We will endeavor to reply to all communications by the end of the same business day that it was received.
Certum is the Latin equivalent for the word certainty, which is the 1 (one) thing that clients want from their accountant:
01.
The right advice as and when you need it
- 02.
No surprises
- 03.
Looking after your best interests, not ours
- 04.
Fees and Charges
Certainty in terms of
About David
The Birth of My Accounting Form and Why I started it.
I suddenly found that I really enjoyed working with people, developing relationships and having an impact on their lives.
The name of my firm is Certum Advisory, which has recently been rebranded from Certum Accountants Australia. The new name reflects that fact that we are more than just accountants providing tax compliance services. We are in fact experienced business practitioners who can provide assistance in many areas of business. If we cant provide that advice ourselves, we will have affiliations with someone who does!
Certum is the latin equivalent for Certainty. We provide certainty that you will receive the right advice as and when you need it, that there will be no surprises and that we will always look after the best interests of our clients; not ours.
And in terms of how I started the firm, I had been consulting for a few years and decided to move back to Geelong, which I never thought I would do. But circumstances happen and life just takes you that way.
So I was doing a bit of consulting , and decided to supplement my income by doing some taxation work for a couple of small accounting firms in the region. Usually this was done after hours or on weekends.
Suddenly, I found that I was really enjoying this type of work. In fact loving it!
At 40 years old, and with life skills and maturity well beyond when I first started as a graduate in a small chartered firm, I found that I got a real buzz working with clients, particularly when they requested to see me time and time again.
Years before as a young graduate, I had become disillusioned with the lack of impact I had with clients who I perceived to only be coming in because they had to and not because they were gaining any value from the service.
Years later, I suddenly could see that I was making an impact on their life and business, and that the relationships we developed as a result of it which really motivated me.
Then, an opportunity came up to purchase an accounting practice in Geelong 20 years ago, and I seized the opportunity and that was where it all began, and Certum was born.
COMMUNICATION
At Certum Advisory, we believe that communication with our clients is a critical part of our business. As such, we have established a client communication process that will ensure you are aware of any issue that may impact on you. Our client communication process will ensure that:
So that we can ensure our communication and commitments, we will be changing some of the ways we communicate with you. Our newsletters are already provided to you via email, and can be accessed via our website. Whereas previously these newsletters were populated primarily with taxation related articles, we are now adding articles relevant to improving your business.
We have established a Facebook and Linkedin page from which we will keep you abreast of minor law changes, business issues, social events and other relevant information. To ensure that we understand your business in greater detail, we will be scheduling regular face to face visits. We want to be part of your management team from a financial perspective, so that we can provide you with the most proactive service and advice to grow your business and protect your assets.
All of our accountants schedule time each morning to make calls and attend to other administrative issues. As a general rule, client appointments are now scheduled after 9:30am to achieve this purpose. Further time is made available each afternoon for similar purposes. I personally do not schedule any appointments before 10:00am.
JOB TURNAROUND
We have set a goal that any job that comes into the office at Certum Advisory will be completed within 10 working days of receiving all required information. We have made this commitment to ensure that you will always know where you stand financially and have the information readily available to make financial decisions.
Achieving this goal will require some changes to our existing systems and processes, but we are sure that the end result will allow us to be more proactive in our service to your business.
To ensure that we are able to meet this job turnaround commitment, we will be planning our workflow for the entire year. This is based on our current workload and knowledge of your needs. As such, we will schedule an appropriate time for us to complete your work. If this is not convenient or if you require additional advice or services prior to this time, please call us on 52 779600 to discuss.
Should you have a job that needs to be completed urgently, a fee surcharge may be charged to compensate our team for working additional hours, or rescheduling other jobs. We will discuss this with you should this ever be the case.
Our office will call you prior to the scheduled date to remind you that your job is about to commence, and provide you with a checklist, which will ensure we have sufficient information available to complete the job on time. The job will not be started until we have all of the information on hand, and the ten day turnaround commitment will not commence until all information has been provided. This prevents inefficiencies of constantly putting down and picking up the job.
In order for us to achieve the job turnaround commitment.
PRICING
We endeavour to provide an accurate quotation for the job upfront, before the job commences.
This price is based on our understanding of the job, and the amount of time taken to complete the job in previous years. We will provide a formal written Terms of Engagement document which outlines the price, scope of the job, and terms. We will not commence the job until this document is signed.
In the event that we find that additional work is required to complete the job, we will advise you immediately of the change in the scope and price to complete that job; and will not proceed until you sign off on the updated engagement.
Our team
Feel free to replace me with your own unique and meaningful message or content.
David Cooper
Director
David has over 30 years’ experiences in all aspects of business including SME’s, corporate and government.
Nick Neocleous
Tax Manager
Nick worked for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) until 2014. before venturing into private practice.
Margaret Hipwell
Practice Manager
Looks after the running of the office, including accounts, invoicing, ASIC compliance, assisting with workflow management and database maintenance.
Ali Farokhi CPA
Accountant
Ali has a Master of Accounting and Financial Management from
La Trobe University and has recently completed his CPA studies.
Daniel Brockett
Assistant Accountant
Daniel joined the team at Certum in the role of an Assistant Accountant. He provides supports and assists with general office duties as required.