Date posted: 09/10/2024 5 min read

CAs help boost First Nations businesses

Australian CAs have been acting as coaches and mentors to enhance the edge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs.

Quick take

  • The Minderoo Foundation’s Dream Venture program connects CAs with Indigenous businesses looking for expert advice.
  • CAs provide one-to-many and one-on-one sessions to improve financial literacy and help entrepreneurs with business planning and growth.
  • CA ANZ participants say that not only is it a great experience to work with inspiring First Nations business leaders, it also helps build their own advisory skills and confidence.

Just as Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are globally unique, so are the businesses owned and run by First Nations Australians, says Morgan Wilson CA, founder and director at creditte chartered accountants & advisors in Brisbane.

“At creditte, we work alongside a few Indigenous businesses. One family has been a client since we started our business,” Wilson says. 

“I really enjoy working with Indigenous business owners because, as much as they’re in business to succeed, they also have an ongoing, community-first purpose, regardless of the business’s shape, size or industry. A central desire is to give back to their community.”

Indigenous business is never simply about making money, he says. 

Wilson was reminded of this when he volunteered via CA ANZ to work with a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs earlier this year, via a program run by Minderoo Foundation. Dream Venture offers a share of A$200,000 of seed funding to 10 finalists, in a program that also offers masterclasses to all participants, finalists or not. 

Working together with First Nations entrepreneurs

For four years, CA ANZ has partnered with the Dream Venture program, providing in-kind support in the form of one-to-many and one-on-one financial and growth consultancy services. On behalf of

CA ANZ, Wilson ran one of the masterclasses on financial knowledge and good accounting practice. “That session was all about financial literacy, about understanding the drivers of your numbers,” he says. “The feedback was good, and off the back of that was the opportunity to have a 20-minute phone call, to ask questions and talk about anything they’d like to talk about.”

Out of 40 masterclass participants, around 12 reached out for a further discussion. This was where Wilson was able to do what accountants do best – he listened to people’s business stories, then offered insightful and useful advice.“It was a lot of fun,” he says. “I enjoyed it because I just got to hear different people’s stories.

“The things people wanted to talk about were incredibly varied, from whether they should start a business at all, to staffing issues, to how to understand specific numbers, etc.”

What’s in it for the entrepreneurs?

One participant in the masterclasses was proud Wiradjuri Yinaa woman, Tara Croker, founder of Yaala Sparkling, a drinks business that infuses sparkling water with native Australian botanicals such as Davidson plum, waratah and lemon myrtle.

Importantly, these are flavours Croker’s ancestors enjoyed for generations.

With several stockists around Australia, including certain Dan Murphy’s outlets in Sydney, the business has plans for expansion nationally and globally.

“Yaala Sparkling’s journey was truly boosted by the support of this program,” Croker says. “It provided access to workshops and mentoring sessions with chartered accountants who were particularly helpful, as it gave us the opportunity to focus on our financials and cash flow.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the program’s support to achieve our mission to share our unique Australian flavours with the world.”

Affirmation of CA knowledge

Another CA who offered his time and knowledge to help Indigenous businesses move to the next level is Kieran Hutcheson CA, founder and director of Taurus Advisory in Manning, Western Australia.

Hutcheson’s masterclass focused on small business cash flow and, similar to Wilson, he offered one-on-one sessions afterwards.

“I originally put aside three one-hour periods split into 20-minute calls, and they were all fully booked very quickly,” Hutcheson says.

“I spoke with people from a huge mix of businesses. There was a very niche business focusing on the micro-dosing of hallucinogens from a psychology point of view. There was Yaala Sparkling and its use of native ingredients in soda water. And there was another using native ingredients in beauty products.”

One entrepreneur had researched and developed a cube to replace clothes washing detergent, made from mining waste. These are true innovations, with the potential to disrupt mature markets.

Hutcheson agrees that there is generally a different level of purpose with Indigenous businesses, with a greater focus on community outcomes.

“Of course, overall, the motivation is to succeed financially, but it’s not an exercise that is purely about the bottom line,” he says. “The entrepreneurs have an intrinsic understanding that they’re promoting their culture, both broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and that of their local area. That brings a powerful element of pride to the businesses they run.”

Hutcheson was not just inspired by the stories he heard, and able to offer valuable and practical information, he was also reminded of the value of his own knowledge.

“It really felt like an affirmation of the level of knowledge that CAs actually hold,” he says. “Our knowledge is diverse and covers a lot of areas. I was struck by the amount and level of advice I was able to offer during a 20-minute call, which also included meeting the entrepreneur and hearing about their business. It made me appreciate what I have to offer to clients.

“And so, it was a confidence-building exercise for the entrepreneur in terms of accounting, but also a confidence-building exercise for me in terms of my own knowledge.”

Expanding the CA ANZ/Dream Venture program

Hand in hand with the Wade Institute, a leading centre for entrepreneurial training located within the University of Melbourne, CA ANZ is looking forward to continuing to offer expertise to fast-growing Indigenous businesses.

“We enjoy fostering the connection between our highly valued, professional members and these rapidly growing businesses,” says Jeremy Rowe, CA ANZ’s senior manager, Innovation. Rowe is CA ANZ’s lead on Dream Venture and on the similar CA in Residence program.

“It’s beneficial on numerous levels for our multi-talented CAs to be so instrumental in these high-impact areas of growth,” he says. “It doesn’t just help the entrepreneurs, but also develops the CAs’ advisory skills, which is what our in-kind programs, including Dream Venture and CA in Residence, are all about.

“It’s a win-win, with powerful benefits for everybody involved. We look forward to growing these programs, and others, over the coming years.”