INTHEBLACK December 2021 - Magazine - Page 38
GET SMART
// M E E T T H E C F O
AT A
GLANCE
Colin Aynsley FCPA oversees all
aspects of the finance, IT and
property functions at Lifeline
Darling Downs and South West
Queensland. He is also the former
CFO of the Cancer Council in
Queensland and CFO at the
Uniting Church in Australia.
In Aynsley’s commercial
career, he worked at
Universal Press, JLG
manufacturers and
Bundaberg Brewed
Drinks. He has been in
the not-for-profit
sector since 2000.
Aynsley was educated at
Macquarie University and
gained his CPA in 1983
and FCPA in 2015.
AS TOLD TO ADAM COURTENAY PHOTOGRAPHY LUKE MARSDEN
A NUMBERS
STORY
COLIN AYNSLEY FCPA, CFO OF LIFELINE DARLING DOWNS AND SOUTH WEST QUEENSLAND,
FOCUSES ON TELLING THE COMPELLING STORY BEHIND THE NUMBERS WHEN
DEMONSTRATING THE RELEVANCE OF COMPLEX FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
MY ROLE
SI M P L I F YI NG TH E JARGON
Most of my duties relate to IT and financial
functions, but the real job is about explaining
to people where the not-for-profit (NFP) is
sitting financially.
In an NFP, there are a lot of non-financial
people who don’t understand the jargon, so
I try to express all things as stories. Financial
information means nothing until it’s relevant
to them. I can’t effect financial change without
them, and I need them to want to come to me.
We have four main income streams. State
and federal government grants provide
community human service programs in
Toowoomba, on the Darling Downs, and in
far south-west Queensland.
Our second is the social enterprise business
division, which includes 16 “op shops”, two
“containers for change” depots and an overseas
export market.
Our third comes from our disability arm, and
our fourth income stream is from fundraising
activities and general donations.
My role is to partner with our managers to
ensure that money is spent intelligently within
the required period – if you don’t spend
government money wisely, you lose it.
As we operate in a rural environment, we
need to be able to get the right people there – if
you’re living in the outback, where do you find a
38 ITB December 2021
financial counsellor? It’s about much more than
putting together a straight profit and loss sheet.
GAME CHANGERS
FOCUS O N VA LU ES
Twenty years ago, I worked for the largest
printer in Australia and was heavily involved in
manufacturing-related accounting, but at the
age of about 40, I began to feel there was more
to life than making money for other people.
I worked for a number of NFPs from that age
onwards. I joined the Uniting Church in Australia,
then the Returned and Services League of
Australia and then the Cancer Council
Queensland.
I realised that, if I managed the money well,
more could be spent on individuals in need.
The most important difference was that, in a
commercial context, people are focused on
return. In the NFP arena, they are focused on
mission and values. That can sometimes mean
you make a loss.
MY CHALLENGES
STRONG ASSET P O SI T I O N
With Lifeline Darling Downs, the big issue is
making sure the organisation has a solid asset
and cash base.
There are many great NFPs that haven’t
built enough cash reserves around them. My
challenge is explaining that you have to put
some aside, because if something like COVID-19
comes along, you have the resources to weather
that storm.
The treasury function demands I invest in
things that keep a return coming. Do we lease
properties or buy them? What sort of loans do
we take? If we make a profit, how much do we
keep in reserve and how much do we spend?
Getting people to understand profit in our field
is more difficult than you might think.
I have witnessed first-hand the financial
distress that the seven-year prolonged drought
has brought to our region of operation. We’re
dealing with suicides, self-harming, domestic
violence and relationship breakdown.
In the past seven to eight years, we have
allocated almost A$1 million to our farmers
and their families. Since the advent of Zoom
counselling sessions, we have witnessed a
positive increase in men accessing counselling
online. More needs to be done – we operate in
over 550,000 square kilometres. Queensland is
a very big state, and we continue to do our best
to help those most in need during these
unpredictable times.
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