The William Buck Adelaide Story

1895

1965

1946

1966

Relocation

1978

1927

1947

1976

Mr William Buck establishes accounting firm in Melbourne.

Brothers Ken and Mawson Giles establish accounting firm Giles & Giles in Adelaide.

from Grenfell Street, Adelaide to Northview House, Greenhill Road, Wayville.

Mawson Giles appointed Senior Partner.

Dean Trowse appointed Senior Partner.

RJC Evans and Ken Giles establish accounting firm Evans & Giles in Adelaide.

Merger with Victor Trenerry.

1951 Merger with FG Malpas, Kadina.

Giles & Giles enters the world of technology, purchasing first computer.

1982

1985

1989

William Buck expands nationally. First annual Outstanding Achievement Award presented. Merger with Higgins Botha.

Giles & Giles joins the William Buck Group.

GST introduced.

Dennis Laundy appointed Managing Director. Stock Market crash.

Peter Brock appointed Senior Partner.

CGT introduced.

1994 Joined GMN International.

1998 Giles & Giles changes name to William Buck. Moved to 48 Greenhill Road, Wayville.

Giles & Giles forms specialist divisions –Business Advisory & Wealth Advisory. Kadina office established.

Published June 2022

William Buck (SA) Pty Ltd Level 6, 211 Victoria Square Adelaide SA 5000 williambuck.com | 08 8409 4333

Printed in South Australia by: Open Book Howden Print + Design

Written by: Sally Collings

Designed by: Welbourn O'Brien

Feature Photography: ASB Creative Professional Photography

All reasonable attempts at factual accuracy have been made.

The WilliamBuck Adelaide Story

Foreword

I wonder whether Mr William Buck ever considered that the accounting practice he started in Melbourne in 1895 would be changing lives 125 years later. His is an incredible story of determination, generosity, and above all, total commitment to his clients. On a parallel path, brothers Ken and Mawson Giles started their own accounting firm in Adelaide in 1946. According to Mawson, Giles & Giles did not have a motto but simply gave its clients the best service it could and treated them like family.

These heartfelt, yet inauspicious origins, laid the foundations for something much greater than Mr William Buck or the Giles brothers most likely intended. Their respective firms followed a bumpy road of ups and downs as they negotiated wars, depressions and droughts. They wrestled with new technology and transitions in leadership and came through the other side. No matter what was thrown at them, Mr William Buck and Ken and Mawson Giles put their clients first.

Today, it is our privilege and our responsibility to ensure this tradition continues. Here at William Buck, we believe that what is best for our clients is best for us. We stop at nothing to get to know our clients and their businesses; to understand

the complexities of family relationships, the intricacies of corporate structures and uphold our high-quality standards to deliver innovative and superior outcomes for clients. We help our clients overcome challenges to be the best they can be. We are in the business of changing lives!

To do this successfully, we rely on a dedicated team of professionals and support staff. Each one of them is a William Buck person; genuine, grounded, caring, ambitious and above all committed to our clients. We pride ourselves on our ability to recruit and retain the best people in the business. We create opportunities for our staff and promote from within. We are focused on wellbeing and we like to have a good time! We employ staff for the long-term which helps us build long-term relationships with clients. That is what it’s all about!

William Buck has come a long way in 125 years. We have grown, merged, specialised and benefited from being part of national and international networks. Today, we are one of Adelaide’s largest accounting and advisory firms. We are the clear leader in the mid-market and we are committed to providing this sector with the breadth and depth of

specialist services it needs. We are very proud of what we have achieved, but we have much to look forward to, and believe our best is ahead of us. As we look forward to the next 125 years of change, one thing that won’t be changing is our passion to continue to change the lives of our clients and staff.

On behalf of our staff, past and present, I’d like to present you with the William Buck story. You all play an incredibly important part in this. Understanding where we have come from will play an integral part in how we navigate the future.

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Jamie McKeough Managing Director

William Buck Adelaide team, 2021

Who is William Buck?

Introducing William Buck Adelaide

Today’s William Buck is confident and contemporary. The firm has built on the foundation of professional excellence and genuine care for clients which was established by Mr William Buck in the late 19th century. The celebration of the 125th anniversary of the William Buck Group, coincides with 75 years since William Buck Adelaide was established. This was back in 1946, when brothers Ken and Mawson Giles founded a small accounting practice called Giles & Giles. Since then, the firm has undergone a significant transformation from an unassuming, “old school” firm to one which offers multidisciplinary services delivered by a team of experts. Today’s William Buck is mixing it with the Big 4 accounting firms in Adelaide in terms of its size, specialist services and its exceptional client base.

Despite its growth, one thing that has remained steadfast over the last 125 years, is the firm’s genuine interest in and care for clients and staff. Mr William Buck laid the foundation for this as early as 1906 when he started up a school for accountants. Ken Giles, and his younger brother Mawson, also contributed to this cornerstone philosophy through their unwavering commitment to client service. Today, the combined legacy of Mr William Buck and Ken and Mawson

Giles is a firm with a strong appreciation of its history, but more importantly an understanding of its capabilities and an uncompromising focus on delivering professional services to a broad range of clients and providing outstanding career opportunities and other benefits for its staff.

William Buck Adelaide owes its existence primarily to the Giles brothers, who between them led the firm steadily for more than 32 years. Ken Giles handed the baton to Mawson in 1965, and after Mawson’s retirement in 1978, the firm took the opportunity to consider a more contemporary direction. Senior Partner Peter Brock, proposed that Giles & Giles needed to become more strategic in order to survive and succeed in an increasingly competitive profession. Dennis Laundy invigorated this transformation when he took the reins as Managing Director in 1987. Dennis describes himself as a “man in a hurry”. His perception that Giles & Giles was an “old firm” was shared by the Adelaide market which viewed Giles & Giles as a trustworthy and reliable firm who diligently turned out farmers’ tax returns. “I wanted people to think that we were a bit broader, a bit more contemporary and a firm that was actually doing things,” Dennis said.

Today’s William Buck Adelaide is confident and contemporary.

Mr William Buck

Top Right: Mawson Giles

Bottom Right: Ken Giles

And so, he set the ship on a new course, recruiting staff for the journey, among them Jamie McKeough who joined Giles & Giles in 1988. Dennis described Jamie as “the sort of person I wanted to get on the bus”. In 1993, Jamie was promoted to Director and it soon became evident that one day he would succeed Dennis as Managing Director. Giles & Giles began executing its vision for a bold, new direction. It was a pivotal moment when the firm joined the William Buck Group in 1996 and within two years changed its name to William Buck. The Giles & Giles name was synonymous with the firm’s solid foundation, but not with its future. The name change coincided with the firm’s relocation from 68 to 48 Greenhill Road in 1997, to a bigger and more modern office that could accommodate its 40-strong staff.

Over the next few years, William Buck Adelaide focused on its vision to become more contemporary and expand its range of services, as well as its number of staff. The firm began investing in the William Buck brand and its financial performance and reputation were dramatically

boosted by the rapid growth of the Wealth Advisory division. Funds under management (FUM) reached $500 million in 2002.

Specialist Audit and Superannuation divisions were also added to the firm’s professional service offering. Another pivotal moment was Jamie’s appointment as Managing Director in 2006. With a head for facts and figures and the charisma to win people over, Jamie was the ideal candidate to lead the firm into the future. As many long-term staff acknowledge (and there are plenty of them), Dennis kicked off the firm’s growth, but Jamie accelerated it. A combination of strong organic growth and a series of mergers saw the firm quickly expand in size, expertise and confidence. In addition, continued investment in the William Buck brand began paying dividends.

During the 1990s, there were several iterations of the William Buck Group, but essentially it was a federation of like-minded accounting firms, each wanting to grow and pass on the benefits of the William Buck association to their clients. In 2009, a rejuvenated William Buck Group joined Praxity, the world’s sixth largest accounting alliance, which represents more than 60,000 professionals in more than 110 countries. The association with the William Buck Group and Praxity confirmed to William Buck Adelaide what it already knew. That it had everything it took to be successful; the right people, the right strategy and all importantly, strong alignment within the organisation. This gave the firm the confidence it needed to continue to develop its specialist services and to pursue bigger and more complex clients. Associating with the William Buck Group and Praxity also provided the firm with access to new knowledge and experiences. It was like selling candy to a kid! William Buck Adelaide was a sponge when it came to soaking up new ideas. Today, the firm continues to demonstrate this almost obsessive pursuit of knowledge and better ways to do business. “We don’t pretend to know it all,” Jamie says. “Learning from others is part of our DNA”.

Partnership agreement between Ken and Mawson Giles, 1949

So, who is William Buck Adelaide today? It’s a firm which remains grounded, cognisant of the values of friendly service and genuine care for others which were laid out by Mr William Buck and Ken and Mawson Giles. Today’s firm is defined not only by the admirable values of its founders, but also by a dedicated team of professionals who work collaboratively to deliver a broad range of specialist accounting and advisory services. Today’s William Buck Adelaide is confident and even has a little swagger. Retired Director Wendy Drake says that today’s William Buck “dares to go there”. No client is out of reach. The firm has grown to a staff of almost 200. It is larger than one of Adelaide’s Big 4 accounting firms and is

a similar size to the other three. But even for accountants, it’s not all about the numbers, and at William Buck Adelaide, success is not measured in size. Instead, the firm measures success in terms of its ability to have a positive impact on the lives of its clients and its staff. To change lives! Jamie says the firm’s motivation to grow and develop is to create greater career opportunities for staff, so they remain with the firm, which in turn, facilitates long-term and more valuable relationships with clients. You will learn, as you read through this story, that’s what William Buck is all about. Long-term relationships with clients. Long-term relationships with staff. It’s the William Buck way.

"The firm measures success in terms of its ability to have a positive impact on the lives of its clients and its staff. To change lives!"

Giles & Giles Partners and Senior Staff, circa 1980. Back L-R: Jack Davis, Graham Perrin, Peter Brock, Dennis Laundy, Bruce Giles. Front L-R: Doris Brokensha, Dean Trowse, Mac Dunstone, Mawson Giles

Step back in time: From the beginning

Mr William Buck was born in Launceston in 1870 and started his own accounting practice in Melbourne in 1895, aged 25. It took resourcefulness and determination to establish a new business in the midst of one of Australia’s worst economic depressions. William’s passion for helping people ensured his firm gained a solid reputation in the Melbourne business community. As well as assisting clients and their businesses, William had a desire to raise the bar within the accounting profession and in 1906 he founded an accounting school. Over the next 20 years, he mentored hundreds of students as they prepared for their final examinations to gain admission into the Incorporated Institute of Accountants in Victoria, today known as Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. William took a personal interest in each of his students, just as he did with his clients. He was described as courteous, generous and a ‘true friend’.

In 1925, William’s son, William Walter Buck, affectionately known as Bill Buck Junior, joined the firm. Bill was charismatic, witty and popular. He was an accomplished sportsman and after being spotted by a talent scout, he was recruited to the Collingwood Football Club. He played 32 games between 1920 and 1924 and held the highly unusual distinction of being club secretary while still playing football. However, in 1925, both his playing and administrative careers ended prematurely, following a bus accident in which Bill broke his arm in three places. As you read on, you will discover that William Buck’s long association with Australian Rules Football is very much alive today!

In 1927, Bill took over from his father as Managing Partner of William Buck. William remained at the firm as a Principal for the next 20 years until he returned to his hometown of Launceston. Under Bill’s leadership, the firm continued to have a positive impact on the lives of clients and the success of their businesses. The firm had seven business units, eight Partners and nearly 100 staff and it was one of the leading accounting firms in Victoria. Bill inherited his father’s passion for helping people and continued to be involved with the company until shortly before his death in 1980.

Accounting school founded by Mr William Buck, 1906

The late 1970s proved a challenging time for Australian businesses, and the difficult transition from Bill Buck’s leadership to his successors, saw William Buck contract in size and move from the city to Hawthorn. Around this time, two ex-Arthur Andersen managers, Fausto Pastro and Peter Harrison, ventured out on their own and set up a successful practice. They were looking for another firm to merge with and William Buck had all the right characteristics. In 1983, Peter and Fausto joined William Buck. Together with a young William Buck Partner, Ian Lee, they commenced their journey and charted a new course for the firm. Using Fausto’s background in tax and Peter’s experience in audit, the firm’s new strategy was to build up speciality services for the benefit of their clients. In addition, the three Partners devised a plan to take the company national, with Fausto moving to Sydney in 1989 to set up William Buck’s first interstate office.

Peter was appointed as William Buck’s first national Chairman and he began recruiting firms from across Australia to join the network. The number one thing he was looking for was firms who were making a positive impact on those around them. Perth-based Bradshaw Judd and Collins was the first recruit, joining the William Buck Group in 1994. From there, the Group went on to recruit firms in each capital city, as well as an associate in New Zealand. The William Buck Board was created in 1997, with a vision to become the leader in the mid-market. Over time, the Board adopted a national approach to branding, quality and training to ensure William Buck developed an outstanding reputation for changing lives through quality advice and excellent service.

Left: Student letter of appreciation to Mr William Buck, 1909 Bill Buck Jr, Collingwood Football Club Career, 1920-1924

Our vision

Today, William Buck Adelaide has a clear vision; to be the leading advisory firm to mid-market clients. William Buck is currently one of the largest firms in Adelaide, enjoying an enviable position in the mid-market. According to Managing Director Jamie McKeough, this is absolutely deliberate. The firm recognises that there are greater opportunities for developing and maintaining long-term relationships with privately owned and family businesses, small corporates, notfor-profits and high net worth individuals. These businesses typically provide greater stability across generations than larger corporations where people come and go.

William Buck Adelaide’s vision is to continue to grow, but not just grow for growth’s sake. First and foremost, growth must deliver a tangible benefit to clients, by increasing the depth and breadth of its services and recruiting and developing more specialists to deliver these services. William Buck’s Directors believe “what is best for our clients will be best for us.” That’s the acid test they use when it comes to making decisions around the Board table. “We want to grow in the future and we’ll grow as big as we need to be,” Jamie says. “Our vision is very clear. We want to be the leading accounting firm in Adelaide, but rather than being big for the sake of being big, we’d rather be

regarded as a quality firm in terms of our culture, our values and service, and every aspect upon which a business is looked at.”

Directors and staff alike are well versed with the firm’s vision, which is underpinned by four key values: CARE - Collaborative. Aspiring. Relationship-driven. Enterprising. These are the cornerstones on which William Buck continues to build its enviable reputation for friendly and professional service. Some of these values stem from the early Giles & Giles days, when the Giles brothers went out of their way to visit clients on their farms. Others are the result of many years of pursuing excellence; Directors and staff honing their specialist skills in order to provide clients with a breadth and depth of service more typically associated with larger accounting firms. However, clients are not the only beneficiaries of William Buck’s commitment to its vision and values. Staff thrive in this environment of trust and collaboration, where they are simultaneously nurtured and challenged. They have embraced the firm’s mantra ‘Changing Lives’, which was adopted across the William Buck Group in 2014, but more about this later! Jamie admits it is a bold statement, but says above all else, the firm aspires to have a positive impact on the lives of its clients, its staff and the broader community.

Today, William Buck Adelaide has a clear vision; to be the leading advisory firm to mid-market clients.

In summary, William Buck’s vision is to be the leading advisory firm to mid-market clients. The firm’s leaders understand that in order to achieve this they must have a good value proposition for clients; they need to have passionate staff and recognise and promote talent to create an engaged and motivated workforce; and they need to continue to grow strategically and sensibly. Time will tell, but William Buck is well on the way to achieving its vision.

In for the long haul

William Buck Adelaide’s long history is enriched by many stories of multi-generational relationships between the firm and its clients. A stand-out example is the Wilkinson family. Lloyd Wilkinson came from a small farm at Orroroo in the Mid North. He entered into a partnership in a farming business with his father-in-law, George May, who was the Managing Director of City Motors, one of Giles & Giles’ early audit clients. Lloyd borrowed some money and bought a couple of properties, one of which was in Western Australia, near Geraldton. After mineral sands were discovered on the property in the late 1960s, Lloyd began receiving royalties and amassed a large amount of wealth which he invested wisely. At the time, Lloyd rented an office in the Giles & Giles building on Greenhill Road. In 1971, Graham Perrin joined Giles & Giles and started doing Lloyd’s accounting work, assisting him with investments in commercial property and further growing his wealth. When Graham retired as a partner 18 years ago, he continued to work for Lloyd and what later became the CL Wilkinson Group. Graham continued to work for Lloyd’s children for many years following Lloyd’s death in 2008, and even after his retirement from William Buck. Through its broad range of services, William Buck continues to provide tax and accounting, portfolio management and wealth advisory services to members of the Wilkinson family, maintaining a valued relationship that spans more than 70 years.

While Lloyd’s businesses have been wound up, his daughter, Anna, and her husband Damien Brown continue to benefit from their family’s long association with William Buck. “Always in these relationships, there’s that deep personal understanding of what the firm’s goals are and what our goals are,” Damien says. “We feel enormously comfortable with William Buck and they are an integral part of Leyton Funds and Anna’s and my businesses.” Lloyd’s son, John Wilkinson, and his wife, Susan, also appreciate the advice they have received from William Buck over two generations, particularly in regard to succession planning. They say business is always conducted in a friendly, amicable way.

"What is best for our clients will be best for us."

Front: Meredith Treloar, Shirley and Lloyd Wilkinson. Back: Haydn Wilkinson, Roger McLaughlin.

Step back in time: brothers in arms

Cast your mind back to Christmas Eve 1945. Australia, and the rest of the world, is emerging from the devastation of World War II. Kenneth Livingstone Giles, aged 42, warmly welcomes his brother Alexander Mawson, home from the war. Mawson, who hated every minute of his time training in the Armoured Corps, then serving with Field Security in Papua New Guinea, is delighted to be home. The two brothers celebrate a special Christmas with their family. The following year, they embark on a new adventure together, a partnership called Giles & Giles. While it wasn’t the first time the two brothers had worked together, Giles & Giles was a fresh start, and an opportunity to lay the foundation of what would eventually become one of South Australia’s most successful accounting firms. Mawson’s personal war diary reveals he felt terrible that Ken had to make a start in the business without him. When Mawson was transferred to Papua New Guinea in 1944, he wrote “It is surprising how far away office life seems.”

Ken received his Diploma of Commerce from the University of Adelaide in 1924. After a short stint as a tax assessor with the Taxation Department he entered into a partnership with Roy John Coleman Evans (Jack) who had established a tax agent’s practice in Adelaide following his discharge from the army after World War I. Evans & Giles was registered in 1927, with offices in the Norwich Union Building at 14 Waymouth Street. Jack and Ken quickly built up a significant list of rural clients. Their modus operandi was to visit country clients in their homes, offering them a highly personalised and friendly service. A document recording the early history of Evans & Giles states that, “Service to clients and consideration for their needs and conveniences were truly paramount, if unspoken, tenets of the firm’s creed.” Many miles were travelled in horse-drawn carriages and on horseback, as Jack and Ken tended to their concentration of clients in the Mid North of the state, and as far away as the Eyre Peninsula and the South East. Mawson joined his brother and Jack at Evans & Giles in 1938. He said Jack had a reputation as “a first-class mixer with a habit of shouting a drink to almost every client.” Mawson recalled that one visit to Jamestown concluded with a “rip roaring cocktail party” at a local hotel.

