95464873195684258

97415632147458796
52374655289+66451
23658/78541315158
96457003654795105
Who Broke my Cashflow?
41023065478965214
56320932587456398
42256531585248651
93784563214796585
31464552154164045
50548796501556856
20417621026658654
11236589951001254
65891376546541454
Chris Hooper

Who Broke my Cashflow?

Chris is one of the most driven people you'll ever meet - he's hungry for
success, knows what it takes, and has the determination to make it happen.
I count Chris among my most trusted sources of advice, particularly for his
long-term perspective and focus on succeeding not just in business, but life
itself. I look forward to watching as Chris makes each and every one of his
inevitable future successes look easy.
Matt Mitchell - Technical Consultant

Chris is one of the most inspirational and energetic people I've come across
whilst working at AIESEC. His vision and drive for Cirillo Hooper as
well as his zest for life is what makes him someone to look up to as a young,
successful professional, and anyone that has had the privilege of working with
him I'm sure will agree!
Jemma Schilling CoFounder of Rogue & Rascal Pty Ltd

Chris has helped us through some of the most rough times! Especially when
you are running a startup business, having someone like Chris and his team
is just invaluable. He has on countless occasions came out to our office and
mentored us through multiple obstacles. Chris is one of the most passionate
accountants that I have ever met! Trust me he is one of a kind!
Vinh Giang - CoFounder of Encyclopedia of Magic

Chris's passion for entrepreneurship and venture capital is a driving force

behind the success of The Startup Club. He is a focused, logical team player
that is driven to achieve the highest levels of success. I choose my colleagues
very carefully. Chris more than fits the bill. Feel free to contact me for further
details about my working relationship with Chris.
Geoff Kwitko - CoFounder ShareScene

From the moment I first met Chris Hooper, I knew that he loves what he
does and takes his business seriously. As a fellow young entrepreneur, I
understand how tough it can be to really establish yourself and your presence
in business - in fact, for all entrepreneurs - let alone manage the financial
success of that business. I have no doubt Chris is exceptional at this, and I
would recommend him to any business looking for high quality, hands-on
financial management.
Emily Gowor - Best Selling Author

Who Broke my Cashflow?

Find out what causes cashflow problems and how to fix them.
Chris Hooper

 2012 Chris Hooper

Published by Cirillo Hooper & Company

C/- Cirillo Hooper & Company

1402/147 Pirie Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000
www.cirillohooper.com.au

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under

International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or
use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without
express written permission from the author / publisher.
While the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information
and instructions in this book are accurate and safe, they cannot accept liability for
injury, loss or damage, whether direct or consequential arising from use of this book.
This book is intended to provide general information only and has been prepared
without taking into account any particular person's objectives, financial situation or
needs. You should, before acting on this information, consider the appropriateness of
this information having regard to your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.
It is recommended that you obtain tax and financial advice from a qualified
professional before making any taxation, investment or insurance decision.

Dedicated to Katie

CONTENTS

AUTHORS PREFACE ................................................................................. 1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................. 2
PART 1: WHO IS CHRIS HOOPER? ............................................................. 5
PART 2: DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOUR BUSINESS? ................................... 7
PART 3: YOURE NOT ALONE! ................................................................. 11
PART 4: WHAT YOU WERENT TOLD ABOUT CASHFLOW ........................ 15
PART 5: THE ANSWER! ........................................................................... 21
PART 6: IMPLEMENT NOW! ................................................................. 27
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ............................................................................. 31

Authors Preface
Cashflow: It is a killer of small business and it is the number one
issue on every small business owners mind.
I get asked about cashflow by every single business owner that
comes through my door, and when I get clients to prioritise
issues in the business, it will consistently come in at number one.
Rather than answering that question a hundred times over a year,
I decided to write this book, so it may help my clients, future
clients and business owners around the world.
Before I tell you what this book is, Ill tell you what it is not.

Its not a best seller, so dont expect one

Its not going to turn around your business, but it may
help you sleep at night
Its not exciting, its accounting but it is critically
important to your business

If youre having cashflow problems, suffice to say I understand

exactly what youre going through. You are not the first business
owner to stress about cash and youre certainly not the last.
Hopefully this book helps remedy the situation.
Enjoy.

Acknowledgments
My wife
To my wife who always believed in me, even when we were 21,
broke and just starting out. You have made your fair share of
sacrifices to help get me where I am today. Thank you for
everything you have done to make me the man I am today.

