Person of Interest
FeeSynergy has had a long association with the Accru network going back some 9 years to when the Adelaide firm Accru Harris Orchard became accredited. We recently spent some time with Accru Rawsons’ partner and National Chair Melissa McCrystal to discuss the group and its plans for the future.
FS: The Accru brand is perhaps not as widely known as many of the other top 30 firms however it is a highly respected brand within the industry itself. Are there any plans to raise the profile of the group?
Accru: Branding and Marketing is one of the main areas we focus on as a group. We are always looking for new opportunities to raise our profile especially in the small to medium enterprise space. Currently we’re leveraging the success of our ‘ProfitSurge’ program and Accru’s mobile tax app to build awareness of the Accru brand. ProfitSurge is a program we have developed to assist our clients to accurately analyse their businesses and improve net profit. Our mobile tax app has attracted thousands of downloads to date. An upgrade with extra calculators, news feed and GPS-enabled motor vehicle log book will be available soon.
Our people are our most valued resource and the Accru brand has enabled us to attract and retain quality professionals who are aligned with our core values. An active exchange program across the Accru network and with our international partners has strengthened the profile and recognition of the brand.
FS: How would you describe Accru’s culture and values?
Accru: The Accru group consists of seven autonomous Financial Services firms across Australia and New Zealand, all with very similar culture and values. Our members believe the ability to provide clients with the highest standards of personalised service and advice is at the core of our purpose. This shared vision is what has enabled the group to remain connected since our beginnings in 1984.
Stability of staff over the years can be attributed to the flexible culture and opportunities we provide our team. Many of our most senior people including Partners and Directors started their accounting careers as graduates in their respective firms, something that is quite unusual in our industry.
FS: What types of businesses do Accru service? Is there any areas of speciality for which you are well known in your community?
Accru: Our group offers a full range of financial services including traditional tax & accounting, audit & assurance and financial planning/wealth management services. We also specialise in providing superannuation and estate planning advice, outsourcing services, cloud accounting, mortgage & finance broking, business valuations, data analytics, risk insurance, and specialist tax advice such as transfer pricing, US taxes and other international tax consulting.
We provide advice to all industries and have developed niche services in the pharmacy, not-for-profit, health, aged care and SMSF sectors together with expertise in advising German and Chinese speaking businesses.
FS: Congratulations on your group being a multiple winner in the Financial Review Client Choice Awards. This is a fantastic achievement. What is the secret to this success?
Accru: We have been a finalist in the awards for the last three years, and were extremely proud to win the Best Accounting Firm under $50m turnover and have Graeme Jennings one of our Partners in Perth win the Most Client Focused Accountant in 2015. As this award is based on client feedback, for us it reinforced the personalised service we provide our clients, which is the foundation to our success as individual firms and the network as a whole.
FS: What is Accru doing to take advantage of the opportunities provided by being part of a network?
Accru: We have a fantastic training and development program within the Accru network including internal courses for different levels. Our exchange program between offices gives staff the opportunity to spend time working and learning skills at another network firm. Through our international affiliation with CPA Associates International, senior staff also have the opportunity to work in one of our partner firms across the globe which is a huge opportunity to further their careers.
We found quality leadership programs hard to find in our industry so Accru have also developed our own manager training program via our specialist, Steve Nayda, based in our Adelaide office.
FS: Our perception is that there appears to be a real sense of national camaraderie amongst the partners which augers well for the group. How has this evolved?
Accru: Accru is genuinely a close knit group, based on a real friendship over the many years we have been together. To continue to build on that camaraderie we hold a partner and manager conference every 2 years which keeps connections between partners strong and enables managers to network with their colleagues in an informal setting.
FS: You are currently National Chair of the Accru group, how did your career start?
Accru: I met one of the partners, Jeff Rake, in Brisbane in 1996 with the hope of securing some work experience during my last year of university. Unbeknown to me he was interviewing for a graduate position at the same time and he thought I was there for the job interview. At the end of the meeting he offered me the job and asked when I could start. I said I hadn’t graduated yet and was only here for work experience. We came up with an alternative solution and I started working 3 days per week in my last semester which then turned into full time employment once I graduated at the end of the year. From that point on, we continued to hire undergraduates 3 days per week in our firm. I became a partner in 2008 and subsequently was appointed National Chair of the Accru group in 2015.
