Client Story: URBNSURF
Teamwork brings pipe dream to life
In a country renowned for its top surfing beaches, building an artificial surf facility may seem like an odd premise. But for Keith Irving, chief financial officer of URBNSURF, Australia’s first and only surf park operator, there are many reasons why it makes sense.
“The first is safety,” Keith explains. “We can provide a controlled environment with lifeguards and without sharks or other ocean nasties.”
He says URBNSURF also offers a comfortable environment with changing rooms and a kiosk, but perhaps most attractive of all is the promise of consistent waves.
“You could go out to the ocean for a surf and sit there on your board hoping that there might be some waves or fighting 50 other people to get a wave, while at URBNSURF in a one-hour session you’re going to get around 12 waves,” he says.
First founded in 2012, URBNSURF boasts surf parks in Melbourne and Sydney and caters to surfers of all ages and abilities.
The aim is to not only help people improve their surfing and water safety skills, but to also share the world of surfing to those who may otherwise never have the chance to give it a go.
“URBNSURF’s mission is definitely to open surfing up to a broader population. We like to think of what we do as the democratisation of surfing,” says Keith.
Watch this video to hear how Keith Irving, chief financial officer of URBNSURF, works closely with Pitcher Partners audit partner Chris Chandran and his team to create a strong working relationship that makes their partnership so successful. Watch now.
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Construction on URBNSURF’s first park began in 2018, but after digging the lagoon, the company realised it would need to raise more capital. It was at this point that Keith came on board.
“When I joined URBNSURF it was very much still in startup mode, so there were a lot of processes and procedures that needed to be upgraded.
“One of the first things that I did was to recognise that we were going to need a more sophisticated approach to audit going forward. We needed someone who’s not just going to do the basics of auditing the accounts but is actually going to be a commercial partner for us and provide us with advice and guidance,” he says.
After a stringent selection process, in 2019 URBNSURF hired Pitcher Partners.
“One of the things you need to do is give your shareholders and potential shareholders confidence in the organisation, and having a strong audit partner is a very important part of that,” explains Keith.
“The boxes that Pitcher Partners ticked were obviously competence, but commerciality and continuity as well.”
On the same wavelength
Pitcher Partners audit partner Chris Chandran has been working with Keith and the URBNSURF team ever since.
“Chris has been more than just an audit partner,” says Keith. “He’s been a confidant – someone I’ve been able to run things by, bounce things off, ask questions of.”
For Chris, it’s the strong working relationship that makes the partnership so successful.
“It also makes life more interesting. If you don’t have that relationship with people, if all you’re going to have is a business transaction, I wouldn’t be doing this for 25 years,” he says with a laugh.
In addition to the audit work, Chris and the Pitcher Partners team assists URBNSURF with tax matters, remuneration advice, and other ad hoc services.
Seeing URBNSURF evolve from construction sites to fully-fledged surf parks has been rewarding for everyone involved.
“I’ve really enjoyed watching URBNSURF grow,” Chris says.
“Each year we’ve been working with them and guiding them through what they need to do to get to the next stage of their evolution”
“Chris has been more than just an audit partner, he’s been a confidant – someone I’ve been able to run things by, bounce things off, ask questions of. We’ve got people at Pitcher Partners who have built up an understanding of our business so that we’re not having to constantly re-explain ourselves, and Chris and his team know what it is we want to achieve.”
Keith Irving, Chief Financial Officer of URBNSURF
Team effort
The finance team at URBNSURF and the Pitcher Partners team work together constantly throughout the year.
This consistency and stability of the Pitcher Partners team has also helped create a strong partnership.
“We’ve got people at Pitcher Partners who have built up an understanding of our business so that we’re not having to constantly re-explain ourselves,” says Keith, “and Chris and his team know what it is we want to achieve.”
Chris says the strong connection between Pitcher Partners and URBNSURF across the board is the key to success.
“I see audit as a team sport, because I can’t do my job without a good team behind me.
“It definitely makes the relationship stronger when you can form a bond not just at one level, but across the various levels that you have within an organisation,” he says.
As for the future, URBNSURF is hoping to continue to make waves (literally and figuratively) by adding more parks across Australia.
“While there are other surf park operators around the world and other people using the same technology as us, we are the only operator of two surf parks in the world,” Keith says proudly.
And although there have been challenges along the way, Keith says the hard work has paid off.
“Every time I walk through a park entrance, all I’m ever greeted with is smiling faces coming out of the lagoon and that really helps to make it all worthwhile.”
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