Curragh has been brought in by the New Zealand Rugby Union and the ORFU as a change manager to help the union out of a financial hole, and set a viable path for the future.
"That means formulating a plan and a structure where the union is at and where they go from here. Part of that is having a detailed budget and having a look at every piece of the union, both on and off the field," he said.
"It is a big job and not just for me. The board and staff will put their heads together and work hard to come up with a plan. We are making some good progress but it is a significant challenge.
"The priority is to have a robust plan to make Otago return to profit."
The union had posted losses of just under $4 million collectively over the past five years, and the result for last year is due out next month.
"I do not know how much the loss will be. The books are with the auditors right now and they are working with the finances.
"We will know within two weeks but it will be a sizeable loss. I can't say how big a loss it is going to be."
The union was forced to go cap in hand to the NZRU earlier this month for money to keep the business ticking over.
Curragh, who is halfway through an initial four-week assignment, said the money was not a bail-out but declined to say how much it was.
It is believed to be below $50,000 to cover wages and other expenses.
Curragh said the union needed to increase its revenue in the professional game and control its costs.
"I think we need to make sure the professional side of the game is profitable and grow the revenue there . . . but it is not easy. You've got to look at doing things slightly differently."
He said increased sponsorship was a source of revenue, but it would be hard to bring down player costs initially as contracts had been signed.
"Ticket prices going up is not the way either. Sometime you can bring them down and that brings a lot more people into the gate."
The Otago team winning games would undoubtedly help, he said, but was not the sole answer.
He said the amateur side of rugby was working well and had a big job to do.
"The amateur game here is breaking about even and that is something where you always want to throw more money at.
"This is a big union, both geographically and player numbers wise, so you need to invest in that part of it."
The union simply could not shed staff to save money as that had already been carried out, he said.
"The union is down to the bare bones already. A lot of that cutting costs through cutting staff has already gone on here.
"There are definitely cost savings to be made but they're not huge."
Curragh (43) was in charge of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union for three years, inheriting a $900,000 loss which he turned to profit the following year.
He was also involved with changes at Rugby Southland last year when that union ran out of cash.
He now works as a business consultant and said the Bay of Plenty turnaround came down to cutting costs and getting the community in beside the union, and team. Rugby Southland was also about cutting costs.
Curragh said all the parties involved in discussion, including the Bank of New Zealand, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin Venue Management Ltd and sponsors, were being hugely supportive to put the union in a good position.