Prior to joining Evans & Giles, Mawson worked for the State Bank of South Australia, including a country posting to Karoonda. He transferred to Yacka where he met his wife, Sylvia, the daughter of a local farmer. Mawson recalls that the experience of working at these country branches in his late teens and early 20s, was one of the happiest times of his life. “I liked the country. I liked farmers and I liked living and working with them.” However, in 1943, Mawson was conscripted into the army and the Evans & Giles partnership was dissolved. Mawson believed that a disagreement between Jack and Ken over whether the firm should give him army pay was “the match that set the thing alight”. “You can imagine whose side my brother was on,” Mawson said of the incident. This fall-out led to Ken moving up the street to number 47, where the business Giles & Giles was registered in 1943. In his diary, Mawson records that he visited the new office prior to joining the army and was thrilled to see “Giles & Giles” on the door. “It is good

Giles Brothers, Ken (40), Max (38), and Mawson (26), 1941

of old Ken to put me in right from the start and I must think of some way to let him know I appreciate it.” It wasn’t until Mawson returned from the war, that he officially joined his brother in the partnership on 1 July 1946. From the outset, their shared vision for Giles & Giles was to service their clients. This centered around the brothers’ genuine interest in and concern for people, and their natural inclination to friendliness. In Mawson’s words, “The firm of Giles & Giles did not have a motto but simply tried to give its clients the best service it could for a reasonable charge, treating them like ‘part of the family’ with the Partners and staff.”

Right: Evans & Giles dissolved, 1943

Below: Evans & Giles letterhead, 1928

Named for a knight

Mawson Giles confessed his name was a minor embarrassment to him throughout his life. It was somewhat of a pattern, as his father’s name was Alexander Livingstone Giles. In an interview in 1991, Mawson explained that the intrepid Douglas Mawson lived nearby and had just returned from his second expedition to the Antarctic when he was born in 1914. Douglas Mawson was the only survivor of a three-man exploratory party that formed part of the expedition and was knighted later that year. For the Giles family, with a tendency towards explorers, there was no escaping this coincidence and the latest addition to the family was duly named Mawson!

Mawson Giles

Our strategy

William Buck Adelaide’s strategy is to bring the range of services to the midmarket that the mid-market needs.

Based on its vision and values, William Buck Adelaide’s strategy is to bring the range of services to the mid-market that the mid-market needs. Business has become more complex as life has become more complex, and today, William Buck’s clients require a much broader range of services to support their businesses and financial needs. This has been the key driver for the firm’s growth and the reason it has invested heavily in developing a range of specialist services, which have materialised through an equal proportion of mergers and organic growth.

William Buck’s strategy revolves around its staff being the number one trusted advisor to each and every client. The firm banks on its staff being the first people clients turn to when something happens, whether this is good or bad. The position is an enormous responsibility, as well as a privilege, and it’s what drives the team at William Buck. It underpins the firm’s success in building multi-generational relationships, cradle to grave. First, the firm must gain the confidence of the client. Once this relationship is formed, the firm and its professionals become embedded in the client’s business; their most trusted advisor. This is when the magic happens! Through total investment in what clients

do and how they do it, William Buck is able to help clients and their businesses be the best they can be. It’s how the firm change lives!

Another of William Buck’s cornerstone principles is that it operates as a ‘one firm firm’. This philosophy dictates that clients are clients of the firm, rather than any individual Director. In practice, this means the client receives the best service from the best person to resolve their particular issue. Traditionally, Partners in accounting firms have been highly protective of their patch, unwilling to involve their colleagues. This is generally driven by the financial rewards generated through that particular client. William Buck moved away from this model in the early 2000s, believing that a ‘one firm firm’ mentality was better for clients. “It was quite a pivotal moment in the history of the firm,” Jamie says. Such is William Buck’s commitment to this philosophy, that on rare occasions, it has parted company with staff who are not 100% aligned with this collaborative approach. Another consequence of the ‘one firm firm’ philosophy, is that the ownership of William Buck Adelaide is shared by all Directors, who each own a proportion of the whole pie, not different pies. “That is huge in terms of our DNA, the alignment

and in terms of us moving in one direction,” Jamie says. Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill agrees that the firm’s ownership structure has a lot to do with the success of the ‘one firm firm’ approach. He says this philosophy has been adopted by other accounting firms at a client level, but it doesn’t always extend to the ownership. “We’re doing better at it than most and our ownership structure is a big part of that,” Martin says. “We’re all in it together. We help each other.”

There is no doubt that William Buck Adelaide’s strategy has been shaped by the acknowledgement that they don’t know everything. They describe themselves as leading edge, not bleeding edge. They are wide open to new ideas. Their sponge-like ability to absorb best practice is matched only by the willingness of the William Buck Group, Praxity, and individual mentors to share their experiences. Among them, Bill Hermann (former Managing Director of Michigan-based Plante Moran), Kingsley Purdie (Port Pirie born and bred, globally accomplished) and several visiting professors from Harvard Business School. Bill has visited Australia on several occasions to run strategy days for the William Buck Group. He’s described as a “been there, done that type of person” who can take things to another level. Bill was instrumental in encouraging William Buck Adelaide to have a bit more swagger. As a former Board member of William Buck Adelaide, Kingsley helped develop the Wealth Advisory division and build the William Buck brand in the Adelaide market. One visiting Harvard professor shared this pearl of wisdom, which the leadership team at William Buck has taken on board. “Alignment trumps strategy”. It doesn’t matter how great your strategy is, unless you are aligned as an organisation you won’t be able to execute it. In particular, the firm takes great pride in the alignment of its Directors. There are no factions and no politics. “We are bereft of that here, and that absolutely helps with our alignment,” Jamie says. High-level advice from valued mentors has not only boosted the firm’s confidence, but it has helped the firm to develop a healthy business model and to run an aligned business with minimal headwind.

William Buck’s strategy to bring the range of services to the mid-market that the mid-market needs, gives the firm a clear direction. Alignment is key. Developing multigenerational relationships and trusted advisor status with clients is fundamental. As is the ‘one firm firm’ mentality and being wide open to learning and new ideas. These principles ensure that William Buck remains ahead of the curve. They enable and empower the firm to go about its business of ‘Changing Lives’.

"Alignment trumps strategy. It doesn’t matter how great your strategy is, unless you are aligned as an organisation you won’t be able to execute it."

Deputy Managing Director, Martin Hill

Step back in time: planning for the future

Today, strategic plans are commonplace in successful businesses. However, this was not the case in the early days of Giles & Giles when the focus was on “keeping the ship upright and steady”. “It wasn’t business like it is today,” former Senior Partner Peter Brock says. “The whole thrust for our firm back then was to do the right thing by clients. The client was king and we had to look after these clients.” Prior to 1980, Giles & Giles did not have a formal strategy.

As explained by Peter, the firm was in the business of servicing its clients and did not afford itself the luxury of thinking too far ahead. The first indication of a more forward-looking organisation was the “Giles & Giles Plan for the Future” (1982), which stated “For some time now, there has been a

growing feeling amongst the Partners that we need to look to the future – not only to maintain our current position, but to be prepared for the changes that must come.”

In 1987, the firm’s Partners agreed to engage Peter Edwards of Edwards Marshall & Co to advise on planning decisions for 1988 and beyond. This was the first time the firm had sought external input into a range of strategic issues and it proved to be a turning point in the firm’s learning journey. In 1989, Dr Adrian Geering, a prominent Adelaide business consultant, was engaged to assist with the firm’s strategic planning. Dennis Laundy, who was Managing Partner at the time, said Dr Geering’s role was to facilitate changes and act as a catalyst for development. The input of both Peter Edwards and Dr Geering received a mixed response from the firm’s Partners, although there was never any doubt that Giles & Giles benefited from these external perspectives.

Despite Dr Geering’s input, it wasn’t all smooth sailing ahead for Giles & Giles. On the back of a disappointing financial result in 1995, the firm’s Partners committed to a new strategic plan. This identified that there had been “cracks in the foundation as early as 1988 when the people and the methods of the previous 30-40 years were struggling to keep pace with new technology, new legislation and an ever-increasing workload.” The strategic plan reported that the firm’s financial performance had been steady, yet unspectacular. Going forward, the firm was to embrace a new vision: “To be a contemporary, medium-sized firm which aims to excel in the provision of a range of accounting, business and advisory services, as required by clients and meets the financial and personal needs of stakeholders”. The Partners set themselves a goal to raise the number of large clients, provide more comprehensive services and increase the number of staff to more than 40 in the next few years. They were committed to seeing the firm survive and thrive past 2000.

Giles & Giles Plan for the Future, 1982

In 1996, Giles & Giles as it was still known, engaged the services of consultant Barry McGuinness, a former partner of Arthur Andersen in Melbourne. As an aside, Barry was Chairman of William Buck Melbourne at the time and was responsible for introducing Giles & Giles to William Buck. Barry didn’t hold back with his advice to the firm. He said the Partners and staff had become a little comfortable and needed to get off their backsides and become more proactive. This fired things up. The firm embarked on a mission: “To consciously change emphasis from an introspective, safe, compliance-based firm with predominantly smaller clients to a firm focused on the provision of advisory and specialist services and higher level compliance work to the corporate businesses of Adelaide.” It’s quite a mouthful, but this bolder strategic approach more closely resembled the firm’s strategic plan today.

From these early experiences when it relied on external consultants, William Buck Adelaide has learned the value of planning for the future. Today, the firm is a leader in strategy, not just for its own business, but also assisting clients with their own strategic planning, and through its significant contribution to the direction of the William Buck Group.

Top Right: Dennis Laundy, Former Managing Director, 1987-2006 and Dr Adrian Geering, 1989

Right: Former Senior Partner Peter Brock, 1973-1995

Our professional services

The days of being a firm which focused on doing tax returns for predominantly country clients, with a spattering of hotel and audit clients, are long gone. Today, William Buck Adelaide prides itself on a broad range of services. An increasingly complex business environment has created the need for specialist advisory services and William Buck has grown alongside its clients to provide a fully integrated, one-stop shop solution. Branching out from the firm’s traditional compliance-based Business Advisory services, new divisions have continued to emerge, including Wealth Advisory (and Family Office), Audit and Assurance, Superannuation, Specialist Tax, Corporate Advisory, and more recently Finance Advisory and Managed Funds Administration. A combination of strategic mergers, investment and recruitment have enabled William Buck to develop this extensive suite of services to meet the needs of the mid-market.

The firm’s era of specialisation started with the creation of a Wealth Advisory division in 1989. The emerging Wealth Advisory services were separated from the firm’s traditional tax and accounting services, which later became known as the Business Advisory division. Today, Business Advisory is William Buck’s largest division. It has grown considerably

in the last decade to support eight Directors, including Ben Trengove who heads up the division. Ben joined William Buck as part of the MSI Tilley merger in 2011, bringing with him a strong understanding of rural industries and an affinity with agricultural clients. Tom Laundy was appointed Director in 2008, having become one of the firm’s key influencers since joining as a graduate. One of Tom’s stand-out qualities is his people skills and his enviable ability to gain the confidence of his clients. Prior to these recent appointments, Matthew Illman and Babis Mavrakis were appointed Directors in 2015, followed by Paula Liddle and Lee Fuller in 2018. Matthew Illman is another great people person, with real presence and excellent leadership qualities. He looks after many of William Buck’s longest standing clients. Babis is charismatic and has built an impressive portfolio of property clients with whom he has a fantastic relationship based on his ability to really understand their business. Paula first experienced life at Giles & Giles during a work experience placement while she was still at school. She later joined the firm on a parttime basis while she was studying at university and quickly progressed due to her background and interest in agriculture. Paula is described as technically very smart and someone

William Buck Adelaide now boasts more specialist services than any other mid-market accounting firm in Adelaide.

who doesn’t like fuss but prefers to get on with the job at hand. Lee is another stand-out for service delivery and he is well regarded for his determination to always do the best for his clients. This commitment to service was rewarded when one of Lee’s farming clients from Kimba named a paddock, “Fullers”, after him! The Business Advisory division includes two of the firm’s newest Directors, James Northcote and Shane Taylor who were appointed in 2021. James joined MSI Tilley as a graduate, prior to the firm merging with William Buck. As a result of the MSI Tilley’s strong Riverland

client base, he developed an interest in the horticultural and viticultural industries. James lives with cystic fibrosis, manages it admirably and is an inspiration to everyone he works with. Shane joined William Buck as an undergraduate, before leaving to pursue other opportunities. A few years later, he called William Buck for a reference and they said, “why don’t you come back,” which he promptly did! Having settled back in at William Buck and worked his way up to Director, Shane excels in servicing some of the firm’s larger and more complex clients, particularly in agribusiness.

William Buck Adelaide Director Group, 2021

"An increasingly complex business environment has created the need for specialist advisory services and William Buck has grown alongside its clients to provide a fully integrated, one-stop shop solution."

In 1987, Giles & Giles aligned itself with licenced dealer Count Financial Group, to enable it to offer an investment service to clients. According to Peter Brock who managed the division until the mid 1990’s, Giles & Giles learned a lot from this association and for a period was the leading Count firm in Australia. However, in 1996 the firm switched to Lonsdale Limited and renamed its fledgling investment division Link Financial Services, which operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Giles & Giles. The Giles & Giles newsletter at the time, reported that this development was a result of the strong growth of the investment division over the last eight years, which it described as “an exhilarating stage in our business development”.

Indeed, the creation of the Wealth Advisory division proved to be a pivotal moment in the history of William Buck Adelaide. The firm obtained its own Australian Financial Service Licence in 2003. This was a distinction from competitors and a clear benefit, with the division gaining significant traction. Its early success was due largely to the dedication and expertise of

Wendy Drake, a qualified chartered accountant who joined the firm in 1988 and was appointed Director in 2001. From the mid 1990s, with the guidance of Graham Perrin and Dennis Laundy, Wendy drove the Wealth Advisory division, with strong support from Chris Kennedy, Janine Williamson and long-term team members Nicole Holton and Michelle Hurcombe. Wendy and the team put their heart and soul into building the Wealth Advisory division and serving clients well beyond their expectations. Wendy said while William Buck’s client base provided a critical mass for the Wealth Advisory division to demonstrate its capability, but “it was all about reputation,” Wendy says. “Rather than product, we delivered a really good strategy, and it was actually our competitive advantage in Adelaide. The secret to the whole thing was that as a team we could deliver some superb results on behalf of a client that other financial planning firms in Adelaide couldn’t. They sold product and they invested money, but they didn’t bring the two together and we were integrated and that was the critical difference.”

Today, the Weath Advisory division has grown to 35 staff. Wendy has retired and Janine is a Director of the Wealth Advisory division, along with Adrian Frinsdorf, who heads up the division, Andrew Barlow and Aaron Trombetta. Adrian was appointed as a Director of Wealth Advisory in 2012 and brought a lot of sophistication to the firm’s investment offerings, primarily as a result of his background

Left: Standing: Chris Kennedy, Wendy Drake, Graham Perrin. Seated: Lonsec employee, Janine Williamson

Right: Michael Miles and Michael McClaren – Link Financial Services

in stockbroking and investment banking and his unique skill set. “Adrian’s investment knowledge is superior, and he has brought a lot of ideas to the table which have broadened investment opportunities for our clients,” Jamie McKeough says. Andrew was recruited to William Buck from another firm and his passion and ambition contributed to him becoming one of the firm’s youngest Directors in 2020. Andrew is well known for his deep connection with his clients and his ability to get things done. Aaron was appointed Director in 2021 and along with Andrew, will drive the Wealth Advisory division forward into the future. Aaron’s clients have enormous confidence in him and his excellent knowledge of investments.

The Wealth Advisory division continues to be a significant contributor to William Buck, with more than 750 clients. In 2021, funds under management (FUM) exceeded $1.6 billion. In 2020, Wealth Advisory introduced a new Family Office service headed up by Principal Andrew Bradley. Advising families across multiple generations is something the firm has been doing successfully for a long time. With specialist skills in this area, the recruitment of Andrew has taken this offering to the next level. “Over the years, we’ve been very good at educating the next generation to manage wealth,” Andrew says. “We’re also very focused on defining the family’s purpose and what that means beyond just their wealth. This ensures ownership is structured appropriately so when the older generation pass away the family doesn’t fall apart over money or have to sell up all their assets because they have to be split three or four ways when they should be kept together.” Getting this right can be life changing.

Wealth Advisory Directors – Standing: Andrew Barlow and Aaron Trombetta. Seated: Janine Williamson and Adrian Frinsdorf

Below: Wendy Drake, Former Wealth Advisory Director

"Wendy was fearless, tenacious, she was well ahead of her time. She was a lady dealing in what was pretty much still a man’s world and in terms of Wealth Advisory, she knew more than most people in that space. She gave her heart and soul to that division and the firm."

– Mark Collins, Managing Director

Former Giles & Giles Partner Graham Byrne, whom Peter Brock described as energetic and entrepreneurial, died prematurely aged 36 in 1975. Graham had focused on Audit services and his clients were dispersed to other Directors at the time. It was not until many years later, when Audit Manager Priit Taylor was promoted to Director in 2003, that the firm created a dedicated Audit division, however, this did not reach a critical mass until the merger with MSI Tilley in 2011. Managing Director of MSI Tilley Grant Wilson, who is a Director with William Buck Adelaide today, says that William Buck’s Audit division more than doubled overnight, thanks to MSI Tilley’s very strong audit list.“We knew with our client base and skill level that we had a lot to put on the table,” Grant says. Following the merger, fellow MSI Tilley Partner Dean Spencer stayed on to hand over his audit clients. Dean was looking to retire, so when Priit had to retire due to ill health, Dean stayed on until the firm recruited Matthew King. Matthew had Big 4 audit experience, having previously worked for Ernst & Young and MSI Tilley, as well as completing a stint in commerce with Elders. During the recruitment process, the firm was introduced to Grant Martinella (also ex-Ernst & Young), who was working for an accounting firm in Mildura. The firm was so impressed with Grant that it recruited him a couple of

months later, even though there was only enough audit work for one Director. “It was a perfect example of us investing in the firm’s future and investing in our specialist services,” Jamie says. “Over the last nine years, Matthew and Grant have built our Audit and Assurance division into a highly regarded division in the Adelaide market which is capable of handling any audit.”

In 2001, Tricia Kleinig transferred from William Buck’s Business Advisory division to start up a dedicated Superannuation division. In 2021, Tricia chalked up 35 years with the firm, including 20 years managing Superannuation, now as a Principal. Her specialist knowledge of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) ranks among the best in Adelaide. Along with Sarah Parson, Superannuation Manager, and the support of a team of 16, including Sarah Withall and Sarah Gibson, Tricia oversees approximately 600 self-managed super funds.

