The Challenge

Protocol Security & Investigations is a privately held Australian company specializing in security and fraud detection services tailored for the insurance industry. The company's primary businesses focus on insurance fraud evaluation, investigation and security related training. Since inception, the company has expanded from a regional to national service provider with over 400 people.

In 2004, the company was challenged with an increasingly fragmented culture as the two co-founder lead business units continued to move in separate direction creating an imbalance in revenues and a cultural schism. One division was growing quickly while the other was stagnant & mired in red ink. The company needed a way to break the impasse and return to balanced growth and profitability.

The Solution

An advisor from ParCon's Emerging Business Group was selected by the company based on a strong reputation & deep experience with the unique challenges of private company's ownership structure. He conducted a rapid strategic, financial and operational audit of the company with the goal of making recommendations that could return Protocol to the growth and profit performance it was capable of.

ParCon immediately attacked the leadership schism by helping the co-founders work out an equitable dissociation. It then recommended organizational changes and leadership upgrades to realign the business and address the cultural split. With critical leadership & cultural changes underway, the team was ready to refresh and execute a new business strategy focused on expanding its reach nationally while also driving scale by entering new markets in marine insurance. Finally, poor profitability was attacked with new IT systems & business processes.

The Results

Through the hard work and disciplined follow-up of Protocol leaders and ParCon advisors, the business began to see rapid improvements that continue today;

• A strong leadership team was put in place along with mature management processes and better reporting, allowing the company to scale rapidly
• In nine months, the lagging division's losses and stagnant revenues turned to solid operating profits and consistent double digit revenue growth
• Protocol expanded from a small regional concern with 12 employees to become the largest privately held security firm in Austrailia
• Operating losses in 2004 were turned into consistent EBITDA of 25% or more
• Strong organic growth was augmented by successful targetd M&A activities which allowed Protocol to enjoy a five-fold increase in revenue since 2004