Asciano Limited

Asciano own and operate a range of infrastructure assets including ports and rail across Australia. Their strategy is to manage and grow the value of these assets and seek further opportunities across the investment portfolio to enhance value for security holders. Asciano creates value by applying significant management expertise into developing these assets and by identifying new opportunities which can add value to the portfolio.

“We had some very sophisticated players looking at our figures and we received positive feedback early on. ‘Better than anything we’ve seen in the investment arena’ is how one merchant banker put it. That was a great confidence booster.”

Michael Bradburn, Group Financial Controller, Asciano Limited.

Their management experience and outstanding transport infrastructure portfolio means Asciano are uniquely positioned to deliver ongoing performance to benefit all security holders.

Why Navigator for financial modelling?

‘I’d been approached by a staff member who wanted extra training in modelling. She had some experience of Navigator’s training workshops and felt they could help. Her positive experience led me to send others on the team through the courses and I eventually went myself.” As the GFC began to bite, the Board and Michael wanted definitive figures from a financial model they could trust.

Michael asked contacts for a recommendation to rejuvenate the current model. “I spoke to Macquarie Bank. They’d heard of Navigator,” said Michael, “and suggested I talk to them.” Referrals are often a strong indicator of quality, and given his own experience in a training environment, Michael was happy to call Navigator on board to solve his modelling requirements.

”They were just great to work with – jumped in at short notice, were passionate about what they did and came up with the goods. Fantastic!”

Michael Bradburn, Group Financial Controller, Asciano Limited.

Experience counts in financial modelling

“They were great,” said Michael. “They jumped in at short notice, got their heads around the job, questioned my assumptions and in fact re-built the model from the ground up.” In a larger corporate environment that ability to question assumptions is not always possible. Politics and departmental concerns intrude. Michael, like every Group Financial Controller, and every end user is looking for a number of things in a model.

”We’ve had almost every investment bank in Australia look at us and our figures held up every time – all driven out of the Navigator model.”

Michael Bradburn, Group Financial Controller, Asciano Limited.

The credibility factor

A high-quality model that people can trust also adds credibility to your story. Everyone, from the board down, wants reliable figures. And auditors love an independently sourced model too. “Having Navigator re-build our model delivered credibility and an unexpected bonus – our auditors could see the quality of the model we were using and didn’t have to build their own variant.” The trust factor becomes vital in a large organisation.

"A model that can work across several departments yet deliver a single set of figures “is worth its weight in gold!”

Michael Bradburn, Group Financial Controller, Asciano Limited

“Your board understands that different departments have different purposes for their calculations, but all they want is a single set of figures. So a model that enables flexibility across departments, yet delivers reliable figures is a tremendous tool.”

How were navigator to work with?

“So easy,” says Michael Bradburn. “We contacted them on a weekend and they were working on our model on Monday morning.” Navigator can react in a nimble fashion – something multi-tasking in-house employees simply can’t do that often. “They made life easy,” says Michael, “professionalism is a given and that gave me great comfort from a governance perspective. All in all, I’d work with them again tomorrow.”