Industry Focus

INDUSTRY SOFTWARE Measure and learn A new web-based benchmarking tool is revolutionising the Australian consulting engineering sector WORDS: AMANDA SCOTLAND Australian engineering firms can compare their performance against their peers for the first time through the use of a tool that transfers financial and project metrics to a cloud analytics platform. A joint initiative from Deloitte, Total Synergy and Westpac Natural Resources, the Practice Performance Survey (PPS) follows two decades of success with a similar program in the automotive industry. Tony Woods, Director at Deloitte, says there was a strong argument for an industry-specific version for engineers. "For one thing, the industry is extremely under serviced by anybody but, more importantly, the industry is critical to the Australian economy." Despite many firms investing in large finance functions, Woods says they rarely have time or resources for benchmarking, particularly when complex multinational profit and loss statements are involved. PPS renders this effort unnecessary, with Australia-wide data collected, interpreted and standardised by Deloitte before being entered into the system. As a result, single-person practices up to the largest ASX-listed companies can very quickly compare themselves against each other—and it gives them the confidence that they are seeing like for like. Because the system is cloud-based, the information and reports can be as easily accessed by an engineer in the Pilbara as by one based in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Users have the choice of accessing the system using a tablet device or a computer, and the resulting reports can be generated as a PDF and emailed with just a few clicks. Woods says that, in many cases, CFOs see the system replacing their board reports. Historically, large firms have had to resort to benchmarking against offshore parents, with performance often judged on the basis of metrics not relevant to the Australian market. The PPS, on the other hand, provides Australian data across about 50 key performance indicators, including areas such as profitability, activity (work in progress), efficiency, growth and people. "For the first time, large firms are able to prove to their parents that the dynamics of business in Australia are different," says Woods. "At the same time, they will also be able to compare their performance in Australia against both publicly-listed and privately-owned firms." Relevant staff within the business can access data online and compare and report on performance. As an example, the system enabled one CFO to gain the graphical reports he needed to describe to the engineers in his management team exactly where the company was underperforming. "It took them by surprise," says Woods. "In key areas where they genuinely thought they would be market leaders they were in the bottom 50 per cent." It's no surprise that demand is proving high for this new initiative. Thirty firms are already fully benchmarked and another 20 are in the process of being mapped in. "We can provide valuable insights now, but the strength of the tool is in the numbers," says Woods. Based on Deloitte's experience in the automotive industry, Woods predicts another 300 to 500 firms will sign up nationally. "We want to get as many participants as possible," says Woods. "Ultimately our goal is to help improve the performance of the whole sector." To find out more about PPS, contact Austin Scott, Partner in Deloitte Private, on 02 9322 3861 or auscott@deloitte. com.au. For more about upcoming PPS seminars, contact your Relationship Manager. LEFT: Data gleaned from the Practice Performance Survey allows companies to benchmark their success against that of their peers. Natural Resources • Issue 1 7

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