Content reviewed and verified by Graham Chee, with FCPA-led practice at Local Knowledge, Mascot NSW. Continuous CPA Australia member since 1986. Prior career at Goldman Sachs, BNP Investment Management and Merrill Lynch..
TL;DR
“Advisory” is one of the most over-used and under-delivered words in accounting. Here is the standard a Sydney business should hold its adviser to.
Key Takeaways
- A regular cadence — quarterly at least — not just at tax time.
- A short set of numbers that matter to your business, tracked over time.
- Forward-looking cash flow and scenario forecasting, not just history.
- Advice you can act on this quarter, with clear trade-offs.
- Independence — advice tied to your interests, not a product ledger.
Advisory is a cadence, not a one-off meeting
Genuine advisory is not an annual “how did the year go” chat, and it is certainly not a product being sold to you. It is a regular rhythm of looking at the right numbers, asking the right questions, and turning the answers into decisions — quarter after quarter. The value comes from consistency: small course corrections made in time, rather than dramatic interventions made too late.
The best advisory relationships feel almost unremarkable from the inside, because problems are caught early and opportunities are acted on while they are still opportunities. That is the standard to hold your adviser to: are you making better decisions, more often, because of them?
The hallmarks of real advisory
A regular cadence — quarterly at least — not just at tax time.
A short set of numbers that matter to your business, tracked over time.
Forward-looking cash flow and scenario forecasting, not just history.
Advice you can act on this quarter, with clear trade-offs.
Independence — advice tied to your interests, not a product ledger.
Accountability — the principal owns the advice and signs off the file.
The numbers that actually drive an SME
Most businesses drown in data and starve for insight. Good advisory cuts through to the few metrics that genuinely move your business: gross margin and where it is leaking, the cash conversion cycle (how long between paying for something and being paid for it), customer concentration, and the difference between reported profit and cash in the bank. For a Sydney SME, add the local pressures that quietly erode margin — wage cost growth, rent, and the timing of BAS, superannuation and PAYG instalments hitting the same account.
Once you agree on that short list, advisory becomes concrete. Every quarter you look at the same numbers, you see the trend, and you decide what to do about it. That is the difference between an adviser who tells you what happened and one who helps you change what happens next.
Our advisory rhythm
Set the scorecard
Agree the handful of numbers that define success for your business.
Report monthly
Timely, reconciled management accounts so the scorecard is real.
Meet quarterly
Review the trend, the forecast, and the decisions in front of you.
Act
Agree specific actions with owners and timeframes — then follow up.
Plan tax alongside
Because good advice and good tax planning are the same conversation.
Worked example
A Sydney SME engaged us for quarterly advisory. In the first session we built a simple scorecard: gross margin, debtor days, and a rolling 13-week cash forecast. The forecast immediately showed a cash squeeze three months out, caused by debtor days drifting from 30 to 52. Rather than a crisis, it became a plan: tightened invoicing terms, a modest deposit on large jobs, and a follow-up routine on overdue accounts. Debtor days came back to 35 within two quarters, and the forecast squeeze never materialised. Nothing dramatic — just the right number, seen in time.
"Advisory is measured by the decisions it changes, not the reports it produces."
Frequently asked questions
Q.How is advisory different from compliance?
Compliance looks backwards to meet obligations — returns, statements, BAS. Advisory looks forward to improve decisions — pricing, cash, structure, investment. You need both, but only advisory changes the future.
Q.How often should we meet?
Quarterly works for most SMEs, supported by monthly reporting. Businesses in a period of rapid change or stress benefit from monthly.
Q.Is advisory worth the fee for a small business?
When it is real — focused on the numbers that move your business — it typically pays for itself many times over through better margin, cash and tax outcomes. When it is a badge on an invoice, it is not. Hold it to the standard in this article.
Q.What if I already have a bookkeeper?
Excellent — clean books are the foundation advisory is built on. We work with your bookkeeper and add the forward-looking layer on top.
Q.How do you keep advice independent?
Our advice is tied to your interests and signed off by the principal under the CPA Code of Ethics. We do not sell financial products, so there is no hidden ledger behind the recommendation.
About the Author
Graham Chee, FCPA, CPA, GRCP, GRCA
Principal and Founder, Local Knowledge
Graham Chee is the principal and founder of Local Knowledge, an FCPA-led Australian practice that brings institutional-grade compliance, investment-structure and intellectual-property experience directly to owner-managed businesses. Graham is a Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA since November 2005, continuous CPA member since 1986) and holds the OCEG Governance, Risk & Compliance Professional (GRCP) and Governance, Risk & Compliance Auditor (GRCA) designations. His prior career includes senior roles at Goldman Sachs, BNP Investment Management and Merrill Lynch. Graham was previously portfolio manager of the Asian Masters Fund (IPO December 2007 – 31 December 2009), which returned +29% in AUD terms versus the MSCI Asia Pacific (ex Japan) benchmark. He signs off on 100% of client files personally.
Areas of Expertise:
Speak with our principal
This article provides general information only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Speak with our principal for advice specific to your circumstances. Every file is signed off by our principal under the CPA Code of Ethics.
Graham Chee FCPA, CPA, GRCP, GRCA · Principal, Local Knowledge · Mascot NSW · CPA-signed files