BDO Invercargill

Understand your business today. Plan confidently for tomorrow.

You don’t need to be making a major change to benefit from a conversation with a business adviser. Perhaps your accounts show a profit but cash remains tight, your reporting isn’t giving you the information you need, or you want to spend less time on administration.

Our Invercargill Business Advisory team helps with day-to-day accounting and tax, understanding performance, and planning for growth, succession or a change in direction.

Accounting and tax

Keeping your accounts and tax obligations in order is important, but the numbers should also help you understand your business.

We assist with annual financial statements, accounting and compliance, tax planning, GST, provisional tax and business structures. We’ll talk through what the results mean, what has changed and what you may need to consider next.

Cash flow, forecasting and Virtual CFO services

If you’re making decisions without a clear view of cash flow or future performance, it can be difficult to know what your business can afford.

We help with management reporting, budgets, cash flow forecasts, key performance indicators and scenario analysis. This can include reporting for your board or bank, understanding differences between budgets and actual results, and assessing funding requirements.

When you need more senior financial support but not a full-time CFO, our Virtual CFO services can help with financial oversight, reporting, forecasting and commercial decisions.

Business planning and strategy

You may have a clear idea of where you want your business to go but need help working out how to get there.

We work with owners and management teams to turn goals into practical financial and operational plans. This can include reviewing your business model, setting priorities and financial targets, assessing capital requirements, and testing different growth scenarios.

Business systems, payroll and administration

If your team is spending too much time entering information, reconciling systems or preparing reports, it may be time to review how things work.

We help with cloud accounting, software selection, accounting and operational systems, process improvements and reporting automation.

Our specialist team also assists with payroll processing, payroll health checks and compliance reviews, holiday and leave calculations, remediation and company secretarial support.

Family business and succession planning

Planning the future of a family business involves more than deciding who takes over. Family expectations, management responsibilities, funding and retirement plans all need consideration.

We help owners and families work through succession, ownership and management transitions, shareholder changes and exit options. Where you need a business valuation or advice on a sale or investment, our Deal Advisory team can join the conversation.

Business restructuring and financial pressure

When cash flow becomes difficult or profitability falls, it can be hard to know where to start. Seeking advice early gives you time to understand the position and consider your options.

We help businesses, directors and stakeholders with short-term cash flow forecasts, profitability analysis, independent business reviews, restructuring and turnaround planning, lender discussions and solvency considerations.

Agribusiness advice for Southland farmers and farming families

Farm finances need to support both the business and the people behind it. Our agribusiness advisers help farmers and farming families with accounting and tax, budgets and cash flow, financing proposals, farm purchases and sales, and succession planning.

Whether you’re reviewing performance, considering an investment or planning an ownership transition, we can help you understand the financial implications and work through your options.

Contact Tim Ward, Greg Thomas, Dallas Peters or Kristy Nind to learn more about BDO Invercargill’s Business Advisory Services.

Work through a transaction, valuation or investment

Buying or selling a business, raising capital or changing ownership involves decisions that can shape your future. Our Invercargill Deal Advisory partner Mike Wyeth, provides corporate finance advice and financial analysis to help you assess your options and understand the implications.

Business valuations and independent opinions

What is your business worth, and what affects that value? Understanding why a business is worth what it is, what assumptions underpin that value and what could change it can be critical when negotiating a transaction, introducing a shareholder, planning succession or resolving a dispute.

We provide independent and indicative valuations of businesses, shareholdings, goodwill, intangible assets and other commercial interests. We also assist with employee share scheme valuations, independent expert opinions and reviews of other valuation evidence.

Financial modelling and model reviews

Before expanding, borrowing or committing to an investment, you need to understand how the numbers could change under different conditions. A good financial model helps you understand the financial consequences before committing capital, taking on debt or making a major decision.

We build, improve and independently review models to help management teams, boards, lenders and investors. Our modelling supports acquisitions, capital raising, expansion, infrastructure and renewable energy projects, cash flow and funding requirements, project finance, scenario analysis and strategic decision-making. 

Buying, selling or merging businesses

Buying or selling a business can be unfamiliar territory, even for experienced owners. There are financial and commercial questions to work through alongside the day-to-day demands of running the business.

We help with acquisition advice, preparing a business for sale, mergers, management buy-outs and buy-ins, reviewing offers and transaction modelling. Our support can also include preparing information for buyers or investors and assisting through negotiations and completion.

Financial due diligence

Before buying or investing in a business, you need to understand what sits behind the reported profit.

We help buyers, investors and lenders assess earnings, customer and revenue trends, margins, cash flow, working capital, debt and forecasts. Our analysis helps identify matters that may affect the price, transaction structure or your decision to proceed.

For sellers, we can help prepare financial information and identify issues before discussions with prospective buyers.

Capital raising and investment analysis

You may need funding to grow, make an acquisition or invest in a new project. Understanding how much you need, what the business can support and the implications of different funding options is an important starting point.

