Bentleys Aged Care Survey now open

Above: Bentleys director, Heath Shonhan.

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2011 Bentleys Aged Care Survey, an industry-wide benchmarking tool for measuring financial and operational wellbeing in the residential aged care sector, and must be received by 23 December to be included.

The annual survey, now in its 17th year, aims to inform all industry stakeholders, from private and not-for-profit providers to financial institutions and the government, about key national issues and opportunities facing the sector.

All providers who contribute to the survey will receive a “financial health check” from the accounting firm, free of charge.

Bentleys director, Heath Shonhan, said this year’s survey would set important benchmarks for the industry, upon which to measure the effects of the Productivity Commission’s (PC) aged care report, released earlier this year.

“The residential aged care industry is set to undergo changes and reforms in light of the [PC] report and our survey aims to measure those in terms of care, accommodation and service,” Mr Shonhan said.

“The Bentleys survey will continue to be run independently of the Australian Government’s Aged Care Benchmarking Service survey and incorporates review by senior and highly experienced aged care financial advisors.

“For individual providers, the survey works to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their financial position and identify areas they should be focusing on.

“Analysis of provider data also offers invaluable insight into performance across the industry to better inform the sector and its stakeholders.”

In 2009, the survey found the average return on assets for residential aged care providers was 1.99 per cent compared to 2.95 per cent in 2006, with net profit margins more than halving in that same period. 

By 2010, the survey revealed that funds under management accounted for approximately 30 per cent of the finance pool available to operators, a massive 80 per cent increase over 2006 figures, with employee expenses up 20 per cent in five years and utility costs up 28 per cent.

Submitting to the survey is completely free of charge for aged care providers and all data entry can be completed online via this secure website, through a simple two-phase process.

“If providers have already completed their 2010-2011 general purpose financial reports (GPFR), they can participate in phase one of the Bentleys survey by simply sending the audited or draft unaudited copy of these to us by 23 December 2011,” said Mr Shonhan.

“This helps to inform the Balance Sheet Health Check, which will be reported back to participants by the end of the year (free of charge) and will provide a top-line assessment of providers’ financial health compared to others.

“It’s very straightforward for providers to extract this information directly from their audited financial statements, or they can even request their auditor to supply it for them.”

In the second phase, providers need to input profit and loss and other operational data before the 27 January 2012 deadline.

“This allows Bentleys to provide a benchmarking report for the individual provider which measures their financial performance and provides assistance with resource planning,” said Mr Shonhan. 

“Providers can choose to participate in just one or both phases of the survey, however full survey participants benefit from more precise analysis of their individual results and are provided with a more comprehensive electronic data package at no cost.

“Our objective is to create a data source that informs the industry and gives providers the tools to improve the long term financial sustainability of their service.”

To register, keep up to date with the survey through the mailing list, or for more information, click here or email nationalsurvey@bris.bentleys.com.au