How Finance Shapes a Sustainable Future in Cleaning
When people think about finance in a business like ours, the first things that often come to mind are paying invoices, processing employee salaries, and sending bills to clients. These are, of course, essential tasks. But at BIC Consolidated, finance is far more than a back-office function. It is one of the most vital enablers of our strategy, our service delivery, and our long-term sustainability as a business.
Our industry – facilities and cleaning services – operates at the intersection of cost control, client affordability, workforce welfare, and community responsibility. From a finance perspective, that means we occupy a unique position: we are constantly balancing the books while also ensuring that our operations generate positive outcomes for clients, employees, and the broader communities we serve.
What it means to be a going concern
In accounting terms, every company must assess whether it is a “going concern.” Put simply, this means a business is financially stable enough to continue operating into the foreseeable future. If a company is not a going concern, it may struggle to pay employees, deliver on client contracts, or invest in its own growth.
For us at BIC Consolidated, being a going concern is not just about survival. It is about ensuring that our financial decisions safeguard the livelihoods of thousands of employees, maintain the high standards our clients expect, and allow us to contribute meaningfully to society.
Balancing cost, value, and responsibility
Cleaning and facilities management are industries where cost is always under scrutiny. Clients need to ensure services are affordable. Employees must be paid fairly and on time. Shareholders expect prudent financial management. And as a business, we must remain profitable to sustain and grow.
But cost is only one side of the equation. As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, the Cleaning Accountability Framework, Supply Nation, and our own Reconciliation Action Plan, we have committed ourselves to higher standards of sustainability, diversity, and accountability. Each of these commitments requires investment and careful financial planning.
For example, working with Indigenous suppliers through Supply Nation is not just a compliance box to tick. It represents an intentional allocation of spend to create opportunities and social value. Likewise, paying a living wage or adopting environmentally responsible practices may increase costs in the short term, but over the long term they strengthen our resilience, reputation, and client trust.
Why these metrics matter for cost vs value trade-offs
Labour costs and wage fairness sit at the heart of a sustainable cleaning business. Underpaying or delaying wages risks legal exposure, reputational harm, and high turnover. By contrast, a stable and fairly rewarded workforce is more efficient and delivers higher quality, reducing the need for reworks, limiting client dissatisfaction, and cutting hidden costs. Turnover itself is expensive: the AHRI study notes that in many sectors average turnover sits at around 18 percent per year. Each departure carries recruitment and training costs, as well as the productivity dip that comes with onboarding new people. When we succeed in reducing turnover, we not only save money but also deliver a more consistent service for clients.
Social procurement spend is another crucial factor. While it can sometimes involve a marginal premium, it generates significant community benefits including jobs, inclusion, and local development. National data shows that Australian organisations have spent more than $1.1 billion with certified social enterprises over the past seven years, with $257 million of that in FY24 alone. This growth highlights both the capacity of the market and the momentum behind socially responsible procurement. At the same time, falling real wages – now around 4.8 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels for many workers in Australia – puts further pressure on businesses to ensure fairness while managing client affordability. Balancing these dynamics is where finance has to be both analytical and values-driven.
How finance at BIC Consolidated enables balance
As CFO, my role is to ensure that these metrics are measurable, integrated into planning, and actively guide decision-making. Financial modelling and scenario planning are core tools. We do not just forecast best- and worst-case financial flows; we also explore “impact-cost” scenarios, such as what happens if we increase social procurement, raise wages, or upgrade equipment to more sustainable models. We calculate payback periods, risk exposure, and cash flow impacts so that decision-making is evidence-based.
Budgeting for impact is another important element. We do not treat ESG or social-value costs as “nice-to-haves.” They are essential investments in resilience, so we dedicate budget lines to supplier diversity, sustainable supplies, and living-wage adjustments. We then track and report not only traditional financial results but also non-financial KPIs such as turnover, procurement spend, employee wellbeing, cost savings from sustainable investments, and supplier reliability. These are shared both internally and in client or stakeholder reports.
Finally, we work constantly to protect margins while driving value. That means optimising costs in ways that do not undermine quality, employee welfare, or social and environmental goals. It could involve renegotiating with suppliers, consolidating logistics, or investing in long-term tools that reduce recurring expenses, all while maintaining the flexibility and compliance clients expect.
Why this matters: stakeholders, communities, clients
The benefit of this approach is shared across stakeholders. Clients receive reliable, cost-effective service while also knowing their providers align with their own sustainability, social inclusion, and procurement diversity expectations. Employees gain from stability in pay, conditions, and job security. When those are in place, turnover drops, morale improves, and quality rises, reducing hidden costs such as errors, supervision, and retraining.
Communities and society benefit when our spend supports Indigenous suppliers, social enterprises, and environmentally responsible practices. The $1.1 billion in social procurement spend across Australia over seven years represents thousands of jobs, training hours, and tangible local outcomes. For the business itself, the benefits are resilience and sustainability: stronger supply chains, the ability to absorb cost shocks, healthier margins, and reduced regulatory and reputational risks. All of this ties directly back to the principle of being a true going concern – an organisation built not just to survive, but to continue creating value for years to come.
The future of finance in cleaning services
Finance is no longer just about cost control. In industries like ours, it is about shaping the future of work, sustainability, and community engagement. At BIC Consolidated, we will continue to develop metrics that reflect the true impact of our financial decisions – metrics that capture not only profit, but also purpose.
Our goal is simple: to ensure that every financial decision we make contributes to the long-term viability of our business, the satisfaction of our clients, and the wellbeing of the communities in which we operate. That is what it means to look beyond the balance sheet.
About the author - Jing Liu
Chief Financial Officer
As CFO at BIC Consolidated, Jing Liu leads the financial strategy, reporting, and controls that drive the company’s performance and financial integrity. With a strong track record in financial leadership, Jing is responsible for budgeting, forecasting, financial planning & analysis, and ensuring compliance with accounting standards and regulatory requirements. She works closely with the executive leadership team to support sustainable growth, optimise capital allocation, and uphold transparency with stakeholders.