CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE STORY CONTINUES
In the early 1990’s, the late Neville Harris produced a History of the Firm which covered the first 70 years from 1922 to 1992. This was a grand publication and was read with great interest by many current, retired and former staff along with members of the public who had enjoyed long standing associations and interest in the Firm during its first 70 years. As we approach March 27, 2012 we will see the 90th anniversary of the firm come to fruition. For the first 51 years until January 1973, the firm was an exclusively Western Australian firm and in the last 40 years has grown to a truly national operation, growth in the Eastern States having accelerated rapidly over the last 20 years. The last two decades have also seen dramatic change in the modus operandi of the firm to accommodate national coverage in a rapidly changing world. Ambrose Depiazzi picks up on Chapter 10 in early 1992.... In early 1992 many areas were in a state of rapid change at management level, the Executive Committee had undergone a generational change 90 | RSM
in the preceding five years with the average years of experience being 4.2 years at June 1992 compared to 11.3 years only 5 years prior. The expansion into Eastern States offices and their evidence of being able to operate on a day to day basis as a stand alone entity in regard to processing financial statements and statutory tax and corporate returns was a new approach compared to many longstanding West Australian practices. For many years Perth head office had been a centralised processing hub. Whilst this had slightly changed in the late 1980’s, the 1990’s saw this decentralised trend accelerated and costly Perth Office floor space released. After seventy years, the change was accepted with fear and trepidation by some. In early 1992, having become established in Eastern Australia, the push was on to expand the firms horizons and to become part of the Asian region. After considerable investigation it was decided for the first time to place a Partner outside Australia. Neil Hough was selected and in December 1992, he and his wife and two young children took up residence in Jakarta, Indonesia.