From the mid 1990s until 2011, William Buck Adelaide did not have a Tax Services division, but relied on the stand-out tax knowledge of Ian Snook. Ian is widely recognised as an exceptional tax practitioner with an extraordinarily deep understanding of tax legislation. Jamie says Ian is peerless in his knowledge of tax legislation as it relates to SMEs and can come up with solutions that others cannot.” Even the legal

Matthew King and Grant Martinella, Audit and Assurance Directors 2021

Andrew Nicola, Malcolm Wight and Ian Snook, Specialist Tax Directors 2021

fraternity come to Ian for tax advice,” Jamie says. “He delivers huge value to clients that is often understated. His ability to structure and restructure complex situations legitimately saves clients hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The search for someone to support Ian and build a Tax Services division ended when the firm successfully recruited Malcolm Wight back to the firm in 2011 after a 17-year hiatus working with Grant Thornton. Malcolm relished the role of creating an entire division, including the appointment of young gun Andrew Nicola, from KPMG, to Director at the age of 31 and James King who was recruited as Principal from Deloitte in 2021. Andrew now heads up the Tax division which is an accurate reflection of his intellect, ambition and ability to form strong relationships with clients. Andrew’s interest in corporate and international tax complements Ian’s focus on SMEs. While it took time to build this specialist team, William Buck now lays claim to a highly functional, highly capable Tax Services division that can handle any tax situation, no matter how complex, including international tax, working with our Praxity colleagues when required.

In 2014, William Buck Adelaide identified a gap in its service offering and established a new Corporate Advisory division which has been very successful. This offers some similar services to Business Advisory, but with a focus on supporting entrepreneurs, business owners, SMEs and ASX companies in the mid-market. The Corporate Advisory division thinks outside the box to identify growth opportunities, raise capital, facilitate mergers and acquisitions, trouble shoot, conduct valuations and develop succession plans. Directors Grant Wilson and Adrian Chugg moved across from Business Advisory to head up this new division. Adrian has attracted some of the firm’s largest clients because of his unparalleled ability to build people’s confidence and support them in growing their business in terms of structure and strategy.

“Once Adrian gains a client’s confidence and becomes fully engaged in their business, he becomes a critical part of their business,” Jamie says. Like Adrian, Grant moved from Business Advisory to support the new Corporate Advisory division, demonstrating his preparedness to be a team player and take on a role that has benefited the firm greatly. “Grant really immerses himself with clients and gains their confidence

including a number of the firm’s largest and long standing clients,” Jamie says. He is a left-field thinker and he and Adrian have really worked well with each other. In 2021, the Corporate Advisory division welcomed Samantha Nicholls as a new Director. According to Jamie, Samantha’s nontraditional skill set complements what Adrian and Grant offer clients. “Samantha is superbly organised and has great commercial acumen and a real presence,” Jamie says. “Clients love her!”

Finance Advisory is a small division, formed in 2016 under the leadership of Manager Malcolm Anderson. William Buck Adelaide is looking to grow this service as an additional offering to clients who are looking for support with their finance broking and business banking needs.

The firm’s newest division is Managed Funds Administration, which was formed following a merger with MacKenzie Advisory in 2020. Director Scott MacKenzie’s substantial business consisted of equal parts Business Advisory and Managed Funds Administration which had great appeal to William Buck Adelaide as the firm was looking to bulk up that part of its business. Scott and his team had carved out a niche managing smaller funds, an area that was being overlooked by the big players in the funds management business. In 2021, William Buck had more than $1.5 billion in funds under administration domestically and internationally, including property, shares and mortgage funds. Recently appointed Director, Cain Meschiati is now working with Scott in Managed Funds Administration and taking on greater responsibility for the division.

Grant Wilson and Adrian Chugg, Corporate Advisory Division, established 2014

William Buck Adelaide’s efforts to expand its range of specialist services began in earnest in 2000. Over the last decade, this specialisation has accelerated considerably to the point where the firm now boasts more specialist services than any other mid-market accounting firm in Adelaide. Jamie says that back in the early 1990s, the firm’s clients were mainly farmers and investors, and one of his goals as Managing Director was to rebalance this by building up a client base of substantial and decent business clients. “What’s so good about businesses is they have much broader and more complex financial needs and that has helped spawn a lot of our specialist services,” he says. As well as a broader range of services, William Buck Adelaide is now of a size that it can offer specialisation by industry. While not the primary focus for the firm, its reputation as a leader in the provision of accounting and advisory services to the agribusiness, Health and Property segments in the Adelaide market is highly regarded. William Buck Adelaide also has a concentration of clients in the Manufacturing, Aged Care and Education space. Jamie cautions that the market in Adelaide is not deep enough to specialise in one area and you have to do a bit of everything. However, as the firm grows it will naturally accumulate a concentration of clients in particular industries, creating opportunities for consolidation in these market segments.

Over many years, William Buck has built up its specialist services to not only support clients, but to also support the journey of graduates all the way through to Director. Today, the firm’s specialist divisions are firmly entrenched in William Buck’s professional offering. Many of the firm’s Directors are considered to be leaders in their field. To name a few; Ian Snook, whose tax expertise is highly valued by the South Australian business community; Tom Laundy and Andrew Barlow who provide

business advice to many of the State’s medical and health professionals; Paula Liddle and Ben Trengove who head up the firm’s agri service offering; and Grant Martinella in Aged Care. These industry leaders, and many other talented professionals and support staff at William Buck Adelaide are the backbone of the firm’s specialist services, which according to retired Director Wendy Drake, has been a powerful driver for staff. “It has pushed us all up to another level so that we can help bigger and better clients,” she said. “As a practitioner it makes you so much more competent.”

Clients are the main beneficiaries of this increased pool of knowledge, and for this reason, William Buck Adelaide will continue to develop specialist divisions and services within divisions, such as risk insurance and trustee services, where they align with clients’ needs. As clients’ businesses continue to evolve and disruption becomes the norm, William Buck Adelaide is poised to further broaden its specialist services for the mid-market.

Chandlers Hill Surgery

One client who has benefited enormously from William Buck’s specialist services is Chandlers Hill Surgery. The surgery, as well as four of the Partners, use William Buck and have done so for the last 15 years. One partner, Dr Danny Byrne, says William Buck’s excellent understanding of general practice has revolutionised the practice and brought it into the 21st century. “You can’t just go to any old accountant, it’s not enough even to understand health, you have to understand general practice and these guys really do,” Danny says.”William Buck talk at GP conferences, they go through industry surveys and benchmarking. They’re not just paying it lip service, they’re staying at the top of their game. They keep us up to date and pass that knowledge on to us. They speak our language.”

"Over many years, William Buck has built up its specialist services to not only support clients, but to also support the journey of graduates all the way through to Director."

Specialist services

Business Advisory (1989)

Accounting and Tax Compliance

Strategic Business

Advice and Planning

Estate Planning

Tax Planning

Business and Forecasting

Restructure and Asset Protection

Business Succession Planning

Outsourcing, Bookkeeping and Payroll Services

Tax Services (2011)

Tax Planning

Complex Tax Advice

Tax Audits, Disputes and Private Rulings

Tax Risk Management

Structuring and Restructuring

Indirect Tax

International Tax and Transfer Pricing

Remuneration Planning

Tax Consolidation

Executive Tax Services

R&D, Grants and Incentives

FBT and Employment Taxes

Superannuation (2001)

Superannuation Compliance

Specialist Self-Managed

Superannuation Strategies and Advice

Audit and Assurance (2003)

External Audit

Internal Audit

Financial Reporting Advice

Risk Management

Data Mining

Fraud Investigation and Prevention

IT Assurance

Preparation of Financial Reports for Disclosing Entities

Corporate Advisory (2014)

Business Sales, Acquisitions and Divestments

Financial Modelling

Business Valuations

Debt and Equity Capital Raisings

Due Diligence Assignments

Forensic Accounting

Investigating Accountant's Reports

Independent Expert Reports

Purchase Price Allocations and Impairment Testing

Pre-Lending Reviews

Wealth Advisory (1989)

Financial and Strategic Investment Advice

Personal Wealth Creation Strategies

Portfolio Management and Administration

Estate and Succession

Planning and Administration

Risk Management and Life Insurance Advice

Private Manager and Trustee Services

Personal Structuring and Finance Application

Family Office

Finance Advisory (2016)

Finance Broking

Residential and Commercial Lending

Debt Structuring and Financing Application

Managed Funds Administration (2020)

Services and Advice for Wholesale and Retail Managed Funds

Investment Portfolio

Administration and Reporting

Unit Registry

Daily Management Accounts

Daily, Weekly, Monthly Unit Pricing (Special Prices as Required)

Distributions Including Tax Statements

GST and Income Tax Reporting

Fund Accounting

Review of Constitutions and Commercial Advice on Fund Operations

Advice on Management and Performance Fee Formulas

Including Use of Benchmarks and High Water Marks

From small things big things grow

While many of Giles & Giles’ tax clients in the early days were small, some of them have gone on to become very significant clients of William Buck today. In an interview in 1991, Mawson singled out Reg Rugless as an excellent example of a client for whom he began doing a personal tax return, which led onto much bigger things. Reg was a friend of Mawson’s. His father was a butcher who opened Rugless Butcher Shop on Brighton Road, Brighton more than 100 years ago. This butcher’s shop grew into more than 20 shops, owned and operated by Reg and his brother Claude, and three of Claude’s four sons – Brian, Peter and Colin. Today Claude’s grandson, Tim, is the Managing Director of Rugless Family Foodland, a valued client of William Buck, whose business benefits from the firm’s full range of professional services. Claude’s granddaughter, Belinda, is also working within the business.

The Rugless family has now been associated with Giles & Giles and William Buck for more than 60 years and Tim says he’s certain the relationship will continue for another 60. “It’s been a fantastic relationship built on loyalty and respect,” Tim says. “Nothing’s ever too much trouble for William Buck. They really have been a steadying influence with us when times are tough as well as in good times. I always feel a great sense of relief after catching up with our advisors at William Buck.”

Tim says the fact that the firm has worked with the Rugless family for so long means it really understands the business and the supermarket industry and how this is intricately connected to the family’s personal wealth. “William Buck were instrumental in our Brighton project where we doubled the size of our supermarket, added a wine store and got involved in the property syndicate,” Tim says. “They were amazing with the advice they offered, we couldn’t have done it without them!”

Another of Claude’s grandsons Graham, owns and operates Happy Valley, Mt Barker, Yorketown and Penola Foodlands. Graham has the next generation of Rugless’ coming through with his children Michael and Georgina working within the business.

Above: Original Rugless butcher shop, 1922 Right: Former Senior Partner, Graham Perrin and Colin Rugless

Kelly and Tim Rugless

Step back in time: early services

In 1946, Giles & Giles was heavily focused on providing tax and accounting services to its clients. The following year, however, the firm acquired a small hotel accounting practice from the estate of Victor Trenerry, and along with it, the services of bookkeeper Doris Brokensha. After Bruce Giles joined the firm in 1950, he worked with his father, Ken, and Doris to build up the hotel side of the business. Ken was an executor for a client called Alfred Francis who owned several city and country hotels and when Alfred died, Ken and the other executors decided that instead of leasing the hotels, they would manage them. This led to the formation of a sub-branch of Giles & Giles known as G&G Hotel Supervision. The Partners were Ken and Mawson, Bruce and Doris. According to Bruce, Ken was considered to be “the hotel expert” and Giles & Giles gained a great deal of work through hotel brokers. The firm also bought a liquor trade price list and Bruce spent many hours updating the prices and sending them to hotels, which attracted new business. In addition, Bruce did the stocktake for a dozen or so hotels, which became quite a business in itself. This work led to Bruce being

asked to be the secretary of the Vine Inn Hotel in Nuriootpa, which he described as a highlight of his career. For the next 23 years, Bruce travelled to the Vine Inn every three months to do the stocktake. “I saw that hotel grow from just being a tin pot country pub with a bit of residential with debts, into a multimillion dollar business and property,” he said. Greg Broadbent who became a Director of Giles & Giles in 1984 took over the firm’s hotel clients following Bruce’s retirement in 1988. As the firm’s Hotel Services Director, Greg was an expert in financial and taxation issues facing hoteliers, including in investments, capital gains tax and general accounting and audit.

While the hotel sideline was a significant part of Giles & Giles’ business for many years, the firm was first and foremost a tax practice. In 1951, it acquired a small accounting practice in Kadina from FG Malpas, which quickly expanded its client list in the Mid North. In 1958, Jack Davis joined the firm, with an already impressive track record in tax which he gained at Elders Trustee. Dean Trowse, also from Elders Trustee, joined Giles & Giles in 1965 and according to Bruce, he and Jack were “a terrific combination” and had a great deal of tax expertise between them. Dean also had a background in trustee work and the firm started to act as trustee for many of its farming clients. Bruce said these clients had so much trust in Giles &

Former employees, Doris Brokensha and Bruce Giles, 1985

Giles, much more so than Elders Trustee where “they didn’t know who Johnny Bloggs was”. “The clients knew us, could trust us, could talk to us and we could sympathise with them,” Bruce said. “That built up a terrific relationship with some of our clients.”

As well as tax and estate administration, Giles & Giles had several audit clients in its formative years, including automotive companies City Motors Pty Ltd, State Motors Ltd and City Supplies and H Graves & Co which was one of the big carrying firms of the day. When Graham Byrne joined Giles & Giles in 1967, he looked after firm’s audit work until his premature departure from the firm in 1973 due to ill-health. Ralph Pomeroy was then recruited to head up the audit area, however, he left the firm in 1976, at which time Giles & Giles sold most of its audit clients.

Despite its interest in hotels, audit and estate administration, by the time Ken retired and the firm moved to new offices on Greenhill Road, Giles & Giles was still very much considered to be a tax firm. True specialisation of the firm’s services did not begin until the beginning of the 21st century.

Above: Greg Broadbent, Former Partner 1984-2001

Below: Giles & Giles Kadina Office, 1989

Chapter 1 summary

Reflecting on the early years at Giles & Giles, Mawson said from time to time they talked about growing the business and possible amalgamations. However, he said the type of people who were Partners at the time were content to grow slowly. “I don’t think there was any urgency amongst any of the Partners to suddenly grow bigger or to amalgamate and become a huge organisation,” he said. But Mawson acknowledged that by the time he retired there was an appetite for change. Perhaps borne out of necessity. Or perhaps driven by the likes of Dennis Laundy, who had ambitions to modernise the firm. So, in the early 1980s, Giles & Giles began the gradual transformation from a conservative, compliancebased firm to a more confident, progressive firm.

Over this journey, the firm’s vision materialised and several successive strategic plans helped the Partners define and execute this vision. “Making the firm contemporary is not the sort of thing you can change overnight,” Dennis says. “But I think if you walked in as a graduate today it would feel a lot different than it did in my day. If I came in as a graduate now, I would think ‘this firm is going somewhere. This firm is going to provide me with opportunities that I may not necessarily get elsewhere, and this firm genuinely cares.” This statement sums up William Buck today; a firm that is going somewhere; and a firm that cares about its clients and staff.

Giles & Giles picnic, Port Elliot, 1950s

"Despite its growth, one thing that has remained steadfast over the last 125 years, is the firm’s genuine interest in and care for clients and staff."

Growth and resilience

Becoming William Buck

The transformation from Giles & Giles to where William Buck sits today as the leader of the mid-market in Adelaide is remarkable. The firm’s long-time marketing consultant Marc Makrid describes it as a 12-year overnight success story! This period encapsulates 10 mergers, the addition of well over 100 staff and the development of several specialist divisions. Not to mention its long and enviable list of loyal, multi-generational clients, along with several high-profile clients who have found a new home at William Buck. Amongst all these milestones, Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill singles out joining the William Buck Group as the most significant event in the firm’s history. “It opened up our thinking and gave us more confidence,” Martin says. This key event took place in 1996, by which time Giles & Giles was fully committed to its growth strategy. This is why it aligned so well with the direction of the William Buck Group which had offices in Melbourne and Sydney and had recently recruited Bradshaw, Judd and Collins in Perth, Hogg Lawson in Brisbane and RJC Evans in Adelaide. A small firm called O’Hallorans in Auckland, New Zealand later joined as an associate. The Perth and Brisbane offices changed their names to William Buck, but RJC Evans chose not to, which led to the William Buck Group approaching Giles

& Giles to become its Adelaide-based firm instead. Former Chairman of the William Buck Group and Managing Director of William Buck Sydney, Nick Hatzistergos, says the intent was to recruit firms to the national network who had a view of themselves. In addition, the Group was looking for firms that wanted to build a brand that would lend itself to getting bigger and more complex clients in the small to medium enterprise (SME) space. “Giles & Giles was a very successful firm,” Nick says. “They had a lot of history in Adelaide. They were well managed and they were seen as a really good firm.”

Joining the William Buck Group was the most significant event in the firm’s history.

"The greatest benefit of joining William Buck Group is being part of something bigger than ourselves. If we can help you and you can help us and we're all individually better, then we're collectively better."

Mark Collins, Managing Director of William Buck Perth, was involved in recruiting Giles & Giles to the William Buck network and says the firm shared many similarities with the Perth office. He says one of the challenges they faced was that the Melbourne office thought Victoria was the centre of the universe and wanted to control the Group. “It was very Viccentric,” Mark says. “They were good people but they didn’t know any better. Dennis Laundy and I often used the analogy of the VFL and gradually they started to understand that for the national approach to work there had to be equal participation.”

Within two years, the Adelaide Directors made the difficult decision to change the firm’s name from Giles & Giles to William Buck. “I wanted to get away from being known as a firm that only did tax returns for country clients,” Dennis says. “I thought unless we shake off that reputation, we’re never going to do that.” Nick says the willingness of Giles & Giles to change its name demonstrated its commitment to wanting to be more than just an Adelaide firm. “They had a bigger view of themselves and wanted to provide more opportunities for the younger people coming through,” he says.

Above: Name change from Giles & Giles to William Buck

Below: Receptionist Nicole Grima, 1998

Like William Buck Adelaide, the William Buck Group’s skill set is in the SME market, and proudly so, according to Nick. “We don’t want to pretend to be something we’re not,” he says. “We’re never going to chase a style of business that doesn’t suit our skill set.” Another point of difference is that the William Buck Group is locally owned and operated. “It’s not owned by a European or North American conglomerate that dictates terms,” Nick says. “It is Australian and New Zealand owned. It is uniquely ours. Each office is locally owned and operated.” The Board of the William Buck Group is made up of the six Managing Directors of the Australian and New Zealand offices. Jamie McKeough, who took over as Chairman of the William Buck Group from Nick in 2021, describes the William Buck Group as a federation which offers each individual office the best of both worlds. “We can work together with our colleagues in Australia and New Zealand where it makes sense to do so, but we can run our own shows,” Jamie says. “There are many people in the individual firms who contribute their time to the Group, but we operate independently.” At a Group level, William Buck shares resources in marketing, learning and development, people and culture, and audit and risk. This small, but growing team focuses on supporting Group-wide activities, including branding, website, professional development, compliance and the sharing of Intellectual Property.