My family
As a child my mother taught me about money and my father
taught me about business. I am quite fortunate to have grown up
in a family where such topics were commonplace around the
dinner table.

My business partner
Not everyone gets to say that they are in business with their best
friend (and live to tell the story). I am amongst those fortunate
few who had a friend to support me in every single whacky idea
this entrepreneur ever had. Thank you for your investment of
time, capital and faith.

My team
To everyone at Cirillo Hooper & Company, thank you for your
support and your faith in me. Many people said I was crazy for
starting this business, while you were the ones that always
believed in the firms vision and kept fighting.

My clients and readers

To the people that read my work and listen to my advice. You
are the reason why I put fingers to keys on a Sunday morning
when I could be sleeping. Rather than keeping it all locked in my
head, your interest is what encourages me to share my ideas with
the world.

Part 1: Who is Chris Hooper?

Good question, who am I? Put simply I am an accountant by
trade, entrepreneur by nature, that helps small businesses and
startups use big business ideas to maximize their financial results.
I get asked why I became an accountant a fair bit, if youve met
me or heard me speaking, youd understand why that question
comes up a lot! My response is that, I have always been curious
about all things business and how it all works.
To that end I found accounting to be a critical component of my
understanding business better. In fact when I was a teenager, the
only reason I choose accounting was so that I could better
understand money in the context of whatever business I was
going to own in the future. It just so happened that I ended up
starting an accounting business (amongst other things) after
university.
Now I get to work with business owners every single day. I help
them build their businesses and I learn more every day. This
book is a culmination of all my research in the cashflow area.
My work now takes me across the country consulting with
clients, making media appearances and public speaking. All of
which is in an effort to help educate business owners on getting
better performance out of their business.

Report Card
Chris Hooper DipBus DipMan BComm GradDipCA AIMM
Education

Diploma of Management from Australian Institute of

Management
Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy from the
Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia (2012)
Registered Australian Taxation Agent (2011)
Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting and a
minor in Applied Finance from the University of South
Australia (2010)
Diploma of Business from South Australian Institute of
Business & Technology (2007)

Career

CEO at Accodex Pty Ltd (2014 Present)

Executive at Startup Adelaide Inc (2013 Present)
Partner at Cirillo Hooper & Company (2011 to 2014)
Accounting Tutor at Flinders University (2012)
Treasurer at SAUCNA Inc (2008 2012)
Finance Analyst at Downer Group Ltd (2010 2012)
Accountant at Brentnalls (2006 2010)
Co Founder at Startup Club (2008 2010)
Director at Hooper Govan Capital (2008 2009)

Want more? Check out my LinkedIn Profile

http://au.linkedin.com/in/christopherhooper
6

Part 2: Does this sound like your

business?
I am constantly having to use the overdraft
or credit card to pay bills
This is easiest symptom to diagnose cashflow problems.
Sometimes the use of short term debt facilities are justified to
smooth out cash flow fluctuations, but they should not be seen
as permanent solution.
Using short-term debt to fix cashflow problems is like taking
paracetamol on a fever, it alleviates the symptom, but you have
not cured the source of the fever: If symptoms persist please
consult your accountant.

I am worried I wont be able to make payroll

next week
Nothing keeps a business owner up at night like the prospect of
missing payroll. I think its a mix of the fear of a riot at work and
also the weight of the responsibility that comes from you being
the one that pays your staffs mortgage, school fees and
groceries.
There should be more to life than staying up at night worrying
about making payroll. What concerns me is, that as the business
owner youre up at night worrying about paying your staff; who is
up at night worrying about paying you?

My customers are jerks and dont pay their

bills
Its not that your customers are jerks; chances are they are having
the same problems that youre having. Dont forget that the only
reason that youre in business is because they chose buy from
you. Granted, if theyre not paying, you probably wont be in
business much longer. You still shouldnt resent your customers.
Once again, sending out the debt collectors is merely a reaction
to a symptom of poor debtor control. You need to identify and
address the root cause of your debtor issues. I am certain youll
find some ideas later on in this book.

I am getting worried about the angry letters

and calls I am getting from the suppliers
I dont think any of us want to pay our bills late, but once again,
sometimes were compelled to do so by our own cashflow issues.
With that comes the onslaught of angry letters and phone calls
from suppliers and creditors.
Our customers pay us late, so we pay our suppliers late, so they
pay their suppliers late and so on. Its a vicious circle, but it
doesnt have to be this way.

I dread my tax bill coming in

Dont we all? Each quarter we have to fork out thousands of
dollars to the tax man, not to mention the big bill that comes
every year with the income tax.

