Become an Equity Partner

Count invests in selected accounting, wealth, and services firms to amplify their success. These partnerships enable firms to better meet current and future challenges by providing strategic and business support, capital for succession and growth and access to a professional community who want to protect and grow what they have worked so hard to build.

Become an Equity Partner

Count invests in selected accounting, wealth, and services firms to amplify their success. These partnerships enable firms to better meet current and future challenges by providing strategic and business support, capital for succession and growth and access to a professional community who want to protect and grow what they have worked so hard to build.

What is a Count Equity Partnership?

Like the promise we make to the clients we serve, we offer our partners the confidence to look ahead with a partnership model that is proudly distinct from other industry aggregators and consolidators.

Count invests in selected accounting, wealth, and services firms to amplify their success. These partnerships enable firms to better meet current and future challenges by providing strategic and business support, capital for succession and growth and access to a professional community who want to protect and grow what they have worked so hard to build.

Count equity partner firms seek to join a compelling nationally recognised brand that supports their strategic growth aspirations, delivers client referrals and improves talent recruitment and retention.

We do this without compromising the sense of ownership or entrepreneurial spirit that has fuelled past success, while opening up new opportunities for economies of scale, best practices and strategies for growth; creating a ‘best of both worlds’ approach grounded in an appreciation for perpetuity and custodianship.

 

How Are We Different?

Transformative Value: through expert advisory, knowledge and business insights

Our equity partnerships have built successful independent practices across Australia. These businesses aren’t seeking “new ownership and management,” but expert support in distinct operational areas aligned to their growth strategy. We deliver best practices and centralised focussed on being a true partner.

With agreed team rules, governance, aligned interests and a wealth of experience to share, equity partnership Principals reap the benefits of more efficient operations and extra time to focus on clients rather than administrative tasks.

We respect the longstanding history and success of the firms in which we invest, maintaining the key attributes making these businesses successful including the brand, management and operating model. Joining Count as an equity partner means your client experience remains familiar, strengthening loyalty.

Our collaborative approach cuts through red tape offering guidance, support, and conditional access to ad-hoc support from Count’s Head Office resources, including:

Operations: Benchmarking key measures and tools to assist in improving operational efficiencies, achieving a consistent and disciplined approach to practice management and developing thought leadership around best industry practices.

Cooperation: Partner firms’ commitment to the Count community offers opportunities such as client and staff referrals as well as outsourcing work to other trusted community members.

Governance: Assistance with implementing governance structures and planning to support the growth of partner firms with a strategic planning overlay, risk management focus, quality assurance program and accountability framework.

Head Office Resources: Conditional ability to utilise Legal Services, People & Culture Resources, Business Development, Marketing, Corporate Finance and M&A.

In addition, we leverage group scale to negotiate access to services required by our equity partnerships in their day-to-day operations, including:

Our AFSL license, based on an ongoing discount for advisers at our equity partnerships.

A growing set of group services at negotiated rates, including Accurium (actuarial certificates and education), Collective Resourcing (outsourced service provider), DigitalO2 (IT services) and MBS (bookkeeping).

National pricing agreements with key third-party providers such as Class Super, Audit Shield, NowInfinity, Xplan, Midwinter, Adviser Logic, Fee Synergy, FYI Docs, Annature and Xeppo.

Growth Opportunities: Bespoke structuring and growth support.

An equity partnership with Count is a catalyst for change and a competitive advantage, allowing partner firms to confidently ride the waves of opportunity and successfully navigate change.

At Count, we invest in our partners through:

Financial discipline that helps facilitate the ability to offer a regular income stream to all shareholders (paid in the form of generally franked dividends).

Access to capital to fund growth, clear debt and working capital via preferential debt facilities.

Reduction or elimination of succession planning/funding concerns due to Count’s role and preferential access to equity funding for upcoming talent.

Provision of support for delivering your growth aspirations thanks to the strength of our brand and the work of our dedicated M&A team.

With business risk reduced and a new source of investment capital, our partners can make improvements to strengthen their balance sheet, stay competitive in their local market and seize opportunities when they arise.

Confident Cultures: Ensuring people are at the centre of everything we do.

We are committed to investing in our people and building leaders of the future, including high-quality training and leadership programs for today’s leaders as well as identifying emerging leaders needing practical skills and support.

Professional Development: Access to comprehensive professional development, including leadership development programs from entry level with the Australian Institute of Management through to Emerging Leaders and Master’s programs with the prestigious Melbourne Business School and the Macquarie VAN program. Opportunity to participate in the Barry Lambert MBA Scholarship at Harvard University.

Sense of Community: Being part of a collaborative community that supports each other by leveraging collective wisdom across a number of forums (e.g. Count conference and professional development days, Managing Principals forums and calls and unique working groups) as well as giving back to their local communities via the Count Charitable Foundation.

Recruitment and Retention: Our equity partnerships leverage Count’s employee value proposition framework to support talent recruitment and retention efforts as well as tracking employee sentiment via Count’s regular feedback cycle.

Get in touch

We are always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with high-quality, success-oriented accounting and advice partners that are interested to form a core part of our community.

By joining Count as an equity partner, you’ll become part of an expanding national network of financial planning and accounting firms.
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