Jamie says the greatest benefit of joining the William Buck Group is “being part of something bigger than ourselves”. “You have to be part of something bigger to continue to grow and develop and that’s what the William Buck Group (and Praxity) are for us,” he says. “We respect the other firms in the Group for the openness that’s always been there and their willingness to share. If we can help you and you can help us and we’re all individually better, then we’ll be collectively better.”

In 2007, the William Buck Group “got the wobbles”, which although not intended, shaped the future of the Group for the better, according to Jamie. The fallout for the William Buck Adelaide office was that the firm’s Directors were forced to do some serious soul-searching. There was the option of selling, but instead of being taken over by some other organisation they decided to create their own story. "We had good fundamentals, we had a good client base, we had good staff, and we had this desire to build so that’s what we decided to do,” Jamie says.”And we learned out of that moment of adversity for the Group about how to grow.” Ultimately, the decision not to sell the firm was motivated by what was in the best interests of clients and staff. The Directors felt their clients would get a better service if the firm stayed on its own and grew. They also realised that a lot of young staff coming through would most likely leave the firm if it was sold.

Top Left: William Buck Group Board, Jamie McKeough (SA), Clyde Young (NZ), Nick Hatzistergros (NSW), Junaide Latif (QLD), Lindsay Holloway (VIC), and Mark Collins (WA), 2021

Left: William Buck Sydney is established marking the beginning of the William Buck network, 1989

"The transformation from Giles & Giles to where William Buck sits today as the leader of the midmarket in Adelaide is remarkable."

Step back in time: The William Buck wobbles

In 2007, William Buck Melbourne, the founding and largest office of the William Buck Group, underwent a change of leadership and expressed its interest in joining Mazars to become part of an international partnership where all six William Buck offices would operate as one business. The other William Buck offices said ‘no’. Then out of the blue, William Buck Melbourne dropped a bombshell, and left the William Buck Group. Some time earlier, William Buck Brisbane had been sold to a consolidator firm called WHK, leaving just Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, as well as the smaller Auckland associate office, O’Hallorans, which was “hanging out on a limb,”. Mark Collins (Perth) and Nikolas Hatzistergos (Sydney) flew to Adelaide to make sure the three remaining firms

would stand together to rebuild the William Buck Group. “We were very clear that we were going to rebuild,” Mark says.

“The relationships were good and we all had a strong work ethic. We had a lot of similarities and were determined to make our mark on the world, so it just made sense.”

As adversity so often does, the ‘William Buck Group wobbles’ provided a valuable learning opportunity, particularly for the three firms who decided to stick it out. According to Mark, there were just two rules when they began rebuilding the national alliance.” The number one rule was we would never allow a big office to dominate ever again,” he says.

“The second rule was that it would truly be a national group, in other words it was going to be the AFL, not the VFL.”

With this agreed, away they went! Firstly, they recruited a new Melbourne outfit; Hawthorn-based Webb & Co in 2009, followed by Cranstoun & Hussein in Brisbane. Then

Nick visited the Auckland office, to apologise on behalf of the Group, for hanging them out to dry. These six offices

Mark Collins, Managing Director of William Buck Perth

"We learned a lot, contributed a lot and spent a massive amount of time building relationships."

– Mark Collins, Managing Director, William Buck Perth

Changing of the guard

Nick

Managing Director of William Buck Sydney

formed the new William Buck Group which quickly put into place all the structures required for this new association to be successful. Mark says the old William Buck Group was the pioneer development and there were many good constructive debates about how it should be. “But we never quite got there,” he said. “The second time it was quite different. We learned a lot, contributed a lot and spent a massive amount of time building relationships. The second time around we had lessons from the past, and one or two extra numbers at the table which made a big difference in having a core coalition of the willing to take it to the next level.” Mark says that as well as the Partners of the six offices, there were several other people who made a significant contribution to the rebuilding of the William Buck Group, including Lynda Clark from Sydney, Helen Withers from Perth and Kerry Wight, the General Manager of William Buck Adelaide. “Kerry was outstanding,” Mark said. “She made a very big contribution. These three ladies ran their offices and did an awful lot of work to help us rebuild.”

Nikolas Hatzistergos took over as Chairman of the William Buck Group from Ian Lee in 2008. He stood up and said "I will be the leader of the national group" when it was time to rebuild. Nick was also the architect of the Group’s mantra ‘Changing Lives’ which came about because he wore his heart on his sleeve and didn’t like the firm being called 'beige'. According to Mark Collins, Nick’s leadership style has been very lateral, very understanding, very accommodating. Bill Hermann, former Managing Partner of US accounting giant Plante Moran, has watched with interest the evolution of the William Buck Group, led by Nick, whom he describes as “probably the most consistent pursuer of knowledge that I’ve worked with.” “He’s what I would refer to as a hobo on a ham sandwich,” Bill says. “He’s like a dog on a pork chop.” In mid-2021, Jamie McKeough, who has been Deputy Chairman of the William Buck Group since 2010, took over from Nick as Chairman. Mark says this is a very good appointment. “In all the time I’ve dealt with Jamie, I’ve really seen him grow and mature into a very good leader,” Mark says. “I think his best is yet to come and his appointment as Chairman is another stepping stone for his growth as a leader.”

Hatzistergos,

Relocating to the CBD

A sequence of sliding doors moments between 2007 and 2009 catapulted William Buck into the upper echelon of accounting firms in Adelaide. The “William Buck Group wobbles” was such a moment! It caused the firm’s leaders to re-evaluate what they stood for and their future. Around this time, the firm made the decision to relocate from 48 Greenhill Road to the CBD. Another sliding doors moment! When the GFC hit in 2008, this could have proved disastrous, but despite taking up twice the space they needed in their new city office, the Directors were committed to growth. This bold move signalled the firm’s intent to the market. It said, “we’re no longer a fringe firm, we’re here to play in the A League.” The firm moved into 2000m2 over two floors at 211 Victoria Square, right in the heart of Adelaide’s business district. According to the firm’s long-time marketing consultant Marc Makrid, it wasn’t just the move to the city that was important, but the scale of the new office.”You walk in here and you feel their success,” he says. “You could still feel the success at Greenhill Road, but it was cramped. I think the city location is important, but I think it’s secondary to the scale and the feel of the place.” Nikolas Hatzistergos describes William Buck Adelaide’s relocation to the city as

a “defining moment”. “I think this was transformational for them in the way they viewed themselves and also the way they were perceived. If the swagger was there before they moved to the city, it certainly was a lot more evident after they moved into the city.” Since moving to its city office, the firm hasn’t looked back. Being in the heart of the city has given the firm a fresh vibe, as well as greater visibility than ever before!

A sequence of sliding doors moments between 2007 and 2009 catapulted William Buck into the upper echelon of accounting firms in Adelaide.

Right: 211 Victoria Square, Adelaide Level 6, Reception

Step back in time: previous offices

When Ken Giles parted ways with Jack Evans in 1943, he moved his office across the street to 47 Waymouth Street, where Giles & Giles took up three rooms in the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Building. In the 1950s, the firm moved to the historic Tattersalls office at 12-14 Grenfell Street. This was built in 1917 as the clubrooms of the South Australian Tattersalls Club, a betting and gaming club in the style of the London Tattersalls. Membership topped 1,500 in the mid-1920s, but the Great Depression saw numbers decline and after WWII the club was forced to reconsider its facilities and services. Mawson Giles recalls that Giles & Giles initially leased two thirds of the fourth floor but later took over the rest of the floor. This required knocking a hole through the wall to access the new section.

Mawson confessed he didn’t care much for the city office which was “jammed in the centre of the city”. This was no doubt due to his empathy for the bush and his country clients who often found it difficult to find a park. In 1965, Mawson orchestrated the move to 68 Greenhill Road on the city fringe. “I take full credit for that move. It was my idea,” he said in an interview in 1991. Ken Giles did not join his brother and the other staff at Greenhill Road. He was not keen on moving out of the city and was ready to retire. However, he wanted his son, Bruce, to have some ownership in the new building. It was an indication of the philanthropic attitude prevailing at Giles & Giles at the time that the first owners were four Partners and two employees (Bruce Giles and Doris Brokensha), neither of who contributed to the capital required. It cost £5,000 to buy the old house on the block and the Partners at the time put some money in and borrowed the rest from personal clients. This investment proved to be quite a useful addition to their retirement sum!

Northview House, as the new office was known, was only the second office building to be erected on Greenhill Road. Giles & Giles moved into its new office in 1966. Mawson said the new building was all nice and modern and stood out amongst all the houses, but then others moved out and eventually the Giles & Giles building became the “ugly duckling”. Due to the steady growth of the firm, the office became crowded within a few years and the building was extended by adding a second section out the back. In 1984, the office underwent additional modifications, firstly to accommodate computers and secondly by adding partitioning to create access to various departments. This renovation included the addition of a boardroom and the installation of a new telephone system.

Left: Giles & Giles move to Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Building, 47 Waymouth Street, 1946 Image courtesy of City of Adelaide

Right: Giles & Giles move to Tattersalls Building, 12-14 Grenfell Street, 1950s Image courtesy of City of Adelaide

Northview House, 68 Greenhill Road, built 1965

Former Senior Partner Dean Trowse, with wife Doris and daughters in front of home to be demolished, 68 Greenhill Road

"Northview House, as the new office was known, was only the second office building to be erected on Greenhill Road. Giles & Giles moved into its new office in 1966."

Once again in 1988, the office underwent modifications. This time a $50,000 facelift to update the firm’s image and provide a warmer welcome for clients. Improvements included dark blue furnishings to reflect the Giles & Giles logo and the addition of comfortable couches to replace the wooden benches in the reception area. By 1997, Giles & Giles had once again outgrown its home of more than 30 years and made the move to a larger office building at 48 Greenhill Road.

Below: Northview House renovated, 1984

Bottom: Giles & Giles moves to 48 Greenhill Road, 1997

Bottom Right: Former Senior Partners, Peter Brock, Graham Perrin and Dennis Laundy discuss plans for Northview House, 1984

Above: Directors pictured advertising move to Victoria Square, 2008

Below: Staff preparing for the move to 48 Greenhill Road, 1997

Joining Praxity

By 2009, the William Buck Group had become increasingly disillusioned with its international association with AGN (formerly TAG). The Group was seeking a decent international group to align with, which was a natural progression following the successful rebuild of the William Buck Group. Having a strong international alliance was important for William Buck Adelaide’s clients who were starting to deal internationally and needed to be in safe hands when setting up their overseas operations. The other reason for pursuing a decent international group was so that the firm could reciprocate this service for international clients coming to Australia.

Praxity was an active group and the largest accounting alliance globally, but more importantly, its values were closely aligned with the values of the William Buck Group. The decision to join Praxity proved to be a good one! According to Jamie McKeough, the Praxity connection has provided an unbelievable learning experience for William Buck Adelaide as well as the Group. “The access to IP, the advice on how to run your firm, and how to grow and develop has been exceptional,” Jamie says. He says without doubt, the primary benefit of being aligned with the William Buck Group and Praxity is shared knowledge and experiences. This has

come on the back of building strong relationships within the Praxity network. Each year, Partners from the William Buck Group attend Praxity’s global conference where they relish in the opportunity to visit much larger firms in the US, Europe and Asia. The North American firms have hundreds of Partners and thousands of staff and study tours to these massive offices enable William Buck’s leaders to immerse themselves in new ideas and experiences. Another benefit of the alignment with Praxity is access to advice for clients expanding offshore.

Nikolas Hatzistergos says the William Buck Group is very good at observing and taking away things, particularly when it comes to Praxity firms. “We have unashamedly copied and borrowed a lot of intellectual property that would have taken us a long time to try and develop ourselves,” he says. As a result of this collaboration, the William Buck Group’s culture

Having a strong international alliance was important for William Buck Adelaide’s clients who were starting to deal internationally and needed to be in safe hands when setting up their overseas operations.

is very similar to Plante Moran in the US, while its approach to marketing is modelled on MNP’s in Canada. Bill Hermann from Plante Moran and Randy Mowat from MNP have been out to Australia on several occasions to generously share their knowledge with William Buck’s Directors. In addition, the William Buck Group has learned about practice management from BKD and some of its business development and learning and development activities have come from DHG and Moss Adams. Moss Adams has also given the William Buck Group a good understanding about agile workforce and the use of technology. Nick says the knowledge and experience these Praxity firms have shared is almost priceless.

Bill Hermann has witnessed first-hand, the William Buck Group’s thirst for knowledge. “It was clear to me from the first meeting I had with them in 2010 that this was a group of open-minded people, hungry for ideas. They were open and

accepting,” Bill says. “They were looking for ideas, but they didn’t want them to be packaged. They wanted to put their own bells and whistles and adjust them.” This willingness to learn from others has accelerated the journey of William Buck Adelaide and the Group’s other offices, placing them in the enviable position of leaders in the mid-market.

Adrian Chugg, Nick Hatzistergos and Jamie McKeough in Beijing for the Praxity conference, 2015

"The willingness to learn from others has accelerated the journey of William Buck Adelaide and the Group’s other offices, placing them in the enviable position of leaders in the mid-market."

Praxity – The world's largest independent accounting and advisory alliance

Praxity is an innovative, international alliance of more than 850 offices of bestin-class independent Member Firms.

Praxity Member Firms share their expertise from strategic locations around the world, combining deep regional understanding with highly-customised business solutions to drive outstanding results for clients in over 110 countries. Through the Praxity Alliance, one firm can approach another when specific advice is required outside its usual technical expertise or geographic knowledge or presence.

US $8 billion Turnover

850+ Offices

60,000+ Independent minds

110+ Countries

Secondment

Several staff members from William Buck Adelaide have benefited from a secondment to one of the large Praxity firms overseas, including Tax Manager Matthew Simmons who was seconded to MNP Vancouver in January 2018. Matthew says this secondment provided him with a valuable opportunity to get out of his comfort zone and obtain new knowledge, as well as grow and develop his professional skill set. “Whilst it was challenging preparing tax returns for both the US and Canadian income tax jurisdictions and navigating their legislation and regulations, the secondment was a rewarding experience,” Matthew says. “It unquestionably helped shape me into the taxation professional I am today.”

Matthew Simmons in Vancouver for secondment to MNP, 2018

Audit & Assurance Managers Leng Phuah and Alistair

Taylor-Spry also benefited from secondment to MNP in Calgary in 2019. Alistair says it was a valuable once-ina-lifetime opportunity. “I was exposed to new industries and accounting concepts which further developed my technical skills and abilities. The experience provided me with a different perspective on audit methodology which has helped in improving efficiencies in the audit division at William Buck.” Such secondments also provide staff the opportunity to live and travel in another country.

Leng Phuah agrees with Alistair’s statements “My secondment in Calgary has definitely changed my life and professional career for the better. Whilst it took me out of my comfort zone and had challenges along the way, I thoroughly enjoyed my time, met some amazing people and learnt so much during my secondment period. I was able to bring back the experience and skill set that I learnt to Adelaide and shared them with my team. If I hadn’t been through the secondment experience, I wouldn’t be where I am today!”

Above: Alistair Taylor-Spry and Leng Phauh in Calgary for secondment to MNP, 2019

Below: Andrew Nicola with his wife Rebecca travelling around the US during secondment to DHG, 2014

Mergers

One of the stand out features of William Buck Adelaide over the last 12 years has been its consistent growth. While more than half of this can be attributed to organic growth, there is no doubt that a series of strategic mergers have also benefited the firm, not just in size, but in the expansion of specialist services and the acquisition of many valued professionals and support staff. The firm’s first merger of the modern era was Moore Stephens Adelaide in 2009. Prior to this, Giles & Giles had undertaken two smaller mergers with Higgins Botha and Harmer & Associates. Henry Botha, who is still a friend of the firm, sold his small, business focused practice to Giles & Giles in 1993. One of the staff members who joined Giles & Giles following the Higgins Botha merger was an accountant called Michael Horrocks. He left after a couple of years and started up a gluten free bakery at home. In 2016, Michael’s business, Lifestyle Bakery became a client of William Buck, based on the good relationship he had with the firm. Lifestyle Bakery, is now a market leader, supplying gluten free bread and baked goods to Coles, Woolworths and many other customers. Michael works closely with William Buck and says this has provided his business with long running benefits beyond his expectation.

There is no doubt that a series of strategic mergers have also benefited the firm, not just in size, but in the expansion of specialist services and the acquisition of many valued professionals and support staff.

Michael Horrocks, Owner and Managing Director of Lifestyle Bakery, and Adrian Chugg, Director.

"We see William Buck as a partner to our business who always brings innovative ideas to the table."

– Michael Horrocks, Lifestyle Bakery

In 2004, following the departure of two Partners and a number of clients, William Buck wanted to bulk up its business. The outcome of this was a merger with sole trader Chris Gebhardt from Harmer & Associates. Long serving staff members Rosemary Pahl and Rosa Baldino also came across to William Buck and still remain with the firm today. Chris stayed with William Buck until 2018 and prior to his departure, headed up the Business Advisory division and led the national Business Advisory Focus Group.

With a growing appetite for mergers, the next integration with Moore Stephens in 2009 was significant because it consolidated the firm’s move to the city and commitment to grow the firm on the back of the William Buck Group rebuild. This merger took William Buck Adelaide from 75 staff to 100. At the time, Jamie said he felt this merger was a pivotal moment in the firm’s history because it would make subsequent mergers easier. “That has certainly proved to be the case,” he says. Moore Stephens (formerly Priestley & Morris) was Giles & Giles’ next door neighbour when it was based at 48 Greenhill Road. Back then it was a stronger firm, however, within 10 years, Giles & Giles had significantly outgrown Moore Stephens, which remained a small firm with just two Partners and 25 staff. “They had challenges like small firms do,” Jamie says. “At that size you’re neither small nor big, which can be problematic.” Jamie says the

Melbourne Cup

One of John Lampard’s father’s early clients, Max Bailey, was a builder and lucky enough to own a horse called Galilee which won the 1966 Melbourne Cup. Galilee was trained by the legendary Bart Cummings and is often claimed to be Australia’s most successful racehorse. He was the first and is still the only horse to win the Caulfield, Melbourne and Sydney Cups in the same year. After securing the Melbourne Cup, it turns out Max didn’t have anywhere to keep it, so he stored it in the

firm had been keeping an eye on Moore Stephens and had talked to them about merging but was initially knocked back. Managing Partner John Lampard then came to William Buck and the merger eventually took place in 2009. Jamie says John played an important role by embracing the merger from the start.

safe at Moore Stephens' Adelaide office. David Mounce, Manager - Business Advisory, who is still employed at William Buck Adelaide today, says that every week he had to move the Melbourne Cup aside to make room for the back up tapes. John and David recall that to help celebrate the running of the Melbourne Cup one year, they pulled the 1966 Melbourne Cup out of the safe and sat it on the reception desk for the day.

