SRJ Walker Wayland is an Australian accounting, audit and advisory firm with 20 independent firms across Australia and New Zealand. They provide advisory services, outsourced CFO support, audit and assurance, and tax services to help businesses make informed decisions and plan for long-term success. 

Tracy Johnson, a Partner with 15 years at SRJ Walker Wayland, leads the CFO Solutions Division – a team dedicated to providing high-value advisory and support for businesses that are unable to hire a full-time CFO.

Saying Goodbye To Inefficient Tools, Time-Consuming Reporting, and Complicated Setups

Before implementing Spotlight Reporting, Tracy’s CFO Solutions team relied heavily on spreadsheets to create forecasts and budgets, alongside a different reporting tool. For larger clients with multiple business entities, this was a time-consuming and frustrating process as it meant constantly switching between tools to generate reports.

This required manually exporting data and re-keying client data to create KPI reports and graphs. The process involved too many steps and took too many hours, prompting Tracy to look for a faster, more efficient solution for his CFO clients. 

Initial Discovery of Spotlight Reporting

Tracy discovered Spotlight Reporting online, and within 90 minutes he was sold on the solution and the seamless integration with Xero. 

“I found Spotlight Reporting online and decided to start a free trial. Within an hour and a half, I learned how to use it and created a set of white-labelled reports for a client. I made some modifications and presented the reports the following day.”

When asked what convinced him to adopt Spotlight Reporting, he summarised the following points:

• Ease of Use: Spotlight was very easy and quick to run, set up, explain, and manage. 
• Balanced Reporting: The executive summary reports, P&Ls, and graphs generated in Spotlight, offer a good balance for clients who prefer visual data, and those who prefer numbers. 
• Sales Advantage: The fact that you can create sample reports to show prospective clients during the proposal stage and discuss add-on services, is key. 

Which Types of Clients Should Advisors Use Spotlight For?

Tracy sees Spotlight as a product that genuinely delivers value. Clients are willing to pay for it, which is why their CFO Solutions division continues to grow.

“Clients who value and would pay for Spotlight Reporting are growing. Within my firm, it’s typically businesses seeking funding, with around 12–15 employees. They’re scaling, moving to the next level, and often have multiple sites.”

He usually uses Spotlight with clients who have at least $2 million in revenue or more. 

Spotlight Reporting Results in Quantifiable Time Savings and Team Efficiency

Spotlight is well suited to a commercial external CFO role, and Tracy sees it as an ideal tool for clients who want a blend of visual, graphical, and analytical reporting.

Across the team, Tracy’s division saw measurable improvements in efficiency, profitability, and client service after implementing Spotlight Reporting.

“Once it’s set up, Spotlight Reporting saves six to eight hours per month in report generation for every client. It’s a huge time saver, cost-effective, and well worth the investment for larger businesses. Reports are visually impressive, professional, and perfect for board reporting.”

Tracy also praises the technical support, noting that queries are typically resolved within 24 hours.

The Overall Impact of Spotlight Reporting

• Time saved per client: 6–8 hours per month for each large client.
• Efficiency: If an issue is spotted during final checks, Tracy can make an edit in Xero and have reports updated in minutes, compared to significantly more time adjusting numbers and formulas across multiple spreadsheet tabs.
• Cost recovery: The ability to set up and adapt a report in as little as 45–60 minutes allows Tracy’s firm to recover that cost by saving 6–8 hours of CFO time per client each month.
• Client base: Spotlight Reporting is used on an ongoing basis for at least a dozen clients, typically those with $2 million or more in revenue, multiple sites, and 12–15 employees.
• Customer support: Investing at the SuperVCFO level provides SRJ Walker Wayland and its CFO Solutions division with a dedicated Customer Success Manager to support strategy, execution, monetisation, and team training.
• Education and training: Spotlight’s Education and Support team offers professional training and 24/7 availability, alongside thought leadership resources and the included Transform in Action course, giving the firm everything needed to maximise its advisory investment with Spotlight Reporting.

The core value of Spotlight Reporting for Tracy is being able to balance visual and analytical reporting with the efficiency required to run a profitable CFO Solutions division. 

Why “Time Recovery” Matters 

Time recovery is crucial in Tracy’s CFO Solutions division, where the aim is both to recover time and show value to clients. He believes that accounting firms often struggle with the CFO role or strategic reporting because creating a valuable package can be so time-consuming.

“I can set up and adapt a Spotlight report in 45 minutes to an hour, which means I can recover the cost of that time and justify using Spotlight — especially since it saves six hours of CFO time each month for the client.”

Tracy emphasised that time recovery is essential in their CFO Solutions division, particularly because they operate on retainers and fixed prices. Greater efficiency directly increases their profitability.

Ready To Simplify Your Reporting Workflow?

Spotlight Reporting has transformed how Tracy’s CFO Solutions division delivers value. By combining visual, graphical, and analytical insights with time-saving efficiency, it lets his team provide clients with clear, strategic reporting while boosting profitability. 

If you want to create sample reports for clients or provide CFO services, the Spotlight suite gives you the dashboards, consolidations, budgeting, forecasting and management reporting tools to deliver high-quality, scalable financial reporting that clients can trust and understand.

Take the next step and Download a sample report | Book a demo | Start a trial |

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