CHAPTER SEVEN
1970’S - NEW DIRECTIONS
As the 1970’s dawned the main preoccupation of the firm changed suddenly from trying to manage and control growth to promoting services and seeking new directions for the expansion of the practice. Post-War growth had continued almost unabated for a quarter of a century so it was very much a new scene for the Executive Committee, partners and staff. Along with a change towards larger holdings, there were other influences affecting the situation in rural areas such as improvements to roads and vehicles, which meant that farmers were much more inclined to travel to a regional centre or to Perth for shopping and services. Business activity in the towns shrunk. From the firm’s point of view, there was also increasing competition as Perth accountants saw opportunities to expand their practices into the country and there was an increasing number of accountants establishing themselves as country practitioners. These changes in the countryside inevitably had to bring changes in the policy and direction of the firm. As the rural sector expanded so the firm responded with more offices and more personnel in the country. When the rural sector shrunk the firm reorganised and began to close smaller centres but provided the same service from the larger towns.
Computerisation
For twenty-five years as the volume of work expanded, the firm would establish an accountant at yet another town. In March, 1970 just after resident accountants had been appointed to Mandurah and Port Hedland there were representatives in fifty-five country towns. The number of towns in which there had at one time or another been a resident accountant, including Kununurra which was manned for a short period over 1971/72, is sixty-one. Northampton was closed in April, 1970 and this was the beginning of a period of rationalisation of the country practices in WA Along with the transfer of work from the smaller towns the larger centres were built up by the provision of more adequate downtown offices, relocation of client files from Perth and the linking of these centres to the Perth computer. Representatives were withdrawn from eighteen country centres in the years 1970 to 1979. The first significant event of 1970 was the commencement of operations of Birds Rural Management Pty Ltd on 1st January which had been set up in order to give the Farm Management Service a degree of independence and remove income and costs from the financial statements of the practice.
Computerisation 100 years of successful connections 59