David Mounce and John Lampard, Moore Stephens

Moore Stephens' other partner, Andrew Craig, had a significant number of health clients and provided valuable support to William Buck’s Health division which was established as a result of this merger. When Andrew and the firm parted company in 2016, the Health division lost some of its clients, but has since been rebuilt into a strong portfolio of medical and health professionals, under the leadership of Health Director Tom Laundy. Today, Babis Mavrakis is considered a shining light of the Moore Stephens

William Buck Merges with MSI Tilley

merger. He initially joined William Buck as a Manager, but is now a Business Advisory Director, who leads the way when it comes to caring about clients and building a strong rapport with them. Other staff have observed and learned from Babis’ approach, while enjoying his charismatic personality.

While Moore Stephens may have been the firm’s most significant merger in terms of staff numbers, the merger with MSI Tilley in 2011 has been the most successful on many fronts. As with the Moore Stephens merger, the initial approach to MSI Tilley was floated many years before it transpired. MSI Tilley’s history dates back to 1947, when John Tilley went into partnership with Peter Murphy to form John Tilley Murphy and Co. John was very well regarded in Adelaide business circles and he also started up a Berri based firm called John Tilley Nettle and Co. When Nettle retired in the late 1960s, Barry Hughes joined the partnership and John merged the two firms to become Tilley Murphy Hughes (TMH).

Paul Mansfield joined the firm in 1970, followed by Dean Spencer in 1980, by which time the firm had a burgeoning Audit practice with a strong regional flavour. Every major centre in the Riverland had a packing shed and John was an expert at converting them into cooperatives. The firm spread its wings by joining national group McIntyre Strater International (MSI), however, it wasn’t until 2006 that the firm changed its name to MSI Tilley. Paul and Dean said the name change was about becoming more contemporary, whilst still acknowledging the firm’s founder, John Tilley who had passed away in 1980.

Craig

Laundy John Lampard Dean Spencer

Martin Hill

Adrian Chugg Paul Mansfield Chris Kennedy

Babis Chapter 2 | Growth and resilience

Mavrakis, Director,

At the time of the merger, MSI Tilley was a classic case of a business where the leaders were working full time in the business, rather than working on the business. The firm was heavily invested in its clients and with Paul and Dean looking for an exit strategy, the merger was all about ensuring their clients were well looked after and investing in opportunities for younger staff. After meeting with two or three other firms, Paul, Dean, Ben Trengove and MSI Tilley’s Managing Director Grant Wilson, came away “pretty disappointed”. However, after a meeting with William Buck they felt confident they had found the right fit. William Buck had a strong agri and regional presence which mirrored MSI Tilley’s client base, as well as a small firm ethos when it came to servicing clients. William Buck’s direction in terms of developing specialist services was something MSI Tilley was trying to achieve. “We were interested in their very mature Wealth Advisory division and they were interested in our very strong Audit base,” Grant says. In addition, one of MSI Tilley’s clear strengths was its ability to build and maintain relationships with clients, which resonated with William Buck. Dean describes the integration of MSI Tilley into William Buck as seamless and attributes this, in part, to the support of MSI Tilley’s Practice Manager, Sharon Bowden during the merger negotiations.

“The idea of two firms disappeared very quickly, it was quite remarkable,” Dean says. Since 2011, the team from MSI Tilley have been significant contributors to William Buck Adelaide. Almost all of MSI Tilley’s clients remain with the firm today, along with a number of staff, many of whom hold senior positions, including Directors Grant Wilson, James Northcote, Ben Trengove and Business Operations Manager, Sharon Bowden. Despite sacrificing his leadership to ensure a successful merger, Grant says he was able to pretty quickly become quite influential because of the opportunities the merger created for MSI Tilley’s staff. “William Buck felt like a really good fit from the start,” Grant says. “There were a whole range of reasons for that, but critically it was about looking after the interests of our staff and investing in the future of our younger Directors.”

MSI Tilley merger – Directors Ben Trengove, Dean Spencer and Grant Wilson, 2011

Laucke Flour Mills

Mark Laucke, owner of Laucke Flour Mills can attest to his company’s long association with William Buck and prior to that MSI Tilley. "Successions of people who’ve worked with and created William Buck as we know it today have worked with each of the four generations of Lauckes who operated the flour mill,” Mark says. “John Tilley provided every form of financial advice and service to my grandfather. That has continued, so that William Buck today provides those same services to me. They are highly valued because they suit my business, they suit the passion of my business and where

we intend to go. It’s a great match and a great partnership!” Mark says that William Buck is innately embedded in his business at every level. “I appreciate that because William Buck truly do understand my business because they are part of it. William Buck, more than anyone we work with understands partnerships. We are willing and active partners working together for the best outcome for this business.”

Grant Wilson, Director and Mark Laucke, owner of

Laucke Flour Mills

In 2012, sole trader Terry Lewis (formerly from KPMG) joined William Buck as part of his retirement plan, bringing with him eight staff under the Lewis Richmond merger. According to those who have worked alongside him, Terry is a real character and the last to leave the party. He stayed with William Buck for seven years before retiring, but many of his clients are still with the firm today, among them the Fitch Group. Terry says he decided to join William Buck based on the combination of the social side of things and the technical

Fitch Group

Originally a client of Lewis Richmond, the Fitch Group is still a valued client of William Buck today. The business bought the Brabham name and makes Brabham racing cars. More recently they have added the manufacture of electric buses to their impressive portfolio. The Fitch Group is an excellent example of an innovative business,

professionalism of the firm. “Everyone was very friendly, and the camaraderie was great,” Terry says. “There were Friday get togethers after work, lots of functions and the social club was really good. The Director group was very tight and a very friendly group to be part of. It was formal, but also relaxed at the same time, and we had a good laugh as well as getting things done. I was very happy at the end of my career, it was a very good place to end up.”

which successfully transitioned into other ventures, including BusTech (formerly Precision Buses), when the local auto manufacturing industry collapsed.

Former Director Terry Lewis and Managing Director, Jamie McKeough at the launch of Brabham Cars 2018

A subsequent merger with Flood Allen, was likewise a retirement plan for David Flood who merged his clients with William Buck Adelaide in 2014. David began working for Ingleton Chambers & Co in 1963 and became a partner in 1969. Over many years, the firm built strong relationships with many wealthy clients, with a particular focus on investment. As part of a succession strategy for these clients, David teamed with another firm called Cambrell & Allen. He and Michael Allen formed Flood Allen, but they kept their clients separate and Michael left the partnership in 1998 to set up a practice with his son. Flood Allen’s office was located next door to the Adelaide Club, where David was a regular guest, giving him access to many of Adelaide’s leading

businessmen. This helped build Flood Allen’s impressive list of investment clients, many of whom became millionaires as a result of shrewd investment in blue chip shares and first issues. David says the merger with William Buck was all about finding a good home for his clients.

It was considered quite a coup in 2017, when William Buck Adelaide was selected from a large number of firms all seeking to acquire SP Accountants. Once again, this was a retirement plan for the firm’s Managing Partner Steve Pikramenos. “Steve said when he talked to us, he felt very comfortable and he thought we would be a good home for his clients,” Jamie says.

Tregloan’s first client

When Ken Tregloan left Coopers & Lybrand in 1969 and started out on his own, he didn’t have a single client. The story goes that he opened an office on Anzac Highway and purchased a desk, a chair and a filing cabinet from Office Disposals. When the courier arrived to deliver the

furniture, Ken asked the courier who did his tax. ”No one” the obliging courier replied. So, Ken offered to do his tax return, in exchange for the cost of delivering the furniture. The courier agreed and promptly became Ken’s first client!

Michael Fairlie, Gary Hugo, Luciana Larkin and Ken Tregloan, 2019

Tregloans merged with William Buck in 2019. Tregloans was established in 1969 by Ken Tregloan who left Coopers & Lybrand and went out on his own. “The firm had good clients, but it was a small firm looking for more opportunities for its clients and staff,” Jamie says. Ken and fellow Partners Gary Hugo and Grant MacIntosh were quite entrepreneurial, and they started up several of their own businesses. Both Ken and Gary are still clients of William Buck Adelaide and former Partners at the time of the merger, Michael Fairlie and Luciana Larkin are still working for the firm as a Director and Consultant, respectively. Michael’s consistent performance and safe hands have resulted in him being entrusted with several high profile clients whose long-term relationship with the firm is highly valued.

The mergers with Tregloans, Lewis Richmond, Flood Allen and SP Accountants enabled William Buck Adelaide to bulk up its Business Advisory division. Referrals flowing from this traditional area of the practice supported the firm’s goal to achieve critical mass in its specialist divisions, in particular Wealth Advisory, Tax Services and Corporate Advisory. But something else the firm was looking for in its mergers was the opportunity to provide new services. So, in 2020, when accountant Scott MacKenzie approached William Buck, the firm jumped at the chance to secure his Managed Funds Administration business, in addition to MacKenzie Advisory’s

Business Advisory clients. At the time, William Buck was dealing with managed funds in a small way, but the firm was eager to bulk up this part of the business. Scott is now a Director of William Buck and heads up the newly formed Managed Funds Administration division.

Scott MacKenzie, MacKenzie Advisory Merger, 2020

Tregloans Partners, Luciana Larkin and Michael Fairlie with Jamie McKeough, 2019

Each of the mergers executed by William Buck Adelaide has had successful elements, in large part due to the Moore Stephens merger which paved the way for those that followed. ”From that experience, we learned how to make mergers successful,” Jamie says. The firm presents a transparent, fair and simple proposition which has proven to be compelling to other firms looking to merge. Jamie recalls being told by someone that their first merger was 90% about the numbers and 10% about the people. When this was unsuccessful, they made sure their next merger was 90% about the people and 10% about the numbers. Jamie says this rule of thumb has guided William Buck's approach to mergers. "We make it 90% about the people and 10% about the numbers, because it’s really important that the people fit in,” Jamie says. "It has to have the right feel about it and the two companies’ values must align.”

As with all mergers, some staff thrive because they are presented with new career opportunities that their previous firm couldn’t offer.

The main beneficiaries of the firm’s expansion through organic growth and mergers, are its clients and staff. Clients have benefited from access to a broader range of specialist services, while many of the firm's current Directors and staff have benefitted from the additional opportunities for pormotion. For this reason, the firm is wide open to future mergers, however, it will be discerning to make sure they offer sensible growth and fit with its strategy of providing the range of services that the mid-market needs. “We’re not interested in pursuing growth for growth’s sake,” Jamie says. “It’s always about values and clients first.”

Kingsley Purdie

Kingsley Purdie, who served on the Board of William Buck Adelaide from 1998 to 2006 says the growth of the firm in the last 10 years has been quite exponential. ”They’ve done a wonderful job because absorbing firms into the existing structure is a very difficult thing to do. I really admire what Jamie and the team have accomplished,” Kingsley says. ”To take on all these acquisitions demonstrates a skill that can only be done if you have the professionalism but also the people who are committed to making that happen.”

Kingsley Purdie, William Buck Adelaide Board Member 1998-2006

"We make it 90% about the people and 10% about the numbers, because it’s really important that the people fit in. It has to have the right feel about it and the two companies’ values must align.”

Step back in time: 50th anniversary

In 1996, Giles & Giles celebrated its 50th anniversary. Mawson Giles said at the time that he was pleased to see that while growing steadily, the firm has maintained the stability, integrity and emphasis on personal service that were the basic business tenets on which he and his brother founded the firm. A publication to celebrate this milestone claimed, “The stability of the Giles & Giles team has been one of the firm’s great strengths across this first 50 years. Partners and staff alike, have enjoyed being part of this business family and terms of employment stretching over decades have been frequent occurrences. Likewise, a lot of clients have stayed with Giles & Giles for many years…in some cases, with the association passing down the generations.”

Right: 50th anniversary Giles & Giles story, 1946-1996

Below: Giles & Giles newsletter, 1996

Future proofing the firm

Two stand-out examples of how the firm has been able to support its growth are its commitment to building the William Buck brand and the uptake of new technology.

One of the hallmarks of successful businesses is their ability to react quickly and effectively to change. Today’s firms have to be dynamic. They have to try things and if they don’t work, they have to throw them out and come up with something new. William Buck Adelaide demonstrates this agility, due to the combination of its openness to new ideas, its strong leadership and the high level of cohesion at Director

level. These three factors enable the firm to think through all available options, make decisions and act upon them, without getting bogged down by politics or procrastination.

After reaffirming its commitment to the William Buck Group and moving into the CBD, William Buck Adelaide decided to invest significantly in building the William Buck brand

Jamie McKeough and Marc Makrid, Marketing Consultant

through the Australian and NZ alliance. Marketing consultant

Marc Makrid has been involved in supporting William Buck Adelaide’s marketing activities since 2004. He was instrumental in helping the firm understand the intricacies of branding, as well as building its resources in this area, firstly by assisting in the recruitment of Marketing Manager Jody Heptinstall in 2006, the first full time marketing manager, to drive the firm’s marketing strategy. Jody’s relentless execution of the marketing plan is fundamental to its success over many years.

According to Marc, it was critical to get the foundation right before the firm was ready to move to the next level. “The Directors needed to understand the significance of the brand was not just about a logo and advertising, but it had a much wider frame of reference, which included client interaction and understanding relationships,” he says.

Following this education process, William Buck was ready to start positioning key sponsorships and connecting itself with credible brands. One direct learning from Praxity firm MNP in Canada, which sponsored the ice hockey in Vancouver, culminated in William Buck Adelaide signing up for LED signage at Adelaide Oval in 2014, for the Adelaide Crows and Port Power AFL teams’ home games. The impact of this was immediate! There is no doubt that the firm’s marketing has taken a quantum shift from where it was in 2004. It is

now a serious player in the market. The LED signage and forging an invaluable partnership with Business SA, have helped place William Buck Adelaide in an elite group of Adelaide’s most successful companies. As well as building the brand locally, the LED signage has helped promote the William Buck brand nationally, with a very large client engaging William Buck Sydney as a result.

Jody Heptinstall, Marketing and Business Development Manager

William Buck LED signage around Adelaide Oval

Across Australia and New Zealand, the William Buck Group has worked hard and invested heavily to build its brand. There is agreement that the William Buck brand should be so valuable that no office wants to leave the Group. At the same time, there is an understanding that while it is the Group Board’s responsibility to protect and promote the brand, there needs to be some flexibility to allow every office to thrive in its own market. As in Adelaide, the development of William Buck Group’s marketing strategy has been a slow burn, which gained momentum once Marc Makrid became involved in 2010. When he first met with the Group Board, Marc said it was clear the Group’s brand strategy was limited and they didn’t see the individual offices as having much in common. However, they were passionate about the brand and in a relatively short period of time they went from a very rudimentary understanding of marketing to an advanced understanding and commitment to it. Marc explains that because accounting is a personal exertion business, you can say whatever you like about the brand, but if it all falls down when you meet somebody then it’s a waste of time. Therefore, investment in people is critical to make sure the brand and the behaviours are aligned.

Martin Haese, CEO of Business SA, 2021

Martin Haese, Chief Executive Officer of Business SA, works closely with William Buck through a partnership which facilitates a substantial quarterly business confidence and conditions survey for South Australia. He says William Buck’s brand recognition is growing exponentially based on the fact it is an extremely stable, sustainable and reliable organisation.

“I think in many ways their brand is their people,” Martin says. “They are very good people to deal with and I look at businesses as ultimately about people. Their people are very proactive and professional and very genuine in their approach.”

"Across Australia and New Zealand, the William Buck Group has worked hard and invested heavily to build its brand."

Step back in time: free press

Today, accounting firms are freely able to promote their services, through advertising and business development activities, but this wasn’t always the case. Former Senior Partner Peter Brock recalls that until the 1980s, the accounting profession was banned from advertising. He says this was a critical factor limiting the growth and the thought process

of the firm. But this all changed on 1 April 1984, when the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants changed their policy with regards to advertising and publicity. This was in line with overseas trends and other professional bodies which allowed accounting firms to inform the general public about their activities and services. Under the new rules, advertising and publicity were permitted, provided that the content or nature of advertising or publicity was not false, misleading, deceptive nor reflected adversely on the profession. Direct uninvited solicitation of a specific client was still prohibited. From this point on, Giles & Giles began advertising its services with a view to attracting new business. In July 1984, Giles & Giles published its first newsletter. As well as advertising its professional services to clients, the newsletter was used to inform clients about staff changes and update them on legislative changes.

First Giles & Giles Newsletter, 1984

"In July 1984, Giles & Giles published its first newsletter. As well as advertising its professional services to clients, the newsletter was used to inform clients about staff changes and update them on legislative changes."

Partnerships and alliances

1 Christopher Pyne (Former Defence Minister) presenting at the William Buck Adelaide 2022 CFO Summit

2 David Basham Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development of SA with Director Aaron Trombetta and Kingsley Songer

3 Director Matthew Illman and Senior Accountant Peter Davis at the ThincLab eChallenge Awards, 2021

4 Director Matthew Illman presenting an award at the InDaily 40 Under 40 awards

5 Directors Andrew Barlow, Lee Fuller and Paula Liddle at the Paskeville Field Days, 2019

6 Wealth Advisor Eben Lok presenting at the Womens and Childrens Gala Ball, 2021

7 James Northcote presenting at the SA Produce Market

8 William Buck Group Health Team at the RACGP Practice Owners Conference in Hobart, 2022

Logo evolution

Marketing evolution

Website evolution

As well as helping build the William Buck brand across Australia and New Zealand and leveraging off this at a local level, William Buck Adelaide has kept pace with the rapid changes in technology. Like other professions, the accounting profession has been subject to digital disruption for decades. And while technology can threaten jobs, it has simultaneously created new tasks, including generating new information to advise on.

William Buck is in the business of providing advice to people and according to Jamie, the bottom line is that people still want to deal with people. “When we’re giving people high level advice there’s no substitute for sitting around a table and nutting it out,” Jamie says. There is no doubt that the rapid changes in technology have, and will continue to have, an impact on how William Buck interacts with its clients. The way the firm provides information to clients and the way

it engages with them relies on technology more than ever before. Technology has also impacted on the firm’s internal procedures, including the transition from desktop to all staff having their own mobile devices in 2015. Five years ago, there was still too much paper floating around and there was an opportunity for greater automation. However, in the last few years, the firm has made excellent progress to improve its internal working practices. By the time COVID-19 arrived in early 2020, the William Buck office was substantially paperless, which meant an easier transition to working from home. The investment in mobile devices to enable all staff to work whenever and wherever paid off, because when everyone went home overnight and put their computers on, it worked! Jamie admits the firm wasn’t as quick on the uptake of working from wherever. “But COVID proved we could do it,” he says.

The pandemic certainly played a role in fast-tracking the uptake of online meetings and online seminars with clients and staff, however, the firm still values face-to-face interactions. “I think you need to have both, but I think the combination of online and face-to-face will be more powerful than what we’ve had before,” Jamie says. Another benefit of technology has been the speeding up of data processing and more sophisticated accounting software which has helped the firm improve its efficiency. This enables staff to spend more time with the clients adding value to their businesses, rather than spending all their time on compliance-related tasks.

