Building Financial Clarity Through Real-World Analysis
Since 2019, we've been helping Australian professionals decode financial statements and make smarter business decisions. Not through textbook theory, but practical skills that actually work in the field.
How We Started (And Why It Matters)
Back in early 2019, our founder Rhett Winfield was sitting in yet another corporate training session. You know the type — overly polished slides, generic case studies, instructors who hadn't reviewed a real balance sheet in years. Everyone nodded along, took notes, then went back to their desks confused.
Rhett had spent fifteen years working with mid-sized businesses around Brisbane and the Gold Coast. He'd seen the same problem everywhere: smart people making poor decisions because they couldn't read financial statements properly. Not because they weren't capable, but because traditional training focused on memorizing formulas instead of understanding what the numbers actually meant.
So he started sarothexar with a simple idea. Teach financial analysis the way it's actually used — messy, contextual, full of judgment calls. We started with weekend workshops in Burleigh Heads. Word spread. By late 2020, we were running programs across Queensland.
Today we work with everyone from small business owners to corporate finance teams. And we still use the same approach: real statements, real scenarios, real discussions about what works and what doesn't.
What Guides Our Work
These aren't corporate values we put on a poster. They're the principles that shape how we design every program and interaction.
Practical Over Perfect
Financial analysis isn't about finding the "right" answer. It's about making informed decisions with incomplete information. We teach judgment, not just calculation.
Context Matters
A ratio that signals trouble in retail might be perfectly fine in manufacturing. We focus on understanding industry context and business models, not universal rules.
Honest About Limits
Financial statements tell part of the story, not all of it. We're upfront about what you can and can't learn from the numbers alone.
People Behind The Programs
We're a small team. Everyone here has worked in financial roles where reading statements accurately actually mattered. That experience shapes everything we create and teach.
Rhett Winfield
Spent 15 years in corporate finance before starting sarothexar. Worked everywhere from tech startups to mining operations. Still gets excited about a well-structured cash flow statement. Lives in Currumbin and surfs badly most mornings.
Astrid Sorensen
Joined sarothexar in 2021 after running financial planning for a Brisbane retail group. Designs most of our course materials and somehow makes ratio analysis less boring. Has strong opinions about which accounting standards actually make sense.
How We Actually Work
Our programs run between six weeks and three months, depending on depth. Most sessions happen in the evening or on weekends because we know everyone has day jobs.
We use real financial statements from Australian companies (anonymized when needed). You'll work through complete analyses, discuss what you found with other participants, and get feedback from instructors who've done this work professionally.
The goal isn't certification or credentials. It's building the confidence to look at a set of financials and understand what's actually happening with the business. That skill takes time, but it's worth it.