About Us

‘We can’t choose where we come from, but we can choose where we go from there’ Stephen Chbosky

Hi, I’m Andrew Broadbent. When it comes to understanding a business – both its present and its future – I believe you need the full history. So I’d like to tell you my story; to give you the insight you deserve before choosing to work with me.

I grew up understanding the financial pressure of small business.

I was born in Tasmania in the 1960s to rural ‘stock’, but have grown up in Melbourne for most of my life. My accounting DNA comes from my mum who was a bookkeeper for a transport business.

My parents were also small business people so I lived with the financial pressures of running small businesses from a young age. They ran a car detailing business as well as a pet shop. So unsurprisingly, my school holidays were spent washing cars and… you guessed it, making pet food!

My Hero Box

Hero Box Description

View more

My early career

I entered the workforce in 1984 straight after high school and studied my Bachelor of Business (Accounting) at night at Swinburne.
As Trainee Accountant for AV Jennings, I acquired an invaluable grounding. Several promotions later, I took on the role of Systems Analyst working at the intersection of finance and technology for the first time.

To continue growing my career, I left AV Jennings to join First National, the merchant bank of NAB at the time. During this tenure, I worked across many NAB Group departments including Accounting, Corporate Finance, Subsidiaries & Investments, Strategic Planning and Commercial Lending.

A mistake turns to opportunity

After a client asked me to join their transport and freight logistics company, I discovered on day one that my new employer had over $250K in ATO debts. After I learnt the importance of ‘due diligence’ the hard way, I just got to work.

I restructured, relocated and renamed the business – and introduced new financial strategies to create a more robust, sustainable enterprise.

Once the new structure was in place, I continued on a part-time basis while establishing my own financial consultancy. I specialised in helping small growing businesses that needed financial management expertise but could not afford a full-time resource.

Tempted by a once in a lifetime offer

While happily running my new business, a former banking deposit client with a NASDAQ listed parent approached me with an incredible offer: to come on board as their Asia Pacific Finance Director.

It was simply too good an opportunity to pass up – and proved to be an invaluable experience.

However, the role required a lot of travel and after some time, the attraction of returning to self-employment was too strong. So I re-opened the doors to my consulting practice, focusing once again on developing credible financial systems, negotiating debt funding and managing cash flow for growing SMEs.

My Hero Box

Hero Box Description

View more

And then Smarter Numbers was born

I formally established Smarter Numbers in November 2010. My offices are in Eltham and Ocean Grove – but I prefer to meet my clients on their premises, at their favourite café or at their home at a mutually agreeable time. It’s all part of the service.

I always strive to improve the flow of meaningful information to help you make more robust financial decisions and achieve better results.

As Albert Einstein once said:

“Not everything that counts is counted, nor does everything that’s counted counts”

It’s never too late to understand and manage what counts for you
Call +61 413 074 798 or contact us today.

Get In Touch

Please wait...