Today, William Buck has a “Kaizen” committee, Kaizen being Japanese for “continuous improvement”. The task of this group is to ensure the firm continues to embrace new technology, to use technology more effectively, to drive process improvement and eliminate waste. Business Operations Manager, Sharon Bowden, says "We’ve always had a focus on becoming more efficient, but it’s become more of a key focus today than ever. Our entire team is encouraged to share ideas for better ways to do things. With continual improvement at the forefront of all our team, our Kaizen committee pulls our ideas together to share across the firm and learn from each other. Improvement is key and whether large or small should ultimately result in a better experience for our clients and our team.

"Our entire team is encouraged to share ideas for better ways to do things. With continual improvement at the forefront of all our team, our Kaizen committee pulls our ideas together to share across the firm and learn from each other."

– Sharon Bowden, Business Operations Manager

Sharon Bowden, Business Operations Manager

Coming of age

Bill Hermann recently reflected on how far the William Buck Group has come since being introduced to them in 2010.”What I saw was them as a group espousing ‘we’re going to start with our vision, we’re going to move to strategy, we’re going to get everybody aligned and we can deal with change, be that regulatory change, technology change or just world environment change. It proved they can do that.”

"We've always had a focus on becoming more efficient, but it's become more of a key focus today than ever, because if you don't embrace technology you're left behind."

– Jamie McKeough

Bill Hermann, Former Managing Director of Michigan-based Plante Moran

Step back in time: look how far we’ve come

For the accounting profession, it has been a long journey from the days of time-consuming manual bookkeeping to instant online lodgment. Information is now available at the touch of a finger or a voice-activated command! According to Debbie Colebatch, the journey can best be described as “big staggers in technology”, particularly since she joined the firm in 1989. Debbie gradually moved from her full-time accounting role with Giles & Giles into a full-time IT role, when her hobby of computing “went berserk”. She says specific points in time, such as new superannuation rules, legislative changes affecting fringe benefits tax (FBT), the goods and services tax (GST), capital gains tax (CGT) and the millennium bug (Y2K) have all impacted on the uptake of technology.

Over the years, Giles & Giles, and later William Buck Adelaide, has been consistent in its approach to new technology. While the firm lays no claim to be bleeding edge, it has always been leading edge. Even in Mawson Giles’ time, the firm was seen as a leader in technology when it introduced its first accounting machine. David Giles remembers his father’s pride when Mawson received a phone call from one of the Big 8 accounting firms to see if they could come and look at the machine because they were still using double entry bookkeeping. After Mawson’s retirement, Peter Brock was tasked with bridging the firm’s old systems with new technology, in particular the introduction of computers. He admits he wasn’t the natural choice as he was almost computer illiterate! “The first computer we had was a Wang Paxus computer system, with hundreds or thousands of floppy disks; one per client,” Peter says. Once Peter assumed the role of Senior Partner, he identified “The Electronic Office” as one of six areas of focus in the ‘Giles & Giles Plan for the Future’. "As with all facets of life, the future would appear to be one of increasing productivity and this will be achieved by the use of electronic equipment,” the report said.

Former employee Michelle Wehr using the firm's first computer, 1976

On the internet

In 1997, a Giles & Giles newsletter included the following story: “Keeping pace with ever evolving technological developments, Giles & Giles has now got on the information super highway,otherwise known as the Internet. This means that our electronic “mailbox” is now open for business and you can e-mail us on: 100357,235 (for users with a Compuserve account) or 100357,235@compuserve.com (for non-Compuserve users).”

In 1983, the firm’s two Wang computers were replaced with a new Hartley system, with 128MB of storage (less than a USB stick today), four terminals and two printers. In addition, to handle general accounting, debtors and wage records, the system had integrated word processing for producing financial statements. In 1988, the firm’s computer system was once again upgraded, with the installation of 16 IBM terminals and one printer. For the first time, clients’ tax returns were prepared on computer. PAXUS accounting software was later introduced which gave the firm the ability to monitor and immediately act on the latest tax changes and investment advice. Finally, in 1997, the internet arrived at Giles & Giles, enabling the firm to lodge tax returns electronically and to send and receive emails. To support the increased uptake of technology, William Buck has continued to expand its IT team, including the appointment of IT Manager Kent Sharp in 2013, whose considerable skills have taken the internal IT capability to the next level.

Right: Giles & Giles newsletter article, 1997

Kent Sharp, IT Manager

Chapter 2 summary

Over the last 20 years in particular, William Buck has demonstrated tremendous growth and resilience. During this time, accounting firms have come and gone, but William Buck has proven its ability not only to survive, but to prosper. This is a credit to everyone who has been a part of the journey. Prior to the Moore Stephens merger in 2009, the firm had 75 staff. Today it has almost 200! In terms of future growth, Jamie says William Buck will not be limited by the notion that it can’t be bigger than the Big 4 accounting firms in Adelaide. “We’ll be as big as we need to be,” he says. William Buck is here for the long haul and the firm’s commitment to long-term sustainability is something it espouses to clients. “We would never advise our clients on some opportunistic, get-rich-quick type thing,” Jamie says. “There is nothing wrong with get-rich-slow. Our client and staff relationships are about long-term sustainability

and our decision making is always about what’s best for the long-term.” Another way that William Buck is able to survive is by staying ahead of the curve, not just in adopting the latest technology or in the way it manages the business, but in how it gets involved with clients. The firm proactively talks to clients about things that might need to be contemplated in two years’ time, to warm them up for when that need arises. Jamie says that in the very simplest terms, the firm helps people and businesses make good decisions! William Buck’s track record is one of sustainable growth and resilience. Whether it be through the integration of merged firms, adapting to new tax legislation, digital disruption or a global pandemic, William Buck has remained committed to its core values and firmly focused on its vision to be the leading accounting firm in Adelaide.

"William Buck is here for the long haul and the firm’s commitment to long-term sustainability is something it espouses to clients."

Our values and culture

Our values and culture

To be a William Buck person, you must be genuine, grounded and caring. You must demonstrate ambition and drive. You must be willing to go above and beyond when it comes to servicing clients.

When considering William Buck Adelaide’s values today, they are remarkably similar to those demonstrated by Mr William Buck and Ken and Mawson Giles. These men, founders of William Buck and Giles & Giles, which evolved into William Buck Adelaide, never committed their values to paper, however, they demonstrated them through the way they served their clients and related to their staff. Today, the values of William Buck are written down for all to see: CARE - Collaborative. Aspiring. Relationship-driven. Enterprising. But what do they really mean? For staff, these values are summed up quite simply by the phrase ‘a William Buck person’. Coined by Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill, this has become a useful measuring stick which ensures that staff at William Buck reflect the firm’s values. To be a William Buck person, you must be genuine, grounded and caring. You must demonstrate ambition and drive. You must be willing to go above and beyond when it comes to servicing clients.

Successful businesses have their values embedded in their culture. In the early days, the culture of William Buck and Giles & Giles was what you would expect in a traditional, conservative accounting firm. The firm’s values were central to this culture which epitomised good, old-fashioned service, integrity and respect. Over the years, however, the firm’s culture has adapted and changed with the times. This evolution has been influenced by key individuals, including Dennis Laundy who orchestrated the first significant cultural shift. When he became Managing Director in 1987, Dennis wanted the firm to become less “old school” in the way it did business, while still maintaining the Giles’ brothers foundation values of genuine care for their clients and staff, integrity and excellent customer service. Dennis set about changing this culture, firstly by moving on a couple of staff and recruiting younger staff. It didn’t happen overnight, but in time, a more contemporary culture took hold at William Buck, one that above all else, values people and relationships. You may recall Jamie McKeough’s words, “Without long-term relationships we don’t have anything.” Today, in its sixth generation, the ability to build strong, loyal relationships is entrenched in the DNA of William Buck. It’s a wonderful attribute and one for which the firm is highly regarded.

Jamie recalls a former Managing Partner of Praxity firm MNP in Canada, saying the best way to protect your culture is “be careful who you let in”. As a result, the firm’s recruitment philosophy has always been value based. Director Andrew Barlow tells a great story about his second interview with former Managing Director Dennis Laundy. “In the interview, Dennis told me a lot about the firm’s culture,” Andrew says. “He wanted a personal reference, so he rang a friend of mine and he literally asked for my life story. My friend said, ‘you wouldn’t believe the questions he asked’. I thought that line of questioning was unusual, but then I thought ‘at the end of the day if he cares that much about the values of someone who is going to join the firm, then that’s a good thing’. It showed to me how much they cared about the culture.” This anecdote demonstrates William Buck’s inclination to recruit staff with values aligned to its own. Business Advisory Manager Henry Schofield sums it up like this; “You can teach someone how to do the numbers and teach them tax laws or whatever their area is, but if someone isn’t the right fit for the culture you can’t teach them to be a better

person.” Interestingly, Henry has never met Dennis, yet these words are right out of Dennis’ mouth. It’s a strong indication that the firm’s culture is deeply embedded and is being passed on from one generation of staff to the next.

"The thing that's always been there is that people genuinely care. You care about your clients and your colleagues. You become invested in their issues and want to help."

– Dennis Laundy

Former Managing Director, Dennis Laundy, 1987-2006

William Buck Adelaide has several cultural safeguards in place to ensure that the firm’s values are not compromised. Firstly, there’s the “no dickhead policy”, an adaptation of Plante Moran’s “no jerk” policy. This accepts that while everyone can be a dickhead now and then, they can’t be a dickhead all the time. While this policy mainly refers to the behaviour of Directors and staff, it also applies to clients. Wealth Advisory Director Andrew Barlow says 99% of the firm’s clients are lovely. However, he says occasionally the firm has to deal with a particularly unreasonable client. “If it is considered they are being unreasonable then we are better off letting them go,” Andrew says. “We try to work with difficult clients and get them to change, but we’re not prepared to keep them for the sake of the money.” Andrew says the firm supports this approach, acknowledging that it is unhealthy for staff to have to deal with continual bad behaviour from clients.

Another important safeguard of the William Buck culture is making sure that clients are always the first priority. “One of our core philosophies is that what’s best for our clients will be best for us,” Jamie says. “If we’re ever confronted with a difficult decision and we could go this way or we could go that way, we will say ‘well what’s best for our clients’.” That’s

No jerk policy

The ’no jerk policy’, or ‘relatively jerk free policy’ was started by Frank Moran, the founding partner of USbased Plante Moran. Bill Hermann started working for the firm in 1971 and recalls that the concept first came up when Frank was having a relatively bad day and he snapped at someone, which was totally out of character. He said, ‘well so much for not having any jerks, but I guess it would be fine if you were relatively jerk-free because everybody has a bad day, you just can’t have one everyday!’ Bill says the ‘no jerk policy’ is still referred to at Plante Moran today and is a huge part of the firm’s culture.

the ultimate litmus test and whether it be committing to a merger, or adding a new service, the impact on clients is the firm’s number one consideration. This approach helps drive the firm’s culture, because Directors and staff are motivated by what’s good for clients and the firm, ahead of their own personal agendas. It is acknowledged that everyone wants to get ahead in their career and the firm encourages this, but not at the expense of someone else. It promotes an environment that is supportive, rather than competitive.

Collegiality at the Director level is critical to the supportive culture at William Buck and the firm’s ownership structure enhances this. Around the Board table, Directors talk until they get to the point where everyone’s happy with a decision. They only vote once a year to decide who wins the coveted staff awards! Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill says that when he interviews graduates, they often ask what he most likes about working at William Buck. “The thing I always say is how well the Director group gets along,” Martin says. “Everything starts at the top with the leadership. If we don’t get along the whole firm can struggle.” Recently retired Director Malcolm Wight, agrees that cohesiveness is incredibly important to the culture. Having initially worked at Giles & Giles for 16 years, then worked for another accounting firm for 17 years before returning to William Buck, Malcolm has a unique insight. He says it was clear when he returned to the firm just how cohesive its leadership group was. “I always suspected that from the outside, but it was confirmed sitting around the Board table how well the Directors got on,” Malcolm says. “That’s the best part of this firm. They are all heading towards a common goal. People here look through the lens of the firm and it filters right down through the organisation.”

As Malcolm points out, it’s critical that the Directors are all singing from the same hymn sheet. By embodying the firm’s values and taking a genuine interest in their clients, they collectively set an example for other staff. Having an aligned group of Directors is one of William Buck’s greatest competitive advantages. It strengthens the firm’s culture by ensuring the values are deeply embedded in the firm’s DNA. While William Buck Adelaide is no longer family-owned, it still feels like a family company. Bill Hermann says on a recent

visit he observed that the staff at William Buck genuinely like one another and spending time together. “There was a level of engagement that was like a family that hadn’t seen each other for an extended period in time,” Bill says.

“I think that the relationship that they’ve developed among the Partners and the staff is outstanding and something to emulate. They have a good time, they work hard. It’s kind of neat to see the way their spouses are engaged. It’s not just the folks who are at the firm, it reaches into the family. And that, I think, would be aspirational. It is to me and to many folks at Plante Moran.” Director Paula Liddle agrees that there is a strong family culture at William Buck. When something goes wrong everyone pitches in to help! “I feel like part of the family, I feel like part of the furniture,” Paula says.

“When I first started at the firm, within about three months I needed some leave because I had a tumor in my throat and Dennis said, ‘don’t worry about it’. That caring side of it was very important to me. It feels like a family company.”

Staff are encouraged to participate in the Social Club activities, and also come together for Friday night drinks in the office, a tradition that started back in the 1970s. Once a month the long-running Billy Bucks Club (BBC) hosts an informal evening for staff, during which employees are presented with awards and staff have an opportunity to unwind with their colleagues. While staff at William Buck take the professional side of things very seriously, they know how to let their hair down and enjoy themselves. It’s an attribute which helps them stay grounded and contributes to stronger relationships with their clients and colleagues. People and Culture Director Tom Laundy says that while everything in the workplace is a lot more controlled today, it’s important to take opportunities to have fun when you can. “We like to remind people that not everything’s serious and it’s OK to have a joke,” he says.

William Buck Christmas Party, 2021

Social club

Step back in time: foundation values

William Buck Adelaide’s values today are remarkably similar to those demonstrated by the firm’s founders, Ken and Mawson Giles. Mawson described Ken as a quiet, compassionate person. The brothers were good friends and worked well together, often sharing the same thoughts. In fact, Mawson often said they couldn’t have been closer if they were twins. Perhaps the difference of 14 years in age may have helped, but their views and thoughts on all subjects, both personal and business, coincided absolutely. Mawson said there was never any difficulty reaching decisions and clients and staff benefited from the overriding sense of stability that existed in the firm.

The firm’s values were a strong reflection of the Giles’ brothers, who were invariably described as decent and honest men.

Former Managing Director Dennis Laundy knew Mawson before he started working for Giles & Giles. His wife, Peta, lived across the road from Mawson and his wife Sylvia in Athelney Avenue, Brighton. Dennis says Mawson was the main reason he left his job at Irish Young & Outhwaite and joined Giles & Giles. “I had a lot of respect for him, he took the time to say hello which he didn’t have to do,” Dennis says. “I thought that’s a good characteristic. He seemed to be genuinely interested. I was attracted by that trait.” Accountability and integrity were also important to the two brothers. Ken’s eldest son, Bruce, recalled one of his father’s favourite sayings was “if a job’s worth doing,

Froth and bubble

According to his daughter, Sue, one of Mawson’s Giles favourite sayings was:

"Life is mostly froth and bubble Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own."

it’s worth doing properly.” But above all else, Ken and Mawson were renowned for their deep consideration of clients. Mawson said while other firms just sat in Adelaide and expected people to come and see them “we went very much out of our way to please our clients.” Their concern for clients, extended to the hardworking, loyal and knowledgeable staff at Giles & Giles. In the early years, Ken and Mawson introduced a profit-sharing scheme to reward staff, saying they “felt these people were so good in all ways that they deserved to be recognised”. Among those to benefit from the profit sharing were Doris Brokensha, Bruce Giles who joined the firm in 1950, and EC Dunstone, or Mac, as he was known.

The family values of the firm were clearly evident to clients and staff, as well as to Ken’s and Mawson’s children. Mawson’s son, David, recalls that in his childhood, his family spent many happy days with Ken’s family, blackberry picking in the Adelaide Hills and enjoying beach picnics at Sellicks Beach. When Giles & Giles held staff picnics, Ken and Mawson’s parents would join them, adding to the strong sense of family that characterised the firm.

"The firm's values were a strong reflection of the Giles' brothers, who were invariably described as decent and honest men."

Mawson and Sylvia Giles

Our employee care plan

Directors and staff at William Buck Adelaide are on a learning curve when it comes to work/life integration. Until quite recently, the firm’s workplace practices offered limited flexibility. Staff were required to work set hours and take their lunch break between 1 and 2pm. Working from home was the exception, rather than the rule. This was largely because the client-centric nature of the business did not lend itself to accommodating individual preferences en masse. At that time, flexibility was earned rather than available generally, however, there were many approved arrangements in place. One of the advantages of the firm’s growth is that it is now of a scale where greater flexibility is a real option. Learnings through Praxity and the experiences of senior staff who have come to William Buck Adelaide from other firms, have also contributed to a more contemporary workforce with a strong focus on work/life integration. The arrival of COVID-19 in March 2020, forced the firm’s staff to quickly adapt to working from home and provided a valuable insight into how this impacted staff and clients, as well as the firm’s productivity. Since the pandemic, staff say they feel they have earned the trust of the firm and as a result they are much more comfortable asking to work from home on an occasional basis when there are personal reasons for doing so.

Director Paula Liddle is one of the beneficiaries of William Buck Adelaide’s flexible work practices. When her son was young, he was unwell on a regular basis and Paula would have had to take a large amount of carer’s leave if she wasn’t able to work from home. “Even when I became a Principal and a Director, I would struggle to juggle work and family commitments if I had to come in the office every day,” Paula says. As it has for many businesses, the pandemic accelerated the firm’s thinking in regard to workplace flexibility. Staff can now request to spend a regular or ad-hoc day working from home, whether it is for a personal appointment or to complete project work in a quieter environment. In terms of accessing the William Buck network and clients, staff working remotely have never been more connected. Whether they need to access client files, or communicate with clients or other staff, they have mobile phones, emails, the intranet and webinars at their fingertips. Despite working from home being a real option, Jamie says he doesn’t see this becoming the norm for everyone. “The reality is we work better when we are together,” he says. “However, the flexibility of working from home on a regular basis is certainly helping our staff juggle their professional and personal commitments.”

Empowering one another to succeed through the CARE values, enables the firms staff to reach outstanding results personally and professionally.

Eben Lok, Wealth Advisor and Emma Kittel, Operations and Marketing Advisor

Right: James Dodd, Paraplanner and Cain Meschiati, Director

Senior Accountants, Danielle Gibb and Alyce Hardstaff

"Committed to forging an inclusive culture, we embrace diversity and listen to all voices. We promote from within and build tomorrow’s leaders today."

