“Can the council fund its asset renewal, service levels and debt over ten years, and what has to change if it can't?”
What it is
A ten-year financial projection model, built for their circumstances, with scenario testing capability, plus the plan document itself.
Three-statement model with scenario switches (rates, grants, capital program, borrowing) and the sustainability ratios projected for each scenario.
When clients call us
Statutory review cycle, a new corporate plan requiring financial expression, a major capital program needing testing, or an audit finding that the existing plan is inadequate.
What you receive
Ten-year financial model, unlocked and documented
Scenario dashboard
Long term financial plan document
Assumptions register
Executive workshop and model training session
What we’ll need from you
A one-page checklist comes with the engagement letter, with a private page to upload everything. The main items:
Audited financial statements, last five years
Current budget and forward estimates
Existing long term financial plan and the model behind it if available
Corporate plan and operational plan
Asset management plans for all asset classes
Capital works program, current and proposed, with timing and funding sources
Asset register with condition, useful life and replacement cost data
Not included
Does not include asset condition assessment, does not include the corporate or asset management plans themselves, does not include community consultation, and does not include ongoing model maintenance unless separately engaged.
What it can look like
Representative example
A tier 6 council with an ageing bridge network · Long Term Financial Planning
Closing a $14.6m funding gap before it arrived
The existing long term forecast was a spreadsheet rolled forward each year. It showed healthy cash, but nobody could say what it assumed about the bridge renewals the engineers were warning about.
$14.6m over 10 yearsFunding gap identified and closed
4 to 0Years with cash below policy
Unlocked, with scenariosModel handed over
Years in the 10-year plan with cash below the council's minimum
Previous plan, renewals at their real timing4 years
Adopted scenario0 years
Down 4 years
Where the gap was
$14.6m of bridge renewals fall due within the decade. The previous plan had spread them thinly across twenty years, hiding a cash shortfall from year six.
Insight
Once the asset management plan was linked to the forecast, unrestricted cash fell below the council's minimum in year six, driven by $14.6m of bridge renewals over the decade that the old plan had spread thinly across twenty years.
Advice
Fund the renewals with a mix of $6m of borrowing over twenty years and rate increases of 1% above CPI for four years, rather than either lever alone, and set a minimum cash policy the plan is tested against every year.
Opportunity
The council keeps its cash above policy for all ten years while renewing the bridges on the engineers' timetable, and can show the Department and the audit office how.
Results
Council adopted the plan with the recommended scenario. The model now sits with the finance team, who run the scenarios themselves at each budget.
Representative example: a composite scenario with narrative-driven figures, showing the kind of result this work is designed to produce. It is not a specific client engagement and the outcome is not a guarantee. A full case study walk-through is available on request.
Common questions
How much does a long-term financial plan cost?
From $20,000 plus GST ($22,000 including GST), scoped to the council's size and data, usually over eight to twelve weeks.
What is in the model?
A three-statement model (operating result, cash and balance sheet) over ten years, linked to the asset management plan, with scenario switches for rates, grants, the capital program and borrowing, and the sustainability ratios projected for each scenario.
Can our finance team update it later?
Yes. The model is handed over unlocked and documented. An annual refresh is available if you would rather it was rolled forward for you.
