Anita Aloisio, Nexia BT’s partner for advisory services, could hardly control her grin for the cameras as she posed with the trophy showing that the firm had won the title of International Advisory Firm of the Year in the single firm category awarded by the International Accountancy Bulletin.

It was to be expected. It was, after all, a prestigious award, but it is also quite a personal triumph as she only set up the section five years ago, virtually single-handed.

She spent the first year or two laying the groundwork and when last interviewed by the Times of Malta 18 months ago she was already proud to have eight members on her team. She now has 25.

When asked about this rapid rise, she summarises it with one word: vision. She could see that there was a gap in the market for someone who could bring together not only academic and technical qualifications but also hands-on experience.

“Entrepreneurs know where they want to get but it is knowing how to get there that is the challenge,” she said.

After getting a degree in accounting, Ms Aloisio started off her career with an audit firm but when still in her 20s, decided that she wanted to put her technical background to practical use. In spite of the fact that she had a young child, she barely hesitated before taking the plunge – really into the deep end.

She joined a company in the medical sector which was in financial distress and was undergoing a major restructuring before being put on the market.

As it that were not enough to make the situation intense, her predecessor had been fired because of fraud.

“I was just 29 and I really had to win to management’s trust but I went in there with a plan already formulated in my head on how to tackle the situation systematically, looking at the cash flow, creditors and debtors.

“I managed to hold my own against the much older executive team and over the following 18 months, under the guidance of my superior, we successfully completed the restructuring and the sale did go through in the end.”

Once the project was completed, her previous employer encouraged her to come back by sponsoring her MBA, which she talked about in awed tones.

“It opened my horizons – literally and metaphorically. I stopped being an accountant and became something completely different. It gave me all sorts of insight, even into the restructuring we had just done,” she said with pride.

She eventually joined a Big Four advisory firm but in spite of the exposure this gave her to different economic sectors and services, she soon became frustrated at being ‘typecast’ in the financial aspect of the job, yearning to get involved with processes and models.

She moved to the Malta Communications Authority for a few years and had a second child. But she was still restless.

She came across a vacancy at the University of Malta – which was at the time going through a major overhaul – as a senior consultant on a three-year contract. It was too tempting to resist.

Entrepreneurs know where they want to get but it is knowing how to get there that is the challenge

“Unlike most people, I love change. My husband never understood why I took on a role at university as my hours were longer than ever! But I wanted to be at the forefront of the massive change that was under way,” she grinned.

It was definitely a massive change – and one that was burdened by the limitations of the public sector. Processes like procurement and recruitment that might take months in the private sector could take a year. And even with the full backing of the Rector, turning around a loss-making entity with a budget of €55 million was never going to be easy.

She rolled up her sleeves and drew up a very detailed budget and accounting model – using a humble spreadsheet.

“I took it upon myself to start instilling pride in internal control structures and having very detailed budgeting processes and planning schedules.

“I really wanted to understand the operations of the university so I built a budget plugging in the salaries and benefits of its 3,000 staff by faculty and department. I literally built templates for each department and faculty and institute so they could get a feel for what their operational costs were.

“I insisted that there should be a good audit trail which could stand the test of time. We were also handling very large projects – including EU funded ones – and started grouping together all the purchase orders and invoices and payments, rather than having to open six or seven files to be able to trace a story from beginning to end.

“It may sound very simple but at the time I had lots of resistance. I had to get examples to show them that this was already standard industry best practice. But once we got it going, then it was quickly adopted across the board.”

The next step was to transfer the spreadsheet to a more formal set–up and one which did not require repeated manual inpu. She also boosted the team, relying more on full-timers than on outsourced workers who were far more expensive.

“For a very junior role I was being asked for €35 an hour. I preferred to employ a full-time employee. The university was going through a growth phase and I was convinced that it would be better to have someone growing with us than coming in from the outside who would move on.”

She spent three-and-a-half years there, in the meantime having been promoted to director of finance after a public call. But already the seeds of restlessness were sprouting.

“I was happy with what I had achieved. I had a team of 40 just for the finance side and six fully qualified accountants – there was just one when I joined. I had also set up systems that were not people-dependent but process driven.

“But I was approaching 40 and I felt that with my experience, I could do more to help others.”

Nexia BT was the door that opened, allowing her to set up an advisory service which would allow her to use not only all the technical knowledge that she had built up but that crucial hands-on experience too.

She already has numerous success stories of working clients – very often on aspects that were not even the main reason they came to Nexia BT. For example, there was one client that wanted financial restructuring but she found that there was not even a database of either its clients or what it was due.

“We pulled up our sleeves and got it all done before we actually got on with the project they originally came to us for. It was very time consuming and the client would almost certainly never got round to it because of the pressure of day-to-day operations.

“I did what I had done at the university. I got a template together – again on a spreadsheet! – using my experience to design it so it would cover all the information the client might require. And the client soon started collecting debts which were not even being chased at the time.

“And when they come to install a proper IT system, it was easy for them to put the whole thing online using the template.”

To make a business flourish, you have to have a project and a vision but you have to look at the figures objectively and constructively. Only then can you assess whether the return is sufficient

Her approach is always a listening one, as she believes this is the way to understand what the client really wants – which may not be what they came to her for. One retail client came to her for a valuation but she persuaded them to wait as she could see that there was still considerable scope for growth.

“Valuation is usually part of a process to sell a company or to bring on a new partner. Why not maximise the value first?” she said.

Another client asked her to build up a business model but she felt that they were approaching the project from the wrong end.

“You have to start with the market, what prices you could charge and what capital expenditure you can afford… And only then find the model to suit it, not the other way round.

“These are the two common scenarios I see in advisory. Some people try to make the figures work so that they can get bank financing. I think this is suicidal. To make a business flourish, you have to have a project and a vision but you have to look at the figures objectively and constructively. Only then can you assess whether the return is sufficient.”

“At the end of the day, it is all about people skills, being able to get under the skin of the clients and gaining enough of their trust to be able to nudge them into a direction they may not have considered.

“We meet people who are close to retirement and have no successors. But you also get 40-year-olds who think they want a change – but who are just frustrated because they get bogged down by the day-to-day business and don’t have enough time to think strategically or to follow their dreams.”

Now 45, she feels that all her past has come together to enable her to help people reach out for those dreams. And if it means starting another spreadsheet, so be it.