Chargeable hours have their place in the accounting profession, however, at William Buck Adelaide, this is not the only thing individual performance is measured on. One of the firm’s philosophies is that it’s 50% about the numbers and 50% about everything else. There has to be a balance between getting the job done and spending time with family and friends. William Buck acknowledges that improved communication technology has made it harder to achieve work/life integration because it has resulted in more personal intrusions at work and more work intrusions at home. Of course, staff have the option to turn their phones off, but that’s not the reality! In recognition of the fact that the firm’s Directors deal with work matters when they are on leave, they receive six weeks annual leave each year, instead of the usual four. The firm also offers a sabbatical for Directors every seven years when they are given five weeks off work to refresh. During this time, they are encouraged to turn their phones off and take a genuine break in the hope that this will extend their careers. Jamie says people often get a decent break when they resign and change jobs, but many of the William Buck Adelaide’s Directors have never changed jobs. “Without the sabbatical they wouldn’t have the benefit of a long break,” Jamie says.

Wellness is an important part of business in today’s world and William Buck’s Directors understand that it is their responsibility to develop the person as well as the professional. They take a holistic approach to wellbeing, demonstrated through the firm’s Personal Development Program, which supports staff to pursue personal interests. This initiative started out as a wine tasting class to educate staff about South Australian wine, but it has now broadened to cover a wider range of interests. Staff can participate in anything from photography classes to golf lessons or yoga. It’s all about developing them as individuals and encouraging them to stay active and healthy, in body and mind. To support the mental health of its staff, William Buck also provides an Employee Assistance Program which offers a confidential, 24hour counselling service to staff and their immediate families.

"One of the firm’s philosophies is that it’s 50% about the numbers and 50% about everything else."

Above: Paula Liddle, Director, Business Advisory

Left: Becky Yap, Senior Accountant

Sindy Woo – Manager, Hansini De Foneska – Senior Accountant, Chris Franco – Wealth Advisor, James Dodd – Paraplanner, and Cain Meschiati – Director

Accountants Cameron Green, Zaw Htoo, Jingyi Niu and Layla Duckworth

Community

Over the years, William Buck Adelaide has built strong relationships within the South Australian community, through clients, through its involvement in professional and industry associations and through the significant contributions of the firm and individual staff to charitable organisations. William Buck's support for the accounting profession and associated industries was evident from the early Giles & Giles days, when Ken and Mawson Giles served on the Boards and committees of several prominent organisations. Today, many of William Buck’s Directors continue to support the profession by speaking at conferences and seminars, participating in educational and mentoring sessions, and serving on industry Boards and committees. In recognition of their contribution to the profession, Dennis Laundy, Ian Snook and Malcolm

Wight have been awarded with Meritorious Service awards from The Tax Institute.

In addition to this contribution at a professional level, William Buck supports a wide range of charities, through pro bono work, the firm’s Workplace Giving program, and with many staff members actively fundraising and volunteering for community organisations. The firm’s monthly Billy Bucks Club coincides with a casual day and over the past 16 years, gold coin donations from staff have sponsored four children through World Vision. The firm has always donated to many different charities. Volunteering teams from William Buck help fill backpacks to support the Backpacks for SA Kids charity, and the firm is a regular participant in Movember, raising in excess of $100,000 over the years.

Over the years, William Buck Adelaide has built strong relationships throughout the South Australian community.

Staff are given the opportunity to nominate charities to be considered for a donation or in-kind support, with the firm showing a strong preference for locally based organisations which provide real benefit to the community and are committed to long-term relationships.

In 2016, William Buck Adelaide established a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee, led by Lee Fuller and Jody Heptinstall, to coordinate and promote its work in the community. In 2021, as part of its 125th celebrations, the firm established a Group-wide Foundation to capture and highlight the good work of the almost 1,000 employees across the Group. These two initiatives will drive William Buck’s giving program going forward and develop mutually beneficial relationships with community organisations that align with the firm's vision and values.

While the firm and its staff are committed to actively participating in fundraising activities, they recognise that the most valuable thing the firm can give is its time and expertise, because most community organisations require

financial advice. In 2021, William Buck Adelaide was doing 17 pro bono audits and a range of other work for not-forprofit organisation and making a significant contribution to their programs.

Above: Lee Fuller – Director, Business Advisory and Founding CSR Member

Below: Former Partner Michael McLaren presenting at the Tax Institue of Australia State Congress, 1992

AUSVEGSA

Bedford

Bushfire Disaster Relief

Canteen

Flinders Street Project

Foodbank

Kudos

Legacy Club of Adelaide

MFSA

William Buck supporting the community

Neurological Research Foundation

OC Challenge

RSPCA

RUOK?

SA Living Artists

SAHMRI

Shout for Good

Sids and Kids SA

SYC

Thin Green Line

Treasure Boxes Inc

Trees for Life

Westminster School

White Ribbon Australia

Women and Childrens

Hospital Foundation

Walford Anglican School for Girls

Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill was the fifth highest fundraiser in the 2021 Vinnie’s CEO Sleepout, contributing more than $30,000 to support people experiencing homelessness.

Pro bono

"The pro bono work William Buck do for the CFS Foundation along with their generous donation will assist us to provide financial relief to SA CFS volunteers and their families who have suffered tragedy through death, injury or significant loss whilst protecting their communities. The purpose of the CFS Foundation is provide CFS volunteers the same unflinching support they give our entire community on a daily basis and support from businesses such as William Buck and the community is vital to ensure we can continue to assist our volunteers now and into the future."

–

In addition to the firm’s donations and pro bono work, many individual staff members are also making a difference, through their participation in fundraisers and by volunteering for not-for-profit organisations, schools and sporting clubs and other community groups.

Many of the firm’s current Directors and staff are voluntary members of Boards and committees for leading South Australian organisations, including St Vincent de Paul Society, Cystic Fibrosis SA, Youth Inc, Operation Flinders, State Theatre Company and Guide Dogs SA/NT. To recognise

the important contribution that staff make to the wider community, William Buck's CSR committee introduced a Volunteer Award in 2017. The CSR Volunteer of the Year is awarded to someone who has made a significant contribution to the community or charity throughout that year. Staff are encouraged to record the time they spend volunteering in their timesheets and to share their stories of the work that they do in the community. The award winner receives a $1,000 donation voucher to allow them to make a donation to a charity of their choice.

Gloria Berni, CEO of the CFS Foundation

Aaron Trombetta, Wealth Advisory Director and Gloria Berni, CEO of the CFS Foundation

"William Buck has provided me with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills that I have been able to use in assisting the community through volunteer work – I find being able to give back to others very rewarding."

– Jennifer Rees, Manager and CSR Committee Member

Jennifer Rees, Manager and CSR Committee Member

CSR Volunteer of the Year award winners

Paula Liddle, 2017

Jennifer Rees, 2019

Tricia Kleinig, 2018

Jamie McKeough, 2020

Sarah Gibson, 2021

1 SAHMRI Fundraiser, 2020

2 YouthInc Golf Day, 2019

3 Sarah McKeough and Amanda Anderson

– Hutt Street Centre Volunteering, 2022

4 Operation Flinders Fundraiser, 2018

5 Martin Hill – Ride for a Reason, 2004

6 Bedford Volunteering - Big BBQ, 2012

7 Backpacks 4 (SA) Kids Packing Day, 2018

1 Movember

2 Andrew Barlow and Kent Sharp –Hutt Street Centre Volunteering, 2022

3 Lavine Martis and David Mounce

– Biggest Morning Tea, Cancer Council, 2021

4 Celebrating International Accountants Day

5 Royal Flying Doctors Service Car Trek, 2021

6 Andrew Barlow and Jamie McKeough with Guide Dogs representative

7 Food Bank Volunteering, 2017

Step back in time: men about town

Giles & Giles’ founders Ken and Mawson Giles set the pace for community involvement from the very beginning. Ken was secretary of the SA Chamber of Automobile Agents and served on the Board of The Registered Tax Agents Association of SA. When Ken retired from the firm in 1965, Mawson took his place on the Board, and in the years to come, Peter Brock became President. The association was a forum for all accountants who relied on tax to have a voice with the Australian Tax Office.

During his time at Giles & Giles, Mawson was also on the Auditors and Liquidators Board for more than 10 years and was involved in the Rostrum Club. He was a foundation member of the Apex Club at Glenelg, participated in a debating group at Brighton and played tennis and lacrosse. He said these associations led to some work for the firm and in return, his connection with a small grape growing client led to him becoming Secretary of both the state and federal Wine Grape Growers Council for many years.

One of Mawson’s greatest community contributions was his involvement in the establishment of Westminster School in 1963. Mawson was the Vice President of the Westminster Parents & Friend’s Association and served on the inaugural school Council from 1963 to 1968. His contribution was recognised in 2021, when the grandstand that commands the view over Westminster’s Main Oval was named the ‘Mawson Giles Stand’. A large group of the Giles family, including Mawson’s children, David and Sue, attended the official opening. The dedication says “Like his namesake, Mawson Giles showed how the power of determination, service and dedication could make a difference that we still value in our community today. We are forever grateful to Mawson Giles who joined forces with the other great pioneers of Westminster to advance the School during its foundation years.”

MAWSON GILES STAND

The grandstand that commands the view of the Main Oval is named in honour of A. M. Giles (Mawson), an advocate, founder and volunteer for Westminster School. Mawson was appointed as the first Vice President of the Westminster Parents and Friends’ Association on 20 February 1961 then continued his service as a Member of School Council from 1963 to 1968.

From those earliest years, Mawson’s Westminster family has continued to grow through the generations. He was father of Foundation student William Giles (‘65); grandfather of Scott Giles (’84), Crawford Giles (’86) and Sophie Orchard (’09); great grandfather of Amber Giles (’14), Macey Giles (’20), Jessica McManus (’22) and James McManus (‘25).

Mawson was named after Sir Douglas Mawson, famed Australian explorer who lived in nearby Brighton and was knighted in the same year of Mawson’s birth. Like his namesake, Mawson Giles showed how the power of determination, service and dedication could make a difference that we still value in our community today. We are forever grateful to Mawson Giles who joined forces with the other great pioneers of Westminster to advance the School during its foundation years.

Mawson Giles Stand citation.

Glenelg Apex Club Foundation Member, Mawson Giles. (10th from the left)

Opening of the Thomas Pavillion, home of the Mawson Giles Stand, at Westminster School on Sunday 18, October 2021.

Image courtesy of Westminster School.

Changing lives

Nearly 10 years ago, the William Buck Group adopted the mantra ‘Changing Lives’.

Nearly 10 years ago, the William Buck Group adopted the mantra ‘Changing Lives’. Former Chairman Nick Hatzistergos is the owner of this phrase, which was prompted by a comment from a journalist who suggested to Nick that the mid-tier accounting firms in Australia were “all beige”. “None of you stand out,” she said. Nick took great offence to this observation and spent a sleepless night trawling through websites. Not just William Buck’s website, but those of its competitors, as well as websites of other iconic global companies. Nick came to the conclusion that the journalist was right! “We all say we hire the best people, we all had the best fit, but nothing really stood out,” he said. Coincidentally, Nick was reading Steve Jobs’ biography at the time. He decided William Buck needed to associate itself with something that wasn’t just about accounting. He observed that other successful brands such as Coca Cola and Apple never talked about the product, but about the experience. Their claims were aspirational. And Nick said that when he looked at William Buck, he realised it had absolutely changed his life in the time that he had been there. “The thing I was proudest of was the number of people coming through who had been hired as relatively junior people,”

he said. “I’d seen them buy their first car, go on their first overseas trip, get married, buy their house, have children and then become really accomplished professionals.” William Buck was changing their lives! Nick said when the William Buck Group adopted ‘Changing Lives’ as its tagline, it was understood that they were never going to cure brain cancer, or do what heart specialists do. However, if they did their job really well, they would have a positive impact on the people that they served, their clients.

Jamie McKeough agrees that ‘Changing Lives’ is a bold statement, “but if clients and staff allow us to, and we do a good job, essentially we have helped them change their lives,” he says. ‘Changing Lives’ is incremental and can be anything from the firm saving a CFO time during an audit so they get to spend more time with their kids or, advising a client on growing a successful business and helping them sell for a huge amount of money so they can educate their grandkids, travel the world, or support the community in a more meaningful way. Or, it may be life-changing because the firm has kept a family business together by facilitating intergenerational transfer or helping them through a really tough time to keep the business afloat.

"Changing Lives’ may be a bold statement, but it has resonated with staff at William Buck Adelaide. They aspire to have a positive impact on the lives of their clients."

Modelflight

Mike O’Reilly is the Managing Director of Modelflight, a South Australian family business which sells radio control hobbies and models. He says the guidance and expertise provided by William Buck Adelaide over the last 20 years has been life changing.”Without that, we personally, and the business, would be in a very different place,” Mike says.”Twenty years ago, we had a successful business but we were pretty short on cash, so managing cash flow, inventory management and running an overdraft were really important and whilst we were okay at it, William Buck certainly provided excellent guidance and assistance. Then things changed and as cash flow became less critical, the superannuation and finance advisory part of the business of William Buck became important and very, very useful and again provided excellent guidance.

They have an understanding of what we do, they want us to do well and they go above and beyond to look at alternatives, to look at options that will give the best result for our company. It’s been a really good experience!” Mike says that William Buck Adelaide juggled a whole lot of balls to put them in a position where his parents were able to retire and he was able to move forward in the business. Now Mike’s son-in-law and daughter are heavily involved and are shareholders of the business. There is no doubt that William Buck Adelaide has had a life-changing impact on three generations of O’Reillys.

Leo O'Reilly, Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna and Mike O'Reilly. Flying model planes each year in Adelaide up to 1993 prior to each Formula One Grand Prix.

There are many examples of ‘Changing Lives’ stories in William Buck's long history. Among them, the Paterson family from the northern Yorke Peninsula, which has grown the farm to 4,000 hectares over three generations. Eric Paterson was an early client of Dennis Laundy’s and after he passed away his two sons, Glen and Colin, inherited the farm. When Glen moved to WA, Colin and his wife, Lee, took over. After Colin’s death, it was very important to him, that Lee honoured his wishes, to make sure the farm was divided fairly between their twin sons, Paul and Brett, while she was still alive. Lee says succession planning has been one of the most challenging business issues her family has faced, but William Buck’s advice has been invaluable. By working with family members over multiple generations, Dennis, and more recently Paula Liddle, have helped the family develop a succession plan for the third generation of on-farm and off-farm siblings and ultimately the transition to the fourth generation. “It was a big task to set up a succession plan across our large family, but the team at William Buck assisted with new business structures, land and machinery transfers, establishing new companies and super funds, as well as asset transfers,” Lee says. This has given Lee peace of mind and confidence that the family enterprise is well prepared for the future. It has been life-changing!

Sebastian, Paul and Brett Paterson 2021.

Lee Paterson, Paula Liddle, Director, Business Advisory, Paul Paterson and Brett Paterson.

"Our family has been dealing with William Buck for over 50 years, and we trust their sound advice."

– Paterson family

Janine Williamson

Director Janine Williamson says William Buck has changed her life completely, from both a professional and a personal point of view, in fact, Dennis Laundy introduced Janine to her fiancé! “It sounds corny, but William Buck has been my life for many years,” she says. Janine is one of the firm’s greatest ‘Changing Lives’ stories. She joined the firm in 1980 as the office junior when she was just 17 years of age and straight out of school. She recalls going home crying after her first day because the rest of the staff were old. When the firm started up Wealth Advisory, Janine became the personal assistant (PA) for that division. She decided she really liked this area and started studying financial planning. She became a para planner and once she had completed her qualification she was promoted to an advisor. “That was a very big step,” she says.

“Wendy (Drake) was my mentor and she really pushed me hard because I needed the confidence. I loved it and I never looked back.” Janine was subsequently promoted to Manager, then Director. She says no-one had ever gone from being a PA to a Director before, and while the firm supported her along the way, it was up to her to push herself. Over her career, Janine formed close friendships with clients, many of whom helped develop her career. She is well regarded for her exceptional advice and service and excellent organisation, but above all clients love her. Janine has contributed significantly to the success of the Wealth Advisory division and in 2010 she was awarded a meritorious service award. Her story is a fantastic example of how William Buck is ‘Changing Lives’.

Janine Williamson, Wealth Advisory Director

Step back in time: changing lives

Over the years, William Buck Adelaide has had a positive impact on the lives of many clients. Current and former staff have highlighted some examples, such as the late Mick and Marie Dermody who invested their life savings into purchasing a fuel truck in the 1970s in order to start a fuel distribution business in Kapunda. According to Cate Aucote, her parents worked extremely hard day and night for almost 10 years without financial reward, despite Dermody Petroleum becoming a statewide business. In the 1980s, Mick found himself in a spot of bother due to a technical issue with his accounts. It proved to be a turning point for the family when Dennis Laundy stepped in to help out. Dennis discovered an error made by the Dermody’s previous accountant which meant that Mick and Marie were in fact

owed a large tax refund from the government and not the other way around. This revealed that the Dermody’s decade of hard work had in fact been a success. Cate says this near disaster proved how crucial it was to have expert financial advice and support in order to achieve success. “This is essentially what Dennis Laundy and the team from Giles & Giles and William Buck managed to do with care and professionalism,” Cate says.”After this turning point, my parents, along with Kevin Clarke, were able to grow a thriving family business. People always came first in Mick and Marie’s lives and William Buck allowed them to achieve this success with their customers, their staff and the broader rural communities that Dermody Petroleum serviced.” Cate says due to the trust and friendship built over many years, William Buck became an extension of the Dermody family and remains so today, providing financial services to Cate and her family.

Left: Kevin Clarke, Marie and Mick Dermody at Kapunda depot, 1987.

Right: Mick Dermody, Managing Director of Dermody Petroleum, cleaning the BP sign, 1987.

“It is crucial to have expert financial advice in order to achieve success and this is essentially what Dennis Laundy and the team from Giles & Giles and William Buck managed to do with care and professionalism for my parents Mick and Marie Dermody and their business, Dermody Petroleum.”

– Cate Aucote

Chapter 3 summary

Much has changed at William Buck Adelaide over the 75 years since Ken and Mawson Giles set up a partnership to provide good old-fashioned, friendly service to their clients. Mawson’s daughter Sue Giles says her father used to say that after your doctor, your accountant is the next person whom you should trust. “He really loved people having that trust in him,” Sue says. “He loved building that relationship with people and he loved the country. Working with farmers was really the part of the job he loved most.” Even when the firm changed its name from Giles & Giles to William Buck, it retained many of the Giles brothers’ values, which have continued to guide the firm as it has grown to become a proud mid-market firm in a mid-market town. Jamie McKeough says a big fear of growing was

that the firm could lose its culture. “But we have been able to retain the culture and nurture it as we grew,” he says. Based on this solid foundation, William Buck Adelaide has continued to gain confidence, knowing it has a dedicated team of professionals and support staff who can offer a great breadth and depth of services to clients. Today, the firm is boldly and fearlessly pursuing its vision to be the leading accounting firm in Adelaide. It’s this confidence that led to William Buck adopting the phrase ‘Changing Lives’ in 2014. There’s no doubt it’s a bold statement. The Giles brothers would never have had the audacity to make such a claim. But today, William Buck Adelaide can confidently say it is ‘Changing Lives’ for clients, staff and the broader community.