Getting in debt with the tax office is not ideal. Unlike your other
creditors they have the full force of the federal government and a
billion dollar budget behind them.
At worst you have no plan to manage these bills that can
sometimes equate to 40% of your takings. Some of the smarter
business owners I have met have a separate bank account for
paying their taxes, but this can often be raided in times of
cashflow crisis.

We are selling stock faster than we can buy it

Youd think this was a good thing, right? It means the business is
growing and making sales. Growth can be a big killer of
cashflow, and heres why:
You need stock to sell before you can start making money, and
you need to buy more stock the faster you go. This can become a
bit of a juggle as youre relying on customers to pay on time so
you can purchase more stock to make more sales.
Conversely, having too much stock can just as easily blow up in
your face, as stock sitting around collecting dust is not as useful
as cash sitting in a bank collecting interest. Suffice to say,
inventory management is key to cashflow management.

10

Part 3: Youre not alone!

Our story
As many readers will know, I am a partner at an accounting firm
called Cirillo Hooper & Company. This was, and still is a very
fast growing firm. Markus and I started the firm in our mid
twenties with a very small contingent of clients worth about
$20,000 per year and we had about $20,000 cash in the firm. The
logical thing would have been to wait a few years before we had
saved some more money, but I was adamant we could bootstrap
it.
I was right; we ran a very lean operation and had some big
consulting gigs that paid all our bills and then some. Being
accountants, we had our fingers on the pulse of our own
financial affairs. We were profitable, thats all we cared about.
Preoccupied with our own success, we were oblivious to the
cashflow gremlin that attacks fast growing companies. The fact is
we were waiting for money to come in but we still had to pay for
more equipment, office fitouts, unforeseen expenses and rapidly
hire staff to fill temporary workflow shortages, and we almost ran
out of cash.
As a result, our firm, revisited the cashflow situation and found
that conventional accounting wisdom does not give you the
whole picture. We had to reinvent our cashflow management
strategy, and this is what this book is about.

The markets story

Our story isnt unique and neither is yours. It is the number one
issue our clients have when they come in to our office. It looks
11

like it is the number one issue on most business owners minds

too.
Business failure numbers vary depending on who you talk to and
how they quantify failure. The most authoritative study I found
on small business startups and failures in Australia was initiated
in 1973 by Professor Alan Williams and is still being kept up to
date. In 2000 it was cited in a report by Rolffe Peacock that
explains that 74% of small businesses fail within the first five
years.
Dunn & Bradstreet remarked in 2011 that 80% of business
failures can be traced backed to cashflow rather than sales
pressure. This means that the business owner has no difficulty in
finding customers, but getting paid is a whole other situation.
In fact, if you go up to any business owner and ask, Hows
cashflow? I would be surprised if anyone had anything positive
to say, and I suspect a few would probably just start crying.

My Dads story
At our firms first anniversary barbeque, I was talking to my
father who was a small business owner back in the eighties and
nineties. I asked him what he did to manage his cashflow at his
businesses, and he told me, I kept a lazy eighty in the bank just
in case we ran into trouble.
I thought to myself, $80,000 is an obscene amount of cash to
keep in a business doing over a million dollars turnover!
That said, in all his time in business my father never encountered
a cash flow issue after he had but that reserve. Yes business
ebbed and flowed, as it does, but he was always cashed up
enough to weather the storm. The same cannot be said about
12

some of his competitors, who came and went during his time in
business.
In corporate finance there is no definitive guideline to how much
cash you should keep in the bank. Too little and youre
dependent on debt and at risk of insolvency, too much and
youre undercapitalized.
That being said, in my studies I have found that there certainly is
a guide in personal finance. It is three to six months of living
expenses. Translated into a business context, this would be three
to six months of critical operational expenses. A three month
operational runway gives you just enough time to identify and
resolve any cashflow issues before they destroy your business.

13

14

Part 4: What you werent told about

cashflow
Profit Cashflow
Personally, I shudder every time I look at our profit and loss
statement. So much so that I dont even bother looking at it
anymore!
Why?
Without boring you with the technicalities, your profit and loss
works on an accruals basis. It includes sales and purchases that
may not necessarily have been paid for. Conversely a cashflow
statement will include cash transactions but not sales and
purchases made that havent been paid for.
You need to understand both. Just because youre profitable does
not mean youre cashflow positive. A classic example comes
when I visit a new client who might be in a bit of cashflow
trouble.
Client: I just dont know how this is happening, were
profitable.
Me: You may be profitable, but you have thousands of dollars
in stock and debtors from sales that need to be converted to
cash.
This is why you need to be looking at your cashflow statements
as well as your profit and loss.

