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Following in the footsteps of other major Grant Thornton member firms around the world, the Australian division has launched a specialized CFO Advisory service.
The in-house wing of the global accountancy and consultancy cites both the increasing responsibilities and pressures facing current CFOs, along with the country’s current shortage of accountants and auditors, as two of the motivating factors behind the launch.
“We are pleased to announce that Peter Barnikel has joined Grant Thornton to lead our new CFO Advisory Services practice,” the firm said. “For the past decade, Peter has held a split role – part advisor, unpacking the complexity and problem-solving of the CFO, and part independent auditor. He is a safe pair of hands and really understands the pain points that CFOs experience.”
Barnikel started his career at EY in London in 1999 and six years later moved to the Big Four’s Sydney office where he rose steadily before being promoted to partner in 2016. During that time, Barnikel has gathered extensive experience in various aspects. financial reporting along with assurance support in areas such as due diligence, equity and debt raising and IPOs.
“We are confident that our clients will find Peter’s business acumen and technical knowledge extremely useful as they continue to respond to regulatory changes and changing market conditions. We look forward to directly addressing the short-, medium- and long-term challenges our clients face,” said Andrew Rigele, National Lead Audit and Assurance Partner.
These short-term and long-term challenges include Australia’s current shortage of skilled finance experts due to continued border closures – an issue Thornton points out affects not just professional services firms but also in-house teams – as well as increasing responsibilities being handed over to modern finance directors, which was also exacerbated by Covid-19.
In addition to keeping up with a flurry of new regulations and reporting obligations, today’s CFOs must routinely navigate digital transformation efforts within the finance function as well as these new volumes of data. In addition, there is a growing demand for strategic foresight to balance immediate operational needs with future growth objectives.
Barnikel adds another point; “Auditors are becoming less forgiving of poor documentation. And due to limitations on independence, auditors don’t provide the hands-on support they once did, so having a trusted advisor who can help is invaluable. Tax teams have tax advisors. Legal teams have legal counsel. Accounting teams should also have access to accounting expertise.”
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