Renzo DemartiniAbout
From the ledger up.
I help SMEs reduce manual work and improve operations with practical AI. I started at the ledger and worked up through operations and systems to the boardroom. Now I build the AI agents and automation that let a growing business scale without losing control.
01 The short version
Most useful at an inflection point.
I’m a Chartered Accountant and finance executive: 16 years in finance, from the ledger to the boardroom, and leading finance and operations since 2018. Along the way I’ve worked every level of the finance function, in accounting firms, in industry and in my own practice.
As CFO of a window-furnishings manufacturer I helped take revenue from under A$10M to A$40M, and integrated an acquisition that returned five times its price in EBIT. As Head of Finance at a renewable-energy retailer I took a loss-making division to profit in 12 months.
I’m most useful at a turning point: when growth outpaces the way a business runs, manual work holds it back, or a deal has to become one organisation. I set the priorities, fix the numbers and build the systems myself, so the change holds after I’ve gone. I’m based in Canberra and work across Australia.
As a Chartered Accountant with an MBA, I bring the ledger and the operations together. I know where the numbers come from and what they have to survive, and I build the systems, data, workflows and controls that make a change stick after I’ve gone.
People are central to that. Each leader gets clear accountability for the numbers they own and a regular rhythm to review them. I use AI and automation where they save time or improve decisions, with a person still deciding.
02 In numbers
What changed, role by role.
The results from the career below, one role per row, most recent first.
Growth, deals and control, in the numbers.
Financial Controller, currentA large independent Australian group
- OneFinance person through the year of fastest growth
Head of Finance, 2023–25An A$40M renewable-energy retailer
- Loss→A$300KDivision profit in 12 months, at a 6% EBIT margin
- A$100KA year in cost synergies from an acquisition
- 10→5Days to close the month
Own practice, 2022–25A virtual-CFO practice, up to 12 SME clients at once
- +18%A client’s sales conversion
- −22%A client’s inventory holding cost
- A$5MFive-year contract secured for a client through a restructure
CFO, 2018–22A window-furnishings manufacturer and retailer
- <A$10M→A$40MRevenue in four years
- 2×EBIT
- 3×Production capacity
- 60→150Staff
- 5×An acquisition’s A$500K price, returned in EBIT within 18 months
- 21→5Days to close the month
Senior Business Adviser, 2014–17An accounting firm, clients with A$2M–A$30M revenue
- A$500KTrapped working capital released
- −35%Data-entry errors
Growth Deals and restructures Control and efficiency
03 Career
Every level of the finance function.
Real foundations, built level by level.
- Foundation
Bookkeeping and systems
Bookkeeper, 2010–14- An MYOB cloud migration
- Tanda cloud payroll
- Macro-driven full stocktakes
- Level 2
Advising businesses
Senior Business Adviser, 2014–17- Finance transformation for A$2M–A$30M businesses
- Xero and Employment Hero implementations
- A$500K of trapped working capital released
- Level 3
Running the function
Senior Business Manager, 2017–18, and my own virtual-CFO practice, 2022–25- A team of 10 accountants
- A productised Xero, Airtable and Zapier stack, adopted by more than 10 clients
- Up to 12 SME clients at once
- Level 4
Finance leadership
CFO, 2018–22, then Head of Finance, 2023–25- Revenue from under A$10M to A$40M
- A loss-making division to A$300K profit in 12 months
- Reporting, a rolling forecast and the close rebuilt
- The top
Board and strategy
Reporting to a board as CFO, and now leading group finance as Financial Controller- An acquisition that returned five times its price in EBIT
- Due diligence and integration of a regional acquisition
- A group finance function run single-handed through a year of rapid growth
Alongside, from July 2026Independent Finance Advisor on the Finance Subcommittee of Capital Region Community Services, a not-for-profit delivering real value for communities.
Bookkeeping taught me where the numbers come from. Being a CFO taught me what they’re for.
04 Credentials and governance
Qualified, and accountable.
- Chartered AccountantCA ANZ (2016)
- MBADeakin University (2020)
- Bachelor of AccountingCharles Sturt University (2013)
- Xero certified
- Tax adviser for 10 years
- Independent Finance AdvisorFinance Subcommittee, Capital Region Community Services (from July 2026)
- LinkedInThe full career on LinkedIn
05 The builder thread
Building systems since 2012.
- 2012An MYOB cloud migration and Tanda cloud payroll for a landscaping business.
MYOBTanda
- Early yearsExcel macro-driven full stocktakes for an off-road and 4WD retailer.
Excel
- 2014–17Xero and Employment Hero implementations as an expert integrator at an accounting firm.
XeroEmployment Hero
- 2018–22As CFO, rebuilt the reporting, built a rolling-forecast model and took the close from 21 days to 5.
21→5days to close the month
- 2022–23A productised finance automation stack, adopted by more than 10 clients.
10+clients on the stack
XeroAirtableZapier
- From 2023Zapier and Power Query automation of payroll and AP, plus an automated month-end: more than 500 labour hours a year removed. That is time, not cash: I claim no dollar saving here. What it costs to own shows the running costs beside the hours.
500+labour hours a year removed
ZapierPower Query
Alongside my roles I design and build systems. The most complete is an agentic finance fleet, built and run inside the group where I lead finance.
- ~10Kautomated tests
- 87%of scheduled steps as pure code
06 Where I work
Canberra, across Australia.
I’m based in Canberra. I work with businesses across Australia, remotely and in person, and I travel for engagements.
Alongside my group finance role, I take on up to 20 advisory clients a year, and I write about finance systems and automation.
What’s happening in your business?
Tell me in a few sentences. I reply personally within one business day.