Types of Capital
15

The Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia describes

capital as any form of wealth used to create more wealth.
As the saying goes, youve got to spend money to make money,
thats what capital is all about! Now there are three main types of
capital which I will discuss in more depth.

Fixed Capital
This is cash used for purchasing assets. This typically includes
things valued over $300 that have physical characteristics that last
longer than a year (ie not consumables). Examples include things
like computers, furniture, machinery, vehicles and even buildings.
Think property, plant & equipment. It can also include
intangible assets like trademarks and patents, but I dont want
to confuse you more than necessary today. This cash often
comes from startup funds, equity or loans but then can also be
funded in the future from cash reserves (if such a thing even
exists). All you need to know, is think fixed assets, think long
term.

Growth Capital
This is used to finance things such as new markets, new ventures,
new products or simply growing the business. You can fund it
out of debt or equity investing or you can use the cash left at the
end after everyone (including yourself as owner) has been paid.

Working Capital
This is the important one! This is the funds used to run the
business day to day. Working capital covers operational costs
such as rent, electricity, stock, wages and everything else; its
funded from sales! More specifically the collection of cash from
said sales, because a sale is pretty much useless until youve got
16

cash in the bank. Were going to cover working capital in much

more depth considering this is the hot topic.

Sources of Capital
Equity
Equity exchanges cash for ownership rights and a share of the
profit. A classic example of this is shares which grant the
shareholder the capital value of the share, some voting rights and
a share of profit proportionate to the shareholding.
There are many sources of equity funds available to an
organisation, including:
Personal savings
This is often the first place that start-up entrepreneurs obtain
their funds from. It ensures that they retain full control over their
venture.
Reinvestment of profits
This means that third parties do not need to become involved in
the business and the entrepreneur retains full control.

Friends and family

This can provide an alternative source of funds if the person
starting the business does not possess the necessary funds
themselves.
Venture capitalists & Angels
17

These are investors (individual or corporate) that have available

excess wealth to invest. Their motivation can be purely economic
(i.e. they see a possibility of a good return in excess of the
perceived risk) or they may have a desire to see the initiative
become a success. For example, investors in biotechnology either
invested because they saw the possibility of higher returns or they
felt that the industry was an excellent alternative to the
pharmaceutical industry and, thus, for the greater good of
mankind. Venture capitalists often do not become involved in
the day-to-day operations of the business.
Partners or additional shareholders
The use of partner funds is another alternative, but usually a
share of control will be exchanged in return. To what extent this
occurs depends on the volume and dollar value provided by the
additional investors and this may be a major factor in the funding
decision.
Issuing Stock
The ultimate source of equity finance and additional shareholders
could be to float the company on the Australian Securities
Exchange (ASX).

Debt
Debt exchanges the cash for the right to receive that cash back at
a later time, with additional interest paid either periodically or at
the end of the debts term.
Commercial banks
These funds can be short-, medium- or long-term. They can be
funded on a secured or unsecured basis and the level of security
18

held will often determine the interest rate that is charged. Most
banks calculate the interest rate charged based on the declared
rate adjusted by a margin to take into account the degree of
perceived risk associated with providing the loan. The greater the
perceived risk, the higher the additional margin will be.
Non-bank lenders
These are often brokers, smaller lenders or other commercial
institutions or cooperatives that will provide funds, usually with
higher interest rates than commercial banks.
Again, friends, family and other fools may lend you money, but
rather than equity they simply expect their investment back with
some interest perhaps
Owners and shareholders, can potentially structure their capital
as debt rather than equity depending on the structure and
purpose of the cash.

19

20

Part 5: The Answer!

Inventory / Work in Progress
Inventory for those in product business is the stock you buy or
finished goods youve made that are available for sale.
Work in progress for those in the service business is work thats
been started but not completed. In the manufacturing business
its stock that has not been completed yet.

Don't order too much (or too little)

Inventory management is a delicate balancing act. Order too
much and you've forked out good money for stock that's going
to be hanging around for a long time. Order too little and you're
stuck with stock-outs that are going to cost you business and
cause you administrative headaches. The trick is finding just the
right amount to order to keep things ticking over. If you're
concerned ask your accountant about economic order quantities
and inventory management.

Plan ahead
Spend a little more time considering your inventory needs for the
month, this can go along way for getting your inventory levels
right.