We help with debt and equity funding analysis, financial forecasts, valuations, capital structure and investor-ready information. This can include pitch decks, information memoranda, investment returns and the effect of bringing in new shareholders.

Business cases, feasibility and strategic investment decisions

A new opportunity may look promising, but does it make financial sense for your business?

We help assess projects, expansion plans and investments before you commit significant money or management time. Our analysis considers costs, funding, returns, assumptions, risks and alternative scenarios, giving you a clearer basis for deciding whether and how to proceed.

Succession and ownership transitions

When much of your wealth is tied up in your business, deciding how to step back deserves careful thought.

We help owners compare options such as family succession, a shareholder exit, a management buy-out, bringing in an investor, or selling part or all of the business. Valuations and financial modelling help you understand the implications of each pathway.

Purchase price allocation and intangible asset valuations

Following an acquisition, you may need to allocate the purchase price across the assets and liabilities acquired.

We provide purchase price allocation and valuations of intangible assets such as customer relationships, brands, technology, software and contracts. Our work can also cover goodwill and contingent payments, including earn-outs.

Relationship property valuations and economic disparity

When a separation involves a business, shareholding or trust, understanding the financial interests involved can be complex.

We work alongside family law specialists and their clients to provide independent business and shareholding valuations, assess business and personal goodwill, analyse changes in value and review financial information or other valuation evidence.

We also provide financial and valuation analysis relevant to economic disparity claims, including independent expert opinions where required.

Litigation, shareholder disputes and financial loss

A disagreement about business value, performance or lost earnings needs financial evidence that can be understood and explained clearly.

We support lawyers, businesses and individuals with independent analysis for shareholder and partnership disputes, loss-of-profit claims, breach-of-contract matters and other financial loss claims. Our work can include assessing business value, revenue and income streams, reviewing financial evidence and preparing expert reports where required.

Contact Mike Wyeth to learn more about BDO Invercargill’s Deal Advisory Services.

Independent assurance, with clear communication throughout

You may need an audit to meet reporting obligations, provide information to your bank or funder, or give shareholders and your board independent assurance over financial statements.

Our Invercargill team works with privately owned businesses, schools, charities, trusts and other organisations across Southland. We take time to understand your reporting requirements, plan the engagement and explain what information is needed.

Financial statement audits

When others rely on your financial statements, an independent audit provides assurance over that information.

We plan our work around your business or organisation, its operating environment and financial reporting risks. Regular communication helps you understand the process and address matters as they arise.

Audits for privately owned and family businesses

An audit may be required by your shareholders, lender or reporting obligations. Whatever the reason, you need a process that is well organised and takes account of the demands on your team.

We work with privately owned and family businesses, combining senior local involvement with clear information requests and practical communication throughout the engagement.

School and education audits

School audits involve principals, finance teams and boards, often alongside other competing priorities.

Our team works with schools and education organisations across Southland, focusing on early planning and clear communication. We assist with annual financial statement audits, relevant financial systems and controls, special-purpose assurance and reporting of audit findings.

Charity, trust and not-for-profit audits

Funders, donors, trustees and members need confidence in how funds are reported and accounted for.

We provide financial statement audits, review engagements, grant and funding assurance, and other engagements tailored to your organisation’s reporting needs. We’ll discuss the scope with you so you understand what is required and how to prepare.

Review engagements

You may need independent assurance over your financial statements without requiring a full audit. A review engagement provides a lower level of assurance than an audit and may be appropriate for your reporting needs.

We can help you understand whether a review is suitable, taking into account your requirements and those of your shareholders, lenders or other stakeholders.

Agreed-upon procedures and special-purpose assurance

Sometimes a funder, lender or contract may require specific financial information or expenditure to be checked, rather than an audit of your full financial statements.

We can help identify the appropriate engagement. Agreed-upon procedures involve carrying out specified checks and reporting factual findings, without providing an assurance conclusion. Where assurance is required, a special-purpose engagement can be scoped around the relevant information and reporting requirements.

Internal controls and financial systems

As your business grows or changes, you may want to understand whether your financial processes and controls are keeping pace.

We can help review financial processes, systems and internal controls, identifying areas of risk and opportunities for improvement, subject to applicable independence requirements.

Internal controls and financial systems

As your business grows or changes, you may want to understand whether your financial processes and controls are keeping pace.

We can help review financial processes, systems and internal controls, identifying areas of risk and opportunities for improvement, subject to applicable independence requirements.

Targeted assurance and internal audit support

Your board or management team may need independent assurance over a particular area of risk, governance or compliance.

We can provide or coordinate targeted assurance and internal audit support, with the scope agreed around the areas you need examined and subject to applicable independence requirements.

Contact Aaron Higham to learn more about BDO Invercargill’s Audit and Assurance services.

Sustainability is increasingly influencing how businesses invest, operate, report and plan for the future. Through BDO and our wider network, clients can access specialist sustainability advice and insights.

Explore our sustainability services and insights.