Kimberley Aboriginal Law & Cultural Centre (KALACC)
Business Type: Aboriginal Corporation
Client Since: 2015
We’ve helped the Kimberley Aboriginal Law & Cultural Centre (KALACC) achieve greater financial insight. In turn, they’re now in a better position to allocate funding to their programs and create an even greater positive impact on their community.
Background
KALACC is an Aboriginal corporation, which is a specific type of not-for-profit legal entity. They support the traditional cultural practices of the 30 Aboriginal language groups of the Kimberley region in Western Australia.
KALACC receives funding from up to 30 streams at any time, including government bodies and private sector corporations. Therefore, their financials are especially vast.
When GeersSullivan first started working with KALACC in October 2015 their financials were approximately 6–12 months behind. This made it difficult to aptly allocate funding to their activities or know exactly what was left to spend within their grants.
Additionally, with programs often funded by several grants there’s more to track than your average not-for-profit. As Wes says, KALACC’s finances are “a bit like a juggling act – there are always balls in the air and things being shifted from one place to another!”
Our Approach
We have a very hands-on, responsive approach to working with KALACC. Our Senior Manager, Tom Francis, is the primary contact for their day-to-day needs, with assistance from Director Chris Grieve.
GeersSullivan’s role can be likened to an external Chief Financial Officer and accountant in one. As well as completing financial reports and assisting with grant acquittals, we also help with strategic planning, provide guidance regarding salary issues and so on. Tom even travels to Broome every 6 months to be part of KALACC’s Annual General Meeting or brief the Board.
It’s a collaborative relationship where we’re responsive to KALACC’s specific needs, such as holding training sessions with staff. We translate the financial things so that KALACC’s team can make informed decisions about how best to spend their funding.
In fact, Tom exchanges emails with Wes most days and has such an extensive knowledge of the organisation and its staff that he feels like one of the team. You might say that we’re KALACC’s southern division, 3,000 kilometres away.
Outcomes
GeersSullivan has helped KALACC by:
- Implementing systems that increase operational efficiency and the effectiveness of financial data
- Providing a comprehensive, up-to-date snapshot of their financials
- Increasing the timeliness of reliable, accurate information
- Allowing for better allocation of funding streams to relevant programs and eliminating incidents where funding has had to be returned
- Empowering staff with the knowledge and surety to make informed decisions and plan strategically
- Allowing Wes to divert his attention to more pertinent matters for the organisation, such as sourcing new funding and developing new programs
- Listening to the staff’s needs, helping them to learn and building their confidence in their own financial management
Through our work with KALACC we’ve seen the subtle yet large impact this increased financial insight has had for their organisation and the wider community. It’s very rewarding work.
“I really appreciate how enthusiastically GeersSullivan has entered our juggling act – learning about our organisation, really understanding what’s needed, being extremely responsive and working in a collegial way. It’s good to work with people who have such a commitment to us.” – Wes Morris, KALACC Coordinator