First in, first out

Stock that came in first should be going out the door before
more recent additions are sold. Don't promote new stock, if you
can move the old stock first.
21

Accounts Receivable
Accounts Receivable or Debtors are what is created when
someone agrees to buy your stuff, you have invoiced them but
you havent been paid yet.

Ensure you issue your invoice promptly

This is probably the easiest thing to control and a prime
contributor to lock-down. You've got to get in while its still in
your customer's mind how good the product or service was.
Send invoices by email as well as post. This will save you a day of
postage and will make doubly sure that the invoice hits its target.

Make sure your invoice is clear, concise and

accurately spells out the terms of payment
This will ensure that there is no ambiguity to the terms of the
contract.

Make paying the invoice easy

Now I'm not saying that you need to rush out and sign up for
BPay or credit card merchant facilities. It however makes sense
to offer a cheque and an electronic funds transfer option to allow
them to deposit straight into your bank. Most people have
internet banking and this will save you visiting the bank to
deposit cheques.

Follow up immediately with invoices that exceed

terms

22

Most of the time your invoice has been mixed up in a pile of

paperwork, or simply forgotten about. A gentle reminder to your
customer can go a long way to getting you paid sooner.

Don't offer credit to everyone

Business credit is basically like a loan. Would you lend money to
anyone off the street? Then you probably shouldn't give credit to
anyone off the street. Credit should be earned through a good
working relationship or a good reputation.

Ask for credit references

Many big businesses will provide you with a form that needs to
be completed in order to obtain credit terms. This form will ask
you to provide the details of suppliers you currently have credit
terms with; the company will then follow up with these
companies and assess your credit worthiness.

Ask for deposits

If you ask for proportion of the payment upfront before the
delivery of the goods or service, you'll have at least covered some
of your costs while you're waiting for the invoice to be paid.

Ask for the money up front or cash on delivery

It's a bold thing to say I know, but you don't walk out of the
grocery store with a trolley full of food and pay 30 days later, so
why should your business be any different. I know business to
business credit is almost expected these days, but it is at least
worth investigating this option. It will essentially resolve all your
cash flow problems.

23

Accounts Payable
Accounts Payable or Creditors are the people whom youve
received goods or services from, youve been invoiced and you
havent paid them yet.

Get organised
Keep all the bills in one place. Get them onto your accounting
software as soon as they come in.

Creditor scheduling
It pays to know who you have to pay and when you have to pay
them by. It will help you plan and manage your cashflow better.

Strategic release of creditors

Find out what the due date is and pay on the absolute last day.
This cash can be used for working capital in the meantime.

Tell the supplier if you're having trouble paying

If you believe that you're not going to be able to pay your
creditors in time, call them before they call you. Explain the
situation. They will understand because all businesses have been
there. It will go a long way to preserving your relationship with
your suppliers.

Prioritise your creditors

If you have to juggle your bills; figure out which bills are a higher
priority and pay them first. There's no point paying your
stationery company first if your electricity is about to get cut off.
24

Cashflow Statement Monitoring

Cash from Operations
This is pretty simple; its cash from your day to day operations. It
includes sales, purchases of stock and other overheads like wages,
rent, electricity, advertising and is funded from Working
Capital

Cash from Financing

This encompasses cash raised and paid in respect to raising
Growth & Fixed Capital

Cash from Investing

Cashflow from investing is a confusing one because you think
issuing shares is investing, but its actually the opposite, investing
activities are concerned with what you actually do with the
money raised from your financing activities. Typically youre
going to invest them in fixed assets such as property plant and
equipment

Key Performance Indicators

Cash at Bank
This may sound a little remedial, but the cash in your bank is
probably the best key performance indicator of your business.
Its easy to measure and it tells you a lot. If theres no money in
your account, I doubt your cash flow is looking too healthy.

Debtor Days
25

Debtor days is the number of days it takes you on average to

receive money from your customers after they have made a
purchase. Obviously it does not apply to business owners who
do not extend credit to their customers. For all those that do
however this KPI tells you an interesting story interesting story
about your cashflow.
Debtor Days = ((Opening Debtors + Closing Debtors) 2)
Sales x 365

Creditor Days
Creditor days are the opposite to debtor days. Put simply it is the
average number of days it takes you to pay your suppliers. Ideally
you want to maximise your creditor days, but at the same time
you dont want to be a jerk to your suppliers. Ideally you just
want to pay on the day the invoice is due.
Creditor Days = ((Opening Creditors + Closing Creditors) 2)
Purchases x 365

WIP/Inventory Days
This metric measures the number of days work in progress or
stock is held by the business before it is sold. Ideally you want
this number to be smaller rather than bigger. Once again this is a
fine line between having too much stock instead of cash versus
having not having enough stock and missing sales.
Inventory Days = ((Opening Stock + Closing Closing) 2)
Cost of Sales x 365
WIP Days = ((Opening WIP + Closing WIP) 2) Direct
Costs x 365
26

Part 6: Implement Now!

