Steering businesses’ journey towards a sustainable future

NOUV, a multidisciplinary firm that provides management and financial consulting, business support and assurance services, has reorganised its operations and redefined its Partners’ roles according to good governance requirements. “It would be pointless for a company like ours to advocate for good governance if we do not put into practice what we advocate for,” says Mark Aquilina, now Chief Visionary Officer responsible for the Group’s strategy and annual planning.

At NOUV, you often adopt the concept of a journey. Can you take us through this?

I founded NOUV in 2008, initially to provide traditional business support services to micro and small enterprises, especially start-ups. So basically, the idea has always been to accompany businesses throughout their journey. As our clients grew and their needs became more sophisticated and complex, we also evolved and expanded our range of services accordingly. We are constantly plugging in more services in our offerings to continue assisting our clients more holistically on their business journey. Likewise, my role at NOUV is to steer our firm throughout our journey by liaising with my fellow partners and our growing team of professionals.

What spurred NOUV’s reorganisation, and how is the company set up today?

The reorganisation happened after our last year’s acquisition of Tuning Fork, a management and business advisory firm specialising in business performance optimisation, information security, sustainability, human capital, and food safety. Thanks to this acquisition, the firm gained substantial competence in environmental and waste management, sustainability, and social accountability. This enabled us to help our clients familiarise themselves with the implementation and reporting of ESG related measures that will help them stand out from their competitors.

In parallel with Tuning Fork’s acquisition, we also set up a Corporate Finance and Strategy team, which we branded as 36N Capital coupled with the consolidation of GetGovernanz as our Governance, Risk and Compliance arm. This hybrid brand strategy helps us specialise and market our expertise through specific channels beyond the traditional CPA and CSP related ones.

Who are the other partners in the firm? How have their roles been redefined?

In line with the firm’s reorganisation, we felt that the partners’ roles should be redefined to include the responsibilities at the board level coupled with the areas of specialisation. Therefore, besides my new role of founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Tonio Farrugia is now Chief Operating Officer responsible for Administration, Finance, HR, and Operations. Andrew Naudi is the Chief Information Officer responsible for IT and the promotion of automation and digitisation within the firm, while James Ellul is Chief Quality Officer to ensure quality and reduce risk in CPA related services and matters. Worth noting is the appointment of James Sammut as Chief Sustainable Officer because we also want to see that NOUV’s business practices are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.

This year, it will be all about consolidation in preparation for future growth

Currently, there seems to be a strong drive among businesses in terms of the future.

Yes. We are all coming out from a challenging chapter that has had many businesses reassessing their role in the market, their priorities, and what they stand for. Difficult chapters are part of every journey. The more we engage with our clients, the more we understand how they increasingly understand the importance of embracing sustainability, good governance, and business performance optimisation to become future proof.

Our plan for the coming months is to prepare organisations for “the next level or phase” of their business journey by helping them move forward quickly, reducing business disruption to their day-to-day operations, and implementing the changes that allow the expected value to be realised. We also evaluate their strategy and fully monitor their journey to understand the opportunities and risks fully. This is where our Luke Cann comes in. In his new appointment as Chief Business Networking Officer, his role is specifically to connect personnel and businesses with other companies and clients.

The company’s growth must mean increased commitment towards your people.

The firm’s achievement of its milestones contributed to staggering growth in human capital. In fact, in just over a year, we have doubled our workforce which compelled us to move to new and larger premises in Żebbuġ. This also needed us to introduce more organisational structures for the smooth running of NOUV. All these changes involved adjustment for all the firm’s management and employees. Our prime concern now is everyone’s mental wellbeing, and that motivational drive remains high. This is why we recently conducted our first internal survey to find out how our people are feeling. Luckily, the morale turned out to be high, employees feel supported, listened to and valued, and they all see ample room for professional growth in their respective roles.

What are the main factors that led to these positive outcomes?

I think a lot of it is owed to the fact that there is much genuine involvement from the top management. We make it a point to avoid bureaucracy which sometimes hierarchies bring, allowing partners to remain very close to all personnel. Of course, we also ensure synergies across all units, including knowledge transfer, maintaining a positive & healthy working culture built on respect, inclusiveness, work flexibility, and transparency.

What about this year?

In 2021, despite the overall disruption, we were happy to have managed to exceed our financial and business targets. This year, it will be all about consolidation in preparation for future growth beyond 2022, giving time to our flagship brands to continue evolving, maturing, and gaining more traction in the market. We are also updating our online presence and shifting to a new group website nouv.com, all part of a project to align our marketing material and efforts.

Our mission for 2022 and beyond is to continue moulding this firm into a fully-fledged consulting firm that produces quality work, is ethical in its approach, and has an that develops an international dimension in its growth strategy. We also need to remain approachable, flexible, and faithful to our roots, as those of a boutique firm looking at making positive changes in people’s lives by helping their businesses.

Mark Aquilina, Chief Visionary Officer responsible for NOUV’s strategy and annual planning.