Finance leaders gathered in Melbourne this week for the CFO Magazine CFO Symposium, where conversations centred on growth, operational complexity and the role finance plays in enabling confident decision-making across the business. Among the standout sessions was Kieser’s presentation, delivered by Chief Financial Officer Dianna Butterworth, offering a candid look at how a fast-growing healthcare organisation reshaped its finance function to support national expansion.
For this unfamiliar, Kieser operates a network of physiotherapy-led strength training clinics across Australia and continues to grow at pace, with new locations, increasing transaction volume and expanding operational demands placing pressure on reporting, visibility and consistency across the business.
Butterworth described how that growth gradually exposed the limits of fragmented systems and spreadsheet-driven processes, creating friction for the finance team and slowing the organisation’s ability to respond quickly with confidence.
“We were managing the business across multiple accounting files and spreadsheet processes, and as the clinic network grew the pressure on finance increased significantly,” Butterworth shared during the session.
The decision to modernise finance reflected a strategic priority to equip the function with the structure, visibility and capacity required to support continued expansion.
Partnership supporting confident transformation
Partnership surfaced naturally throughout the discussion, particularly as Butterworth reflected on the practical realities of navigating finance transformation alongside day-to-day operational demands.
Reflecting on Kieser’s move to NetSuite, Butterworth spoke about the role Annexa played in helping the organisation maintain momentum and make confident decisions as complexity increased.
Butterworth also highlighted the longevity of the relationship, noting that Annexa has supported Kieser’s journey for around six years and developed a strong understanding of both the technology landscape and the operational pressures of a growing healthcare organisation.
That partnership created space for the Kieser team to focus on running and growing the business, rather than managing the complexity sitting behind the systems.
Measurable outcomes enabling growth
Since implementing NetSuite and modernising its broader finance environment, Kieser has delivered a range of operational improvements that now support both day-to-day performance and long-term expansion plans.
- Consolidation of 27 accounting files into a unified multi-entity finance environment
- Reduction of year-end close from 25 days to 3, representing an improvement of approximately 88 %
- Elimination of around 80 spreadsheet-based processes across finance and planning
- Real-time visibility across more than 30 clinics supporting earlier operational intervention
- Automation of intercompany processing and reconciliation activities
- A scalable finance foundation supporting plans to open approximately five new clinics each year
Butterworth noted that the biggest impact has been the shift in how the finance team contributes across the organisation, with greater capacity to collaborate with clinic leaders and provide forward-looking insight that supports operational decisions.
A leadership story resonating beyond the event
The CFO Symposium appearance builds on a broader leadership narrative, with Butterworth previously sharing Kieser’s transformation journey at SuiteWorld 2025 and SuiteConnect 2025, where the story resonated strongly with finance leaders facing similar growth challenges.
Kieser’s experience highlights the impact of proactive leadership, early investment in scalable foundations and the value of trusted partnership in enabling finance teams to move from operational constraint to strategic enabler.
For Annexa, the session reinforced the importance of working alongside customers through moments of change and growth, supporting both the technical transformation and the confidence required to pursue ambitious expansion.
Readers interested in exploring Kieser’s transformation in more detail can view the full Kieser customer case study here.