Apollo Care Alliance: How PKF improved financial clarity and supported the scale-up of regional aged care through strategic advisory

In 2020, three seasoned industry veterans, Stephen Becsi, Barry Ashcroft, and John Young, founded Apollo Care Alliance. Needing a trusted adviser and auditor from the get-go, and specifically “not within the Big Four”, John put forward PKF to help navigate the unprecedented rules and regulations of a Not-For-Profit (NFP) within the private sector. Five years on, the partnership continues to be a “terrific match”.

Scaling-up, up, up...into the clouds

Regional and rural aged-care providers often face financial strain, complex compliance requirements, staffing shortages, and governance challenges. Building new facilities is rarely viable, and many stand-alone NFPs struggle to sustain operations or adapt to increasing regulatory demands.

However, Apollo Care Alliance, a fast-growing, innovative group of NFP aged-care communities (Apollo Care is not an NFP – just the sites), addressed these issues by acquiring vulnerable or overstretched providers and integrating them into a scalable yet locally sensitive framework. Since its establishment, Apollo Care has acquired 14 regional aged-care communities by offering them the benefits of professional management while retaining their local identity and connection.

Apollo Care deploys a virtual C‑Suite – delivering governance, compliance, finance, and operations management from the cloud. This eliminates the need for a centralised head office, reducing overhead while ensuring each community benefits from top-tier managerial support.  Moving into the cloud helped Apollo Care scale its operations by creating a unified, flexible digital infrastructure that could easily grow alongside the business. Cloud-based systems removed the limitations of location-bound processes, enabling seamless communication and collaboration across multiple Alliance sites. It allowed for the centralisation of key functions such as scheduling, compliance tracking, and care delivery reporting, making it easier to replicate and maintain operational standards in new locations. Automation of routine tasks reduced administrative overhead, freeing up resources to focus on growth and service quality. Most importantly, the cloud provided the scalability needed to quickly onboard new Alliance sites, ensure consistent training and support, and monitor performance in real time, all of which were essential for efficient, sustainable expansion.

COO, Barry said, “After over 30 years of leadership and operational experience in the aged care sector, it’s rewarding to now apply these skills to help preserve and sustain the special communities now partnering with Apollo Care.”

Ensuring Accounting Standards are met

As specialist advisers to early-stage businesses in the aged-care sector, we were engaged in a dual capacity by the fast-growing Alliance of NFP sites, aiming to scale its operations regionally whilst ensuring compliance. While Apollo Care had a compelling mission and community-driven model, without deep internal accounting expertise, it faced significant challenges such as tax issues, raising capital and navigating the complexities of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), as it matured beyond the startup phase.

Kym Reilly, one of our Audit and Assurance Partners in Sydney, was appointed lead, bringing technical clarity, stakeholder alignment, and future-proofing financial processes. Kym possesses an extensive understanding of organisational risk, internal control, business processes, and financial reporting. She leverages this knowledge to deliver services that drive effectiveness, enhance business performance and create tangible value for her clients. From this, Kym, alongside our Business Advisory team, helped Apollo Care transition from risk to readiness and ultimately position itself for long-term, scalable success.

“Within our role, we continue to provide both strategic advisory and audit support across key areas of governance, accounting standards, and capital readiness. The collaboration enabled the start-up to scale operations, gain investor confidence, and maintain full regulatory compliance.

“As auditors, we are in a unique position to effect positive outcomes for our clients, through our deep understanding of our clients’ business, enabling us to get to the heart of the real issues and find the best solution to effect change,” Kym said.

Assisting in Apollo Care's start-up success

Start-ups in the aged-care sector face a unique mix of regulatory scrutiny and financial complexity. By combining hands-on advisory services with proactive audit readiness, we helped Apollo Care build a compliant, confident, and scalable foundation — enabling them to focus on delivering quality care where it’s needed most.

Apollo Care’s CEO, Stephen said, “PKF has been invaluable. The team’s guidance helped us turn a confusing and stressful situation into a learning opportunity.” When it comes to future plans, Stephen is expecting the business to have “doubled or tripled” in the next five years.

“We’ve gone from three people to 1,500 and growing. We’re a unique organisation, and PKF has helped us grow with confidence. We’re continuously in a position to scale up without compromising governance or care quality.”

As of July 2025*.

At PKF, we help aged care start-ups succeed, so you can focus on what matters most: care.

We provide tailored financial advisory for aged-care organisations — from start-ups to established providers. Whether you're raising capital, planning to scale, or preparing for audit, we’ll help you get the accounting right.

Get in touch with our specialist team today.