Partner-level advice, working directly with you

Meet the founder

My name is Ian Morgan, founder and director of FirmGround Advisory.

I have more than 20 years of experience in public practice. I spent most of that time with a large mid-tier accounting firm, where I became a partner. The firm has a strong presence across Australia and New Zealand, in regional centres and capital cities. My clients ranged from individuals and small businesses turning over as little as $100,000 to high-net-worth family groups with turnover above $100 million.

The industries I know well are retail (in particular supermarkets), trades and construction, automotive, professional services, hospitality and food, manufacturing and wholesale, transport and logistics, and agriculture. In agriculture I have specialised in livestock, cropping and stock and station agents.

I moved to Bathurst from West Wyalong in 2006 to progress my career in public practice. My family and many friends still live in West Wyalong, and I keep close ties with the town and its business community. My wife Lisa's family live in South West Rocks on the Mid North Coast. We plan to move there in the future, and I will continue to look after the clients I work with now, wherever they are based.

Outside FirmGround Advisory, I am the treasurer and a board member of the Bathurst Seymour Centre Inc, a not-for-profit organisation in Bathurst that provides centre-based and community services for older people, people living with a disability and carers in the Bathurst region. The Centre is a deductible gift recipient, so donations of any size are tax deductible. If you'd like to support their work, you can donate by visiting the Bathurst Seymour Centre website or by contacting the Centre on (02) 6332 1449.

Why I started FirmGround Advisory

I'm grateful for my years at my former firm. I built my skills and expertise there, and I worked with great people and great clients. When I left, I took a few months to decide what would come next. That time made one thing clear: I enjoy this work, and I value the difference good advice makes to an owner's business and to their family.

Now it's time to use that experience to help clients reach their financial and personal goals. I started FirmGround Advisory to focus on the work I enjoy most, which is business advisory. As a boutique firm, we can respond quickly to what each client needs, without layers of internal approval.

Large companies have a CFO reviewing the numbers every week. Most owners of businesses turning over $200,000 to $20 million don't have that support, so they make big decisions with old information. FirmGround Advisory gives those owners the same standard of financial advice, at a fee that suits a growing business.

The name

Every business that lasts has strong foundations: reliable numbers, a clear plan and enough cash to carry it through. The name FirmGround Advisory reflects that. Our job is to help you build those foundations and keep them strong as your business changes.