Business Services Manager - Outsourcing

Primary producer loans delivering major economic benefits for regional Queensland. Page title Primary producer loans delivering major economic benefits for regional Queensland. 21 July 2026 The Queensland Government's productivity loans for primary producers are delivering substantial economic benefits to regional communities across Queensland, an independent economic impact report has found. Every $1 million in loan funding provided to a primary producer through the Queensland Government's Primary Industry Productivity Enhancement Scheme (PIPES) supports $6.7 million in regional economic activity over the life of a typical loan. Over the 30-year lifetime of the PIPES program, QRIDA has delivered $1.2 billion in concessional loans to Queensland primary producers. This 2024-25 economic impact analysis is based on the 1,368 open loan accounts worth $772.5 million. The Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) commissioned independent advisory firm BDO to conduct the inaugural PIPES Regional Economic Impact Report 2024-25. The independent report measured both direct and flow-on economic impacts of on-farm investments funded under PIPES and the loans supported direct economic contribution of $315.3 million in gross state product (GSP) and 2,715 full-time equivalent jobs. The largest economic impacts were linked to beef and sugarcane production, followed by grain and livestock, horticulture and other farming and aquaculture. Additionally, the benefits were strongest in regions with high agricultural activity, particularly Southern Coastal - Curtis to Moreton, Northern Coastal - Mackay to Cairns, Western Downs and Central Highlands. Minister for Regional and Rural Development Dale Last said the PIPES Regional Economic Report highlighted the significant impact loans were having across regional Queensland. "This independent report has detailed the major and far reaching economic impacts our primary producer productivity loans are having across the state, from employing more Queenslanders to the flow on effects for regional schools and hospitals - it's a positive sign for growth in our regions," Minister Last said. "These loans help new farmers break into the agricultural industry and existing producers upgrade their established businesses. Concessional loans like these are instrumental in keeping Queensland's agricultural industry alive and thriving. "Queensland was built on the back of agriculture, it underpins thousands of jobs and is the lifeblood of many rural and regional communities and it is key to the Crisafulli Government that Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority can deliver real, tangible investment that rebuilds and grows one of its oldest industries. "It is positive to see the impact these loans have not just on individual farmers, but the broader communities in which they live and operate." Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett said the impact of the loans reflected the Queensland Government's ongoing support for Queensland's primary producers. "Our government is committed to delivering a strong foundation for new farmers to start out and existing producers to modernise their operations to ensure our sector can thrive for decades to come," Minister Perrett said. "Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority know when Queensland's agricultural industry prospers, regional Queensland succeeds and these loans are clear evidence of the flow on impacts its state feels from a thriving agricultural industry. "By delivering productivity loans to our primary producers, we're improving farming productivity and building resilience for our regional agricultural communities." Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority Chief Executive Officer Brooke Irwin said the independent report measured both direct and flow-on economic impacts of on-farm investments funded under PIPES. "We already have the data to show First Start Loans and Sustainability Loans are instrumental in helping Queensland primary producers get started and grow their operations, with more than $1.2 billion invested in farm businesses for over 30 years," Ms Irwin said. "Now this report demonstrates that when QRIDA funds a farmer on the land, Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority also help support rural and regional towns as farmers invest in necessities like machinery, fuel and freight and create jobs locally. "This direct spending and employment multiply all the way through to schools, hospitals and local businesses." Loans funded under PIPES include First Start Loans of up to $2 million to help up-and-coming producers get started and grow operations, and Sustainability Loans of up to $1.3 million for existing primary producers to improve the productivity and profitability of their farm businesses. The next PIPES Regional Economic Impact Report is scheduled for 2028.

BDO bolsters Queensland CFO advisory team. BDO Australia has welcomed Kylie Meaney as a Partner in its Brisbane office, bolstering its CFO advisory team in Queensland. Joining from EY, Kylie brings more than 24 years' experience advising listed companies, government entities and private organisations. Her appointment comes as organisations face growing pressure from evolving accounting standards, sustainability reporting obligations, major infrastructure investment and heightened scrutiny of financial reporting. BDO in Brisbane Office Managing Partner, Steven Sorbello, said Kylie's appointment reflected the firm's continued investment in specialist advisory capabilities across Queensland. "Kylie is an outstanding addition to our partnership and further strengthens our ability to support clients through increasingly complex accounting and reporting challenges," Steven said. "She combines deep technical expertise with a highly commercial mindset, helping organisations solve problems in a practical, collaborative way. That's exactly the approach our clients value and aligns strongly with BDO's culture." "Queensland continues to experience strong growth across sectors including energy, infrastructure and the public sector, creating greater demand for specialist accounting advisory services. Kylie brings exceptional experience in these areas and will play an important role in supporting our clients and our people," he said. Kylie said she was looking forward to joining the BDO team and supporting clients across Queensland. "Throughout my career, I've been passionate about helping organisations tackle complex accounting issues in a practical way that supports better business outcomes," Meaney said. "What stood out to me about BDO was its genuinely collaborative culture and commitment to working alongside clients, rather than simply providing technical advice. That's how I enjoy working, particularly when clients are navigating high-stakes transactions, regulatory change or finance transformation." "I'm excited to join the Brisbane team and look forward to helping clients build stronger finance functions, improve reporting confidence and position themselves for long-term growth." For media enquiries: Tate Papworth Manager, Media E: [email protected] Ph: 0433411189

New tech requires new processes, not a retrofit of outdated approaches. The biggest gap that organisations struggle with culturally is the acceptance that they need to take the opportunity to transform their old ways of working in addition to the adoption of new technology, one BDO leader says. Speaking with Accountant Daily ahead of his appearance at the upcoming Accounting Conference & Expo 2026, BDO Australia national digital advisory leader Nick Kervin said that most organisations believe they are better to change the technology to align to their existing processes and ways of working. In many cases, he said, "the organisation then ends up changing the technology to meet their poor process and then complain about the technology being the problem". When attempting to redesign workflows and implement new systems, Kervin said that most new systems will have an 'out of the box' process; i.e. the standard way the system does Accounts Payable. "Many organisations generally ignore this and then change the 'out of the box' process to meet their already poor process. In some instances, the organisation may re-design the process but if it's done in isolation of the new systems 'out of the box' process, there may be a significant cost to change the system," he said. "The sweet spot which is generally disregarded is to understand the current, define what a better process might be and then align with the 'out of the box' offering to get the best balance between transformation, process improvement and lower implementation costs." Kervin's presentation at ACE26 will discuss how organisations should define and measure whether a transformation has been truly successful, including through a number of non-financial measures including quality, customer outcomes and adoption. "Many of these are not considered by organisations as part of the benefits of transformation. It's important that organisations also understand how to measure lead and lag indicators to determine if non-ROI value is being created," he said. When asked about implementation fatigue as a recurring challenge in large scale change, Kervin suggested that an important strategy will be to appropriately resource the team to adopt the change and have the right support (e.g. backfill) not impact day to day service delivery. "Fatigue becomes very real when the team is expected to deal with change and transformation on top of their day-to-day work. When the change is consistent, and roles are not backfilled appropriately, this becomes quite unmanageable." Want to see more stories from trusted news sources? Make Accountants Daily a preferred news source on Google. Jerome Doraisamy. Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Momentum Media's professional services suite, encompassing Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times. He has worked as a journalist and podcast host at Momentum Media since February 2018. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.