The buck stops here

The buck stops here

Australian accountancy firm William Buck sets up in New Zealand this month, with the unusual ambition for a mid-tier practice of not wanting to become a natural alternative to the Big Four.

“You’ll never hear me say that,” says chairman Nikolas Hatzistergos. “William Buck has been around for 115 years, and had umpteen offers to join up with a Big Four firm. We’ve always resisted. We are an SME in our own right, and our professional roots are entrenched in heartland businesses.”

In Australia, William Buck has 52 partners across audit, tax, business advisory, corporate recovery and wealth management, generating annual revenues of AU$65 million. It establishes in New Zealand through a name change for Auckland accountancy practice, O’Halloran HMT, which was founded in 1886.

New Zealand director Bruce Mincham says the strength of William Buck’s information systems was a drawcard for integration. Ever closer economic relations between the two countries have also played a part. “We wanted to strengthen our Australian and global networks. We have also recently become an associate of Praxity, a global alliance of accounting firms that is the eighth largest in the world based on revenues.”

The International Financial Reporting Standards regime and changing risk management policies have put pressure on mid-tier accounting firms to access a much wider pool of knowledge, says Mr Hatzistergos. “You can’t invest in infrastructure on your own. You need to be part of a group, where you can share cost and knowledge.”

On the web:
www.williambuck.com

ENDS

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