Outsourcing - Russell Colbourne

Russell Colbourne : Your Money Machine

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INTRODUCTION
Your business is Your Money Machine.  In this Show – I’ll take you under the hood of your enterprise and show you how to fine tune your business.  Get ready for lift off as we add rocket fuel to your profitability!  This show is focused on businesses that have launched and are preparing for exponential growth.

Are you sure you’re ready for exponential growth?  Getting your mindset right to transition from business owner to CEO.  Are you prepared to give up some control and trust others to help you build?  As well as ensuring all your systems and standard operating procedures have been documented and are in place, you will need to ensure your financial reporting provides you with the feedback you need to run your business. 

Outsourcing is nearly always cheaper, more efficient, and more flexible than hiring in-house staff. You can use outsourcing to tap into expertise and experience not available in-house (technical or managerial) or to identify and then reduce the costs of support services.

What You Need to Know - The What

• .The benefits of outsourcing
  
• What can be outsourced
  
• How to use outsourcing in your organisation
  
• The main reasons companies don’t outsource
  
• How a part-time CFO can help you to leverage outsourcing.
  

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​What You Need to Do - The How

There are many activities that sit behind each of the 12 boxes and the list below is not exhaustive, but merely gives some examples of what a business owner needs to consider in the area of outsourcing:

• Evaluate you company’s current and future requirements; 
• Discuss a company-wide strategy/protocol for taking on outsourced providers; 
• Investigate specific outsourced suppliers (starting with the CFO Centre’s national network of trusted providers) with proven track records; 
• Evaluate providers’ core competencies to ensure you find the right match; 
• Discuss cost implications in detail and uncover any hidden costs before contracting the supplier; 
• Interview suppliers to ensure they will be a good cultural fit; 
• Ensure that the supplier will be able to deliver the service on time and to the right standard:
• Challenge providers about their data security and integrity; Request from providers that they share their contingency plans in the event of serious problems;
• Evaluate providers’ training programmes and ability to support your business in case of staff sickness and absence; 
• Discuss providers’ compliance policies to ensure that they will take on the responsibility (where appropriate) to adhere to laws and regulatory requirements;
• Manage the relationship with the sourced provider to ensure value is delivered

Shows 

• Previous: Episode 3 – Tax Planning and Legal Issues
• Next: Episode 5 – Banking Relationship

 
Written by Russell Colbourne, FCCA, GAICD
Your Money Machine

Russell is a CFO and Entrepreneur who has worked across a diverse range of industries over the past 25 years.  After a short service commission as a pilot flying Seaking Helicopters in the British Royal Navy, Russell studied business and qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) in the UK. Since then he has been integral with the start-up of many successful companies and operations within larger organisations.  He has bought, sold and spun off business operations in the UK, Australia and the US. 

In 1994 Russell joined Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airlines where he was responsible for a number of innovative services that were, at the time, ground breaking and helped revolutionise air transport.  From launching the world’s first limo boat on the River Thames to developing the world’s first handheld check-in device and implementing drive through check-in booths around the world, Russell has helped the Virgin Group deliver unparalleled customer service. In 2000 Russell was the first of the Virgin team to arrive in Australia to start a new low cost Airline, and within 8 months had built a team operating flights between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Russell now works as a Part Time CFO for a number of SME businesses in South Australia.  He is a Director of a health and wellbeing business; a crowdfunding website for educational costs and of the Founder Institute program in Adelaide where he lives with his wife and 3 teenage sons,
 

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