Person of Interest
FS: What is the history of the firm?
AH: We have a long and proud history spanning close to 60 years. The firm was started by Doug Allan circa 1957 and merged with a firm owned by Ray Hall in 1987. They each retired in 1989 and 1995 respectively and at that
time there were three of our current partners remaining; Bob Buckingham,
Scott Somerville and Stephen Parsons. The firm now has seven partners including Scott Jago, Mark Shepherd, Belinda Burne and Stephen Rose.
With around 90 staff, we are now one of the largest non CBD firms in Australia and currently rank in the top BRW 50 firms in Australia. Excitingly, we have just won the 2016 Financial Review Client Choice Awards for Best Accounting Firm (revenue <$50M) and we were also the overall winners of the Best Professional Services Firm (revenue <$50M).
FS: You are a representative firm of the Alliott Group. This is a large professional services group worldwide but not a particularly well recognised brand in Australia.
AH: Generally international affiliations are not widely known but for us it was all about joining the right group. In 2003, we were approached by a longstanding Alliott Group member firm in Melbourne and gained inside knowledge regarding who they were.
Alliott Group began in 1979 as one of the first global accounting alliances and is
now represented by some 160 independent accounting and law member firms in
70 countries on every continent. Their business principles, including passion,
integrity, excellence and collaboration, align well with our culture, so for us, joining was a no brainer. We had clients who were doing things internationally and we wanted to be able to refer them to firms in whom we had confidence and who shared our values. Over the years, we have spent considerable time attending world and regional conferences and have developed strong relationships with the principals of these firms. Bob Buckingham has also been a member of the Alliott Group Board for many years.
FS: What types of services do you provide?
AH: The size of our firm including our in-house divisions means we have a breadth of skills to offer a wide range of services with high levels of expertise. Our core accounting and business advisory services are vast, including tax planning and advice, statutory compliance, financial reporting, indirect taxes, industry review and benchmarking, business purchases and sales, business review and planning, management accounting, budgeting and cash flow, corporate secretarial services, bookkeeping, succession planning and international tax.
We also have dedicated internal specialists in SMSF services, audit/assurance and the preparation of statutory accounts, mortgage advice including residential, investment and business loans, financial planning and advice, human resource services and advice and workplace health and safety support.
FS: AH has been utilising FeeSynergy for about 2 years. In that time we have come to admire the firm’s professional and friendly culture. We see this so we assume your customers do also. This must be good for your business.
AH: We want to be an advisory firm of choice for clients and employees on the Northern Beaches and a leading mid-tier accounting firm in Australia. We do this by offering a dynamic and rewarding work environment, a professional yet relaxed approach, strong communication and by highly valuing, respecting and growing our relationships with our staff, our clients and our community.
FS: Congratulations on your firm being a multiple winner in Financial Review Client Choice Awards. This is a fantastic achievement. What is the secret to this success?
AH: Our partners genuinely enjoy each other’s company, share knowledge and have a good time at work. This in turn filters through our workplace. This is not always the case in other professional services firms. We also always put our best people in charge of our training.
We are proud of the quality and value of our services and our staff are encouraged to live our brand every day, in everything they do for every client. Our clients know that we are the go to place for all their financial and business solutions. We take the time to develop a deep knowledge and understanding of how they ‘tick’. We own each client’s problem and strive to find solutions that are both innovative and practical. As one of our clients responded to the Client Choice Awards survey, the Allan Hall team “…always respond in a timely manner and tackle challenging tasks with determination to serve the best interests of my company.” I think this says it well.
FS: What are the firm’s plans for the future?
AH: We have to deal with all the changes/challenges facing our industry, in particular technology and globalisation; and focus on the future and the opportunities that come from these. We are continually revisiting how we do things and are very receptive to change and have been doing that since day one. We are excited about the new challenges and opportunities and feel that we are well placed to grow our business.
FS: On a lighter note … your firm is situated on Sydney’s glorious northern beaches. Do you have a problem with staff taking “sickies” when there is a light offshore breeze and a good swell is running?
AH: The problem is not with our staff but our partners. The advantage of being situated on Sydney’s glorious northern beaches is that staff are close to beaches and home and spend nominal time travelling to and from work, so it’s easy to leave work and get to the beach and have the time to get a surf in. On a serious note we respect and promote work/life balance to our staff.
