David - Partner Firm 5

David, a seasoned accountant and financial adviser based in Bendigo, is the director of Partner Firm 5, a hybrid practice offering accounting and financial planning services.

David relies on Akambo’s Accountants Private Advice licence and Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) to deliver scalable, compliant, and client-focused advisory solutions.

With over 25 years of experience and deep community ties, David has built a model of personal service that balances strategic financial insight with operational efficiency. Akambo is a strategic and critical partner in his everyday business and growth planning.

Providing strategic financial advice means examining each client’s personal situation. It is never a one-size-fits-all scenario. Digging deep and exploring the most appropriate options is time-consuming. While necessary, administrative and compliance regulations drain business resources, so having that professionally handled enables advisors to use their time more productively for their clients.

“My skill is being able to talk to clients, unpack their circumstances, and deliver strategic financial advice that maximises their financial position. Coordinating the paperwork, file notes, fee disclosure statements etc, chews into resources better spent on ensuring I get my clients the outcomes they seek. Being able to send the administrative work to Akambo and them professionally conducting the due diligence, compliance, and reporting is a significant advantage,” Says David

The Akambo administrative support enables David to remain lean.

“It’s allowed me to grow without having a big team of admins behind me in the office.”

Akambo’s services essentially replace the need for an internal team.

David is located in the reasonably large country community of Bendigo in Victoria. Bendigo is very established, and at one stage, it was the pointy end of Victoria’s economic boom during the gold rush. Its legacy is hard to miss with beautifully maintained mid- to late 19th-century architecture. It is home to leading universities and a dynamic economic infrastructure, including manufacturing, education, construction, tourism, and healthcare. It has a big city feel with small-town country values.

Part of its allure is the human interactions, and David values face-to-face interaction, and so do his clients. He believes in a localised human-first approach. As he says

“People like local people. They want to sit down and talk to you face to face walk in the door and just see us if they’ve got a question.”

Akambo enables this by taking care of the compliance-heavy side of the business, freeing David to focus on meaningful client engagement and strategic advice:

“It just simplifies what I can do. For me to scale meaningfully without wearing at the fabric of a human centric business is a key benefit to my partnership with Akambo.”

David is committed to maintaining the value of his business relationships. Scaling further will require additional advisors, who are in short supply.

“It is more than getting an advisor for advisor’s sake. I want people who are as invested in the strategic aspects of financial advice as I am. With the Akambo’s admin and compliance support, I know that when we do add another advisor, I won’t need to oversee and helicopter manage their compliance. Akambo provides the compliance oversight.”

While the licensing model has proven to remove administrative and compliance burdens, David also utlises Akambo’s Separately Managed Accounts SMA portfolios. The ability to tailor portfolios using Akambo’s SMA platform means he can offer investment solutions that meet their needs.

“The ability to make things fit has been good. Not stuck with a one-size-fits-all investment portfolio ensures we maintain our autonomy and can offer strategic and tailored advice.”

This flexibility ensures high-net-worth and bespoke clients can be accommodated without compromising service quality or efficiency.

David is an early adopter of Akambo’s services and has been with Akambo for many years. The longstanding relationship has been fundamental to the success of the advice practice.

“They’re really good, got a question, we just ask, we’ve got a grumble, we just grumble, whatever is going on or required, the team is always very responsive.”

“I quite often have conversations with them about general business issues. What can I do with this, and what could I do here? That sort of thing. They are a great source of information and always willing to add value wherever they can.”

This level of engagement gives David the confidence to provide advice, grow at his own pace, and eventually expand his team.

David’s partnership with Akambo illustrates how the right licensee and support platform can empower advisers to:

• Deliver high-touch, strategic client service
• Operate lean without compromising compliance
• Adapt to industry shifts and client needs with agility

“They’re working in the background. They’re there if I need them at any time. It’s a confidence thing, knowing that’s there.” David, Director, Partner Firm 5

Akambo offers finance advisors, advice firms, and accounting practices tailored licensing and investment solutions that remove the administrative and compliance burden while enabling the business to maintain its autonomy. We nurture long-term partner relationships focused on success and transparency.

Contact us today and get back to doing what you do best.