Zeitverzögerte Provisionsabrechnung – Verzögerter Geldeingang durch manuelle Freigaben

Definition

Executive search engagements often involve high-value fees of 20–30% of senior executive salaries, with individual invoices commonly in the AUD 50,000–150,000 range for C-suite placements in Australia’s larger markets.[2] Many firms only raise the success-fee invoice once internal documentation confirms the placement, remuneration level, and consultant credit split – information also used to compute commissions. When these steps are handled through email chains and spreadsheets, the time from candidate acceptance to invoice issuance can stretch by 7–14 days, especially around month-end. On top of this, standard Australian business payment terms of 30 days, combined with late payment behaviour, already produce SME DSOs of 45–60 days in professional services according to typical industry commentary (logic-based extrapolation). Each extra 10 days of delay on a portfolio of, say, AUD 5 million in annual billings increases average receivables by about AUD 137,000 (5,000,000 × 10/365). At a conservative 7–10% cost of capital (overdraft or investor hurdle), this ties up AUD 10,000–14,000 in annual financing cost. When delays are closer to 20 days and collection risk rises due to older invoices, effective cost and lost flexibility can approach AUD 20,000–50,000 per year for a mid-size executive search boutique. These are logic-based estimates derived from typical fee sizes in executive search and the impact of manual, sequential billing and commission approval steps on DSO.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Executive Search players in Australia 🇦🇺 lose AUD 10,000–50,000 annually in interest and working capital drag from 10–20 extra days to cash due to slow commission and billing workflows. Automation of placement-to-invoice and commission approval can compress DSO and free cash.

Affected Stakeholders

Managing Partner / CEO, CFO / Finance Manager, Accounts Receivable / Billing Clerks, Executive Search Consultants

Related Business Risks