When Aspire Speech Pathology began in 2018, they were looking for an accountant who was going to show them the ropes and guide them through the tools for business success.

The team reached out to David Woodcock, one of our Accountants & Financial Planners to see how he could help their business get off the ground.

Fast forward to 2022, the Aspire Speech Pathology team have continued their loyal partnership with us and have experienced a huge growth trajectory.

What is Aspire Speech Pathology?

Formerly known as Andrea Cooper Speech Pathology, Aspire Speech Pathology is located in Kurri Kurri and offers a comprehensive range of professional speech therapy services.

Since forming in 2018, the business has rapidly grown from just Andrea to a team of nine, now including her fiancé Joshua Simpson as the business manager.

This growth has seen the business expand their services from the Branxton and Maitland areas, through to Newcastle, Cessnock, Kurri Kurri and the upper hunter.

Finding the right accountant for their business

Before reaching out to Dave, Andrea and Joshua said they wanted to find an accountant who was going to understand the difficulties of owning a small business.

“We were looking for someone who was progressive, experienced and interested in helping our business succeed,” Andrea said.

“When we reached out to Dave and had an initial meeting, we knew he was going to be the right fit for our business.”

Dave has assisted their team since 2018 with various accounting services, including:

  • Superannuation requirements
  • Insurances
  • Lodging tax returns
  • Budgeting and management accounting

What began as assisting Andrea and Joshua with their accounting services quickly became regular catchups and training sessions on tools that were going to improve their business.

“When we reached out to Dave and had an initial meeting, we knew he was going to be the right fit for our business.”

Empowering Aspire Speech Pathology with their business finances and tools

When David’s previous business, WP Partners merged with Bridges Lake Macquarie to create Collective Financial Partners, Joshua said he had no qualms about the change.

“We were excited about the merge as we knew the team was going to comprise of extremely knowledgeable staff,” Joshua said.

“We now also regularly work with Calum Macpherson, who is our go-to for any troubleshooting or quick questions we have.”

With the merge of our business and the growth of Aspire Speech Pathology, our team was able to offer training to Joshua so he could manage the day-to-day finances of the company without having to hire an additional staff member.

Since working with our team, Joshua has been trained in general payroll and bookkeeping, and has said Xero has been a game changer for them.

“Using Xero really changed the way our business operates and the Collective Financial Partners team is constantly helping us find new ways to save time and money.

“Most recently they helped us set up a payment provider in Xero, which now shows up on our invoices so clients can pay direct from the email they receive from us,” Joshua said.

The right team from start-up to growth

Seeing their business quickly grow, Andrea said she couldn’t imagine another team who would have worked with them from the beginning to where they are now and offer the same level of excellent service.

“In the beginning we wanted to find someone who was going to help us start our business and who aligned with our business’ values,” Andrea said.

“We never expected to find a team like Dave and Collective Financial Partners who would help us grow to the size we are now and whose service offering would continue to evolve as we needed.

“We can throw around new ideas about what direction we’d like the business to go in and they’ll always happily listen and provide guidance.

“I think the most important thing about their team is they truly want to see their clients succeed, and they offer a level of service you won’t find anywhere else,” Joshua concluded.

Disclaimer: This case study is for illustrative purposes only and is based on specific assumptions. Outcomes will vary depending on individual circumstances and assumptions used.