“Keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.”
A seasoned professional with an extensive career spanning more than 20 years in the financial services, legal and information technology consulting sectors, encompassing executive-level roles as a board member and general manager of an Australian financial services licensee.
As chief financial officer and head of governance and compliance, Sally played a crucial role in the strategic growth of the companies she has served, successfully overseeing numerous acquisitions, integrations and mergers. Her involvement in operations management and various internal committees has given her the opportunity to influence strategic and operational decisions, playing a key role in shaping the success of the businesses she has had the privilege to be a part of.
Sally’s firm command of best practice financial administration, astute human resource management and adept understanding of systems and processes reflects her expertise. This has been pivotal in ensuring smooth business operations across the various roles she has held.
In her most recent role, Sally ensured the comprehensive governance and streamlined management of the entire finance function, coupled with diligent oversight to ensure the compliance and control for risk. Her role spanned a spectrum of crucial business functions, encompassing cashflow management, expense management, risk management, budgeting, meticulous financial reporting and contract review that ensured alignment to business objectives.
Defining Moments
In my experience, when an organisation moves past start-up into a period of rapid growth, there often comes a point where a robust internal finance system is required to successfully implement their growth strategy. I gain great satisfaction from the challenge of devising and implementing that internal finance system based on each organisation’s individual needs. I particularly enjoy teaching teams how to create the necessary reports allowing them to move successfully through their next phase of growth.
There have been many moments in my career which have made me come to truly appreciate my role and the value I can add in a variety of capacities. There are those moments where I can see immense tax savings to be had, which are obviously welcomed by clients, implement structures that I know will bring tremendous value to families and organisations in the years ahead, but there are also moments where clients may be experiencing various stressors such as unforeseen business or personal situations that by taking the time to fully understand the situation and through prudent planning, together we can devise solutions to relieve pressure. Business ownership can feel lonely and there are few trusted professionals with whom business owners can openly discuss their financial situation, so being that trusted person and helping construct solutions that bring relief is hugely satisfying, it means a lot and those moments obviously build close relationships that I personally value.