile applications market. With technology-related businesses, timing is essential, so the forming of a strategic relationships with CFO Centre`s key distribution partners will also fast-track Amplifier`s growth and market positioning to expand beyond its current customer base. The CFO Centre is not just providing operational solutions to the business`s positioning, but is also providing valuable, multi-faceted strategic solutions as the business grows. The Amplifier Agency can incrementally make use of the CFO Centre as the business and its products develop on an ongoing basis.

Amplifier Agency creates innovative shareable smartphone apps for a wide range of businesses, brands and broadcasters that drive sales and create new mobile marketing opportunities. To find out how your business will benefit, call Amplifier on (03) 9690-1010 or email [email protected]

Alan Sharfman
Regional Director, Victoria, CFO Centre

“As a startup, the Amplifier Agency had a solid foundation for growth given the marketing and technology background of its CEO, Adam Friedman. In order to expand on its market leading products and skills, a change of mindset and strategic approach was needed to ensure the business can achieve success with its next stage of growth. This included assessing the resource, reporting, funding and internal controls within the business and adopting a hands-on approach to improve current processes. Once these weaknesses were identified and acted upon, Adam received clear and transparent reports, a manageable cash flow tool and improved resource structuring to streamline the way the business operated. The immediate effect of these changes ensured Adam had more time to run the business and focus on his strategic goals and positioning. Following the successful improvements to the operational side of the business, I continue to work strategically with Adam on a monthly basis as we steer the business to higher growth through prudent strategic alliances and best practices for leveraging off his market leading products.”

Adam Friedman
CEO, Amplifier Agency Pty Ltd

“Alan Sharfman has been a very valuable resource for us at Amplifier Agency. We were experiencing rapid growth and the growing pains that go along with it, and Alan stepped in as a virtual CFO and was able to assist us in a number of key financial and strategic areas. In addition to providing insight into how best to manage the growth and structure of our enterprise and leverage our unique platforms, he also connected us with key industry investors and clients, which has helped us considerably in moving to the next stage of our business development. Alan consistently adds value and I look forward to our continuing fruitful business relationship. I highly recommend Alan and the CFO Centre and greatly appreciate his efforts to date.”

Alan Sharfman used the CFO Centre’s 12 Step Model to gain a clear picture of the business.

I wanted to take a moment to thank CFO Centre and to praise the work that you
have done to support my early and speedy growth in Asia.
When Anytime Fitness Asia started, we had a steadfast focus on growth and
proliferation throughout the region and we exceeded all expectations…. which
was great…. but the consequence of such fast growth was that we didn’t have
our house in order as far as the accounting practices were concerned.
Enter the CFO Centre and a very timely meeting with Steve Settle.
Steve very quickly took stock of our challenges and he suggested that many
entrepreneurs experience the same set of issues – and that moreover, his
company is perfectly positioned to help.
Steve very quickly introduced me to one of his expert CFO’s and before long we
were working on the accounts, putting in great corporate governance and
controls and restructuring the entire company.
Furthermore, Steve’s appointed CFO laid the bedrock for our further expansion
by allowing me to focus on growth while his appointed CFO streamlined and
automated the accounting and reporting process across territories to create a
vehicle for our company to expand Pan-­Asia.
Thanks again Steve, CFO Centre was a key component in the growth of our
business and we are so happy to have found you.

Sincerely

Maurice Levine
Master Franchisee
Anytime Fitness Asia