AFTER nearly a decade championing rural financial counselling services in SA, Rural Business Support chief executive officer Kay Matthias stepped down from the role late last month.
She is leaving behind a legacy of more resilient farming businesses that can cope better with drought and fluctuating commodity prices.
Through her leadership, the organisation – formerly known as Rural Financial Counselling Service SA – has successfully helped hundreds of farmers restructure their business to become profitable, or exit the industry.
One of her biggest achievements has been steering the service from "crisis management" with farmers on the brink of bank foreclosure to a more "proactive single service model" which empowers them to manage their financial future.
Many more farm business decisions are based on profitability rather than lifestyle, which Mrs Matthias hopes her organisation has helped promote.
Before taking on the role, she held numerous government positions, including one as PIRSA communications manager.
Mrs Matthias' journey as RBS CEO began in August 2006, at the inception of RFCSSA.
The Australian government had conducted a major review of all rural financial counselling services and identified governance as a major issue.
In an attempt to rectify this, there was an open tender process for the ongoing provision of rural financial counselling services across the country.
The organisation was born after 11 financial counselling services across SA – which were managed by volunteer committees – were consolidated into a single service provider.
"I had spent a year as a financial counsellor based in the Mid North but had the government experience which helped me get the role," Mrs Matthias said.
She said it took some time to convince regional communities who believed they were having a reputable rural financial counselling service taken away from them.
"Our results in developing a professional, well managed service I believe silenced the critics," Mrs Matthias said.
In fact, a national review of the service last year recommended this model – only recently used in WA and Tas – be adopted by the rest of Australia.
Within months of her appointment, drought had been declared across much of SA and the number of counsellors jumped from 11 to 21.
During the three to four-year drought period, when working with the bottom 25 per cent of farmers who were eligible for assistance, they could see an increasing number who could not afford to buy a single service.
"The top 25pc look after themselves. The next 50pc, without some sort of intervention, were in danger of slipping into our cohort," Mrs Matthias said.
This led to the establishment of RBS in 2012 which encompassed the RFC services and included a separate sustainable business arm.
Mrs Matthias said that during her tenure, funding uncertainty had been a major challenge, with RFC funding often only guaranteed for 12 months.
"We weren't just managing drought and managing clients with severe debt issues, I was forever in Canberra making sure we were able to carry on for the next six or 12 months," she said.
Even now, each RFC service has a six-month contract. A new model is being developed and scheduled to be implemented on January 1.
She credits the organisations' success to staff and has the "highest respect" for the financial counsellors who travel long distances, work in isolation and often deal with individuals with not just financial but mental health issues.
"They are so committed to what they do. They delivered the goods. I was just their captain," Mrs Matthias said.