Set some cashflow goals
How much cash do you need?
Think about it, what is the absolute minimum cash balance you
need in the business bank account to help you sleep at night?
Feedback from our clients in established small businesses
suggests that the adequate sleep factor would be achieved if
about 10% of overheads were maintained as a cash balance.
Obviously this number varied between different types of
businesses, but youll know intuitively how much cash you need
in the bank to sleep easy.
Whatever the number is, write it down and put it somewhere you
will see it every day.

How much cash do you actually want?

This is a question I ask a lot of my advisory clients, How much
cash do you actually want? Business owners often look at me
with a puzzled expression on their face after I ask this question. I
find that many business owners have goals around sales and
profitability but not around cold hard cash.
Its a valid question and one you should have an answer to. Once
again, write the magic number down and put it somewhere you
can see it.

Get a cashflow forecast

27

Say after me, A cashflow forecast is the most important

financial report I should be looking at. Everything else is nice,
but if you dont know whether youre going to have enough
money to pay your bills next quarter, you should probably get
your act together.
I find that business owners get confused by the notion of
cashflow forecasts and thus they get scared and dont even
attempt them. But youre not one of those business owners, are
you? Thats what I thought. Get a cashflow forecast done, I dont
care who does it, just get it done.

Implement one new idea a month until you

get it done
Theres a whole raft of little mini projects from part 5 that you
can attack to improve your cashflow. Try not to overdo it or you
may get overwhelmed and then just not do anything it at all. Just
start with one mini project each month, if youre a high achiever
you can go hard later. In the meantime, just start with one.
Quickly brain storm a list of 10 small projects that you can
implement in your business to improve your cash flow. Once
thats done, rank them in numerical order of priority with respect
to which ones will be the easiest to complete (10 being the
easiest, 1 being the hardest). Then which ones will make the
biggest improvement (10 being the biggest, 1 being the smallest).
Tally the totals and then rank them in order of the totals. 10 will
be your first project, 1 will be your last. An example of this can
be found overleaf.

28

Ease Impact Total Rank Project

9
8
17
9
Switch to cash on delivery for all
new customers
3
9
12
6
Convert your existing customers
to cash on delivery
5
7
12
7
Outsource AR function to
specialist
8
2
10
4
Set up automatic statements to
go out at the end of every month
4
5
9
3
Pay your bills on the day they are
due and no earlier
7
6
13
8
Implement a cashflow smoothing
system for big bills like
electricity, insurance or tax.
6
4
10
5
Finance new equipment on an
operating or finance lease.
2
3
5
2
Implement a JIT inventory
system
1
1
2
1
Identify your economic order
quantities
10
10
20
10
Call your accountant to talk
about cashflow

29

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About the Author

Chris Hooper is a high school dropout cum
accountant, who after dropping out he
decided that he wanted to, Figure out the
money thing.
At age 19 he went on to get a Diploma of
Business, then a Bachelor of Commerce and then a Graduate
Diploma in Chartered Accounting. He received a full scholarship
for a Diploma of Management through the Young Business
Leaders Program. He now tutors accounting at The University of
South Australia and privately mentors several students from all
local universities.
Through acquisition and partnership he became a partner at
Cirillo Hooper & Company at age 24. After a merger with
National Accounts, Chris became the CEO of the new company
Accodex, where he continues to work.
In addition to several not for profit directorships in his early
twenties, he was also one of the co-founders of the Startup Club
Adelaide. He then went on to establish Startup Adelaide Inc the
peak body for entrepreneurship in South Australia.
At age 25 he was amongst the youngest recognized businessmen
in the book, BBQ to Boardroom. At age 26 he received the
Achievement Award from the Young Business Leaders Program
as well as a mention in Anthills 30 Under 30. At 27 he was
awarded Young Citizen of the Year by Adelaide City Council and
Young Manager of the Year by the Australian Institute of
Management SA.
Chris regards himself as a visionary which is clearly demonstrated
in his approach to everything he does.
31