Brothers Paul and Brett Paterson, Yorke Peninsula primary producers.

William Buck Adelaide has retained many of the Giles brothers’ values, which have continued to guide the firm as it has grown to become a proud mid-market firm in a mid-market town.

Our people

Our team

William Buck Adelaide recognises that people are its biggest asset. Credit must go to former Senior Partner Peter Brock, former Managing Director Dennis Laundy and former Director Graham Perrin, who between them recruited some of the firm’s longest-serving and most valued staff. Little could they have known that the likes of Wendy Drake, Janine Williamson, Kerry Wight, Ian Snook, Martin Hill, Tricia Kleinig, Debbie Colebatch, Paula Liddle, Malcolm Wight and Jamie McKeough would go on to play such significant roles at William Buck. Long gone are the days when Giles & Giles struggled to find suitably qualified staff. Peter recalls that for some time, whenever the firm needed a senior qualified person, it would have to pinch them from someone else, starting a chain reaction. In that era, Peter says there wasn’t a large pool of people to recruit from and for many years the firm employed a large number of unqualified staff to support its team of professionals.

Today, it’s a very different story. There are countless qualified accountants, financial planners and support staff eager to join William Buck Adelaide. Each year, the firm’s recruiting team is able to pick the cream of the crop. With so many competent people to choose from, the firm, above all else, is seeking ‘William Buck people’, but it also values diversity in all forms. As the firm has

grown, the diversity of its workforce has naturally broadened. William Buck Adelaide established a Diversity and Inclusion Council to support and encourage diverse thinking which leads to the best solutions. In recent years, William Buck has established a team of employees in the Philippines whose skill set supports the firm’s various divisions and services. Staff in Adelaide collaborate daily with their colleagues in the Philippines via online forums and involve them in as many William Buck activities as possible. Regular visits to and from the Philippines have proved invaluable to ensure this small, off-shore team is not only an extension of the firm’s services, but an integral part of the William Buck family.

William Buck Clark team - Reimart Bote, Grace Danganan, Ellah Larase, Cherry Cruz, Paul Ibay, Danica Ulanday, Shiena Macapagal, Belle Alcazaren, Melanie Cel Galura

William Buck Adelaide recognises that people are its biggest asset.

William Buck Adelaide team, 2021

Retired Director Wendy Drake says that when she first started at Giles & Giles in 1988 there was “almost an unconscious white-Australian policy. “You never even thought about it, that’s just how it was,” she says. “We’ve certainly become much more multicultural, although there’s still inequity in terms of gender. There’s certainly no different treatment whether you’re female or male, but it’s a struggle for females to get through the glass ceiling to Director.” William Buck Adelaide is still not where it wants to be in terms of gender representation. While the firm employs a higher percentage of female staff than male staff, the challenge is to increase the number of women sitting around the Board table.

It won’t happen overnight, however, the recent promotion of Samantha (Sam) Nicholls and Amanda Anderson to Directors, sends a positive message to other female staff. People and Culture Director Tom Laundy says Sam is an excellent role model for women who aspire to reach Director

level while balancing their careers with their personal lives. “Sam has worked her way up from a graduate and now she is successfully juggling the challenges of providing a highly professional service to her clients while raising three children,” Tom says.

One of William Buck Adelaide’s biggest achievements in terms of diversity is having a younger Director age profile compared to the industry average. Jamie says the firm benefits from having younger Directors, rather than having too many older Directors who are just counting down the days to retirement. “We’re an old firm, but we’re young in terms of the people in this place,” Jamie says. The appointment of younger Directors is a direct outcome of the firm’s commitment to identifying talent early on and fast-tracking the careers of future leaders. William Buck Adelaide’s desire for a young, vibrant leadership team was boosted by the appointment of five new Directors in July 2021. Now, most of the people with a seat at the Board table are in their 30s and 40s.

"Sam has worked her way up from a graduate and now she is successfully juggling the challenges of providing a highly professional service to her clients while raising three children."

– Tom Laundy, People and Culture Director

Samantha Nicholls, Director, with her son Tommy

Triple G

During the early 1990s, the most controversial issues at Giles & Giles were broadcast to the firm in the form of a monthly newsletter known as Giles & Giles Gossip (Triple G). On one occasion, a male member of staff featured as a pseudo Cleo centrefold, with the editors cutting and pasting his face onto a naked body. There was also the Derryn Hinch shame file and staff profiles, where the editors took some poetic license and made up the answers. Janine Williamson and Tricia Kleinig were responsible for producing the widely read Triple G

newsletter and admitted if there wasn’t any good gossip, they just made it up. “Our motto was never let the truth get in the way of a good story,” Tricia says.

Snippet of the Triple G Newsletter

Tricia Kleineg, co-editor of the Triple G newsletter

Directors, appointed 2021 – Samantha Nicholls, James Northcote, Aaron Trombetta, Amanda Anderson and Shane Taylor

History maker

Former Director Chris Kennedy embodies many elements of William Buck Adelaide’s approach to diversity and opportunity. Chris was a banker for many years and joined the Wealth Advisory division with zero experience in the area. “I just wished I had been here for eight years when I had only been here for eight weeks, but you can’t buy experience, you have to live it,” he said. Chris admits he was uncomfortable for the first four years because he thought everyone else at the firm was much smarter and more experienced than him. He studied for his Diploma in Financial Planning and became the first non-accountant in Australia to be appointed Director in an accounting firm. “I loved being a Director. I loved every minute of every day I was here,” Chris said. “I liked the fact that you could influence the way things were done and I liked the fact that you could identify talent and help people succeed in their careers.” Chris was involved in hiring Andrew Barlow and Aaron Trombetta

who are both now Directors. When he retired, Chris said it wasn’t hard to leave because there was such a talented group in Wealth Advisory and he knew his clients would be really well looked after which is what he cared about the most. Chris believes Directors should retire a bit earlier to give younger, talented people a chance to get into the job. “Experience certainly counts, but there’s nothing as good as working with young people who are fired up for all the right reasons,” he said.

Former Director, Chris Kennedy

Step back in time: claim on AFL coaches

William Buck Adelaide lays claim to not just one, but two AFL premiership coaches who have both worked for the firm. Former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson studied financial planning and was coaching Central Districts in the SANFL when he came to work at William Buck in 2001. He left the firm in 2003 to take up an assistant coaching role. Richmond coach Damien Hardwick completed a commerce degree and worked at William Buck Adelaide for a year while playing for Port Adelaide, “I’d say we are probably the only accounting firm in Australia to have ever employed two AFL premiership coaches,” Jamie says. “Between them they have won seven AFL premierships!”

Former Hawthorn coach, Alastair Clarkson and Richmond coach, Damien Hardwick

Awards

Until the early 1990s, Giles & Giles did not formally recognise long-serving staff or those staff who were making an outstanding contribution. This changed in 1994, when the firm presented its very first Employee of the Year Award to Office Manager Patricia Scudds and Investment Advisor Bronwyn Speed for their exceptional contributions to the firm. Awards were also presented to long-serving staff whose names were added to a plaque at reception. Over the years, the service awards have been a powerful reminder to clients and staff of the great value William Buck places on loyalty and longevity. The firm’s Employee Care Plan expresses the importance of taking time to celebrate and reward the achievements and contributions of its staff.

Today, staff awards are presented during an annual black-tie dinner which is attended by the firm’s staff and their Partners. In addition to long service awards, the Directors vote for three major awards. This is in fact, the only time they ever cast a vote! The Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to the person who is considered to most excel in providing service to clients and contributing to the staff, the firm, the profession and the community, while demonstrating certain personal attributes. The Meritorious Service Award is presented to a staff member who meets the above criteria over an extended period of time.

This is not awarded each year and has only been awarded five times since it was first introduced in 2010. A new award was added in 2020, to recognise the outstanding achievement of younger people in the firm up to the level of Senior Accountant or Senior Paraplanner, or similar experience in the case of non-professional staff. This award is called the Alex White Achievement Award, but more about this later.

2010

2011

2014 Paula Liddle

2018 Kerry Wight

2021 Shane Taylor

2020

2021

The service awards have been a powerful reminder to clients and staff of the great value William Buck places on loyalty and longevity.

Janine Williamson

Sharon Bowden

Henry Schofield

Emma Kittel and Maria Siahamis

Meritorious Service Award winners

Alex White Achievement Award winners

1994 Patricia Scudds

1995 Debbie Colebatch

1996 Ian Snook

1997 Martin Hill

1998 Paula Liddle

1999 Emma Mather

2000 Kieren Tiller

Caroline Reed

2001 Chris Kennedy

2002 Priit Taylor

2003 Chris Mahar

Outstanding Achievement Award winners

2004 Adrian Chugg

2005 Nicole Holton

2006 Alanna Bateman

2007 Liz Sellars and Tom Laundy

2008 Tricia Kleinig

2009 Andrew Gray

2010 Jody Heptinstall

Alex White

2011 Lee Fuller

2012 John Lionello

Alice Psevdos

2013 Samantha Nicholls

2014 Jenny Vincent

2015 Courtney Purl

2016 Sharon Bowden

2017 Andrew Barlow

Lauryn Thompson

2018 James Northcote

Andrew Nicola

2019 Aaron Trombetta

2020 Pina Giangregorio

2021 Leng Phuah

Service Awards

35-39 Years

Janine Williamson

Tricia Kleinig

30-34 Years

Jamie McKeough

David Mounce

Grant Wilson

Martin Hill

Debbie Colebatch

25-29 Years

Ian Snook

Paula Liddle

Scott MacKenzie

Luciana Larkin

20-24 Years

Rosa Baldino

Sharon Bowden

Kylie Fitzgerald

Michelle Hurcombe

Michael Fairlie

Jennifer Rees

Sarah Parsons

15-19 Years

Nicole Holton

Tom Laundy

Lee Fuller

Rosemary Pahl

Liz Sellars

Adrian Chugg

James Northcote

Sonja Bollinger

Ben Trengove

Sarah Withall

Matthew Illman

Jody Heptinstall

10-14 Years

Alice Psevdos

Samantha Nicholls

Lauryn Thompson

Shane Taylor

Chris Deed

Sarah Gibson

Kellie Dunnicliff

Jenny Vincent

Cain Meschiati

Suzanne Adams

Babis Mavrakis

Chris Giannopoulos

Kimberly Rositano

Jessica Cumming

Matthew Simmons

Aaron Trombetta

Madeline Canda

Yong Teo

Kristie Baehnisch

Chris Rosser

Nikki Peng

Pina Giangregorio

Joann Chang

5-9 Years

Leng Phuah

Malcolm Wight

Shavri Shah

Matthew King

Ratna Uppalapati

Andrew Nicola

Grant Martinella

Vicki Dimas

Adrian Frinsdorf

Caitlin Moxon

Sharon Reinke

Sindy Woo

Andrew Barlow

Amanda Cheeseman

Kent Sharp

Amelia Barbara

Alistair Taylor-Spry

Braden Schwark

Daniel Proctor

Chelsea Bojnoordi

Catherine Dichiera

Ashlee Anderson

Sheilla Morales

Alessandra Forero

Cassie Wilson

Lisa Murray

Charuni Edirisinghe

Former Staff 15+ Years

Betty Rowe

Bruce Giles

Doris Brokensha

Emma Mather

Gloria LePoidevin

Graham Sweeney

Jenni Osborn

John Beitz

John Raven

Josie Holford

Julie Bodnar

Kerry Wight

Mardi Biggs

Michelle Bennier

Patricia Scudds

Peter Ellis

Priit Taylor

Roger McLaughlin

Sandra Anning

Shana Galli

Steve Pikramenos

Sue Osovnikar

Tiina Mannik

Val Dillon (Kadina)

Outstanding Achievement Award winners

2004 Adrian Chugg

2010 Jody Heptinstall

2010 Alex White

2014 Jenny Vincent

2005 Nicole Holton

2011 Lee Fuller

2016 Sharon Bowden

1994 Patricia Scudds and Bronny Speed

1997 Martin Hill

1995 Debbie Colebatch

1998 Paula Liddle

2007 Liz Sellars

2007 Tom Laundy

2012 Alice Psevdos

1996 Ian Snook

2001 Chris Kennedy

2008 Tricia Kleinig

2013 Samantha Nicholls

2017 Andrew Barlow

2017 Lauryn Thompson

2010 Janine Williamson

2021 Shane Taylor 2018 Kerry Wight

2011 Sharon Bowden

2014 Paula Liddle

Meritorious Service Award winners

2019 Aaron Trombetta

2020 Pina Giangregorio

2021 Leng Phuah

2018 James Northcote

2018 Andrew Nicola

2020 Henry Schofield

2021 Emma Kittel

2021 Maria Siahamis

Alex White Achievement Award winners

Step back in time: outstanding early staff

Had staff awards been around in the early Giles & Giles days, there are several staff members who no doubt would have been recognised. Doris Brokensha was a stand-out for a long service award, having served the firm for 43 years. She joined in 1947, as a young girl who had previously worked for Vic Trenerry. Doris was a registered tax agent and was heavily involved in the firm’s hotel administration work in the 1950s and 60s. Mawson described Doris as a stalwart of the firm who tackled any work handed to her and who was enthusiastic about the more difficult and complex cases. She worked closely with Gloria LePoidevin who commenced with Giles & Giles in 1945. Some of Doris’ long-term clients are still with William Buck today, including Rob and Nancy

McLean. Doris was Rob’s main advisor when he first went into business as Dangerfield & McLean in 1967. He says Doris helped them ”keep the tax man happy” and paved the way for their primary production business to grow. “Doris never hesitated to get additional advice from her colleagues at Giles & Giles if she felt she needed to,” Rob said. As well as providing financial advice, Doris was known to hand out personal advice.” I well remember when I introduced my Canadian wife to Doris in 1972 that she advised me to hold off bringing her into the business just yet! She had previous experience with clients who regretted doing so too early in their marriage,” Rob said. “It was in Doris’ office that we were first introduced to a handsome, younger Jamie McKeough whom Doris wanted to look after us when she retired. ‘Jamie is very good,’ she told us and once again she proved to be correct!”

Former Senior Partners Dennis Laundy and Peter Brock, presenting at Doris Brokensha retirement event

Dean Trowse would have been a front runner for the most valuable player (MVP) award and not just because he played district cricket and was a 100-game ruckman for Port Adelaide Football Club. Dean was likeable and good fun. He was a big, strong man, referred to as ”the big ox” by one client. Mawson described Dean as a wonderful friend, a strong partner with innovative characteristics and a good mixer. “He loved nothing better than to be leaning on the bar with a schooner,” Mawson said. Peter Brock described Dean as an imposing man, charismatic and charming, and the logical leader of the pack after Mawson retired. Dean was a member of the Australian Society of Accountants, but went on to do further study at a mature age, finishing top or second in Australia in the exams and subsequently becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Dean was considered to be an expert in his field of tax and left

Giles & Giles in 1983 to take up a position in Melbourne with the Taxation Board of Review. One of the things that endeared Dean to the staff (or otherwise) was his penchant for nicknames. To him, staff were simply Nuts, Mumbles, Streak, Barney, Dottie or Willie. One of the firm’s early recruits and a good friend of Dean’s was John Beitz, a big, jovial chap who earned the nickname “Stinger”. Even in the heat of the moment, Dean always used people’s nicknames in preference to their Christian names.

The quiet achiever award would have gone to Jack Davis, another long-serving employee who joined the firm in 1953. Mawson described Jack as one of “the best fellows he knew, a wonderful chap with extremely good knowledge of taxation.” According to Mawson, Jack was willing to take any job on and if he had a failing it was that he was too kind and didn’t like to charge people for his work. Jack became a partner in 1958 but later decided that it wasn’t his cup of tea and eventually he stepped down from the role. Former Giles & Giles Senior Partner Peter Brock recalls Jack was a quiet, nervous man who flew in bomber aircraft during the war which seemed to have affected him. However, Peter confirms that Jack’s tax knowledge was exceptional and that he was a very useful member of the firm over many years.

Former Senior Partner, Dean Trowse

Learning and development

One of Dennis Laundy’s goals when he took the reins of Giles & Giles in 1987 was to attract more young people to the firm and provide them with career opportunities. This was part of the firm’s growth strategy, but it was also a youth strategy, with the goal to become a younger, more contemporary, more exciting place for people to join. Introducing a graduate program was an important step in achieving this goal. At William Buck today, recruiting graduates is based on their personal characteristics as much as their skill set. The firm invests extra time getting to know candidates, because it holds the view that it is employing staff for the long term. This is critical to the firm’s circle of success, where growth creates greater opportunities for staff, so they stay longer. In turn, this helps build longer term relationships with clients.

Director Cain Meschiati says when he joined William Buck Adelaide as an undergraduate the firm was very welcoming. While the firm has grown considerably since then, it prides itself on recruiting graduates who are grounded, ambitious and whose values are closely aligned with the firms. Since arriving at William Buck, Cain says the firm has provided him with opportunities to learn and grow professionally and he has developed some lifelong friendships with clients and staff along the way.

Cain Meschiaiti, Director Matthew Illman, Learning and Development Director

We create opportunities for our staff and promote from within.

Below:

Senior Accountant Maria Siahamis confesses that when she first started as a graduate at William Buck Adelaide, she knew absolutely nothing! However, she said this was never an issue and the people who trained her were patient and took the time to mould her. Group Learning and Development Manager Marisa Cursio explains that at William Buck, learning is for life. “We nurture the development of people by acknowledging that learning occurs in various ways,” she says. The firm fosters this culture of learning through formal training programs, online content, coaching conversations, shadowing opportunities, secondments, and knowledge sharing within local teams and across offices. The firm’s Group Learning and Development Team focuses on milestone programs that bring team members together to develop skills for life as well as technical capability at specific levels for graduates, seniors and Managers. “This creates long-lasting connections as individuals grow with each other as their career progresses,” Marisa says.

At William Buck, graduates benefit from the firm’s philosophy to give younger staff the opportunity to get involved in client interaction as early as possible. Directors and Managers are fully on board with the benefits of experiential learning. In fact, it’s an expectation of their role which is captured through regular performance reviews. And it’s something they take very seriously. Learning and Development Director Matt Illman says an important part of mentoring staff who are new to the firm is demonstrating how much the firm cares about its clients. “Rather than just telling them what to do, it’s important to show them by involving them in client interactions as much as possible,” Matt says. “Our job is more than about just doing tax returns and the biggest thing we can teach our staff is that a client is not just a name - there’s a person behind it.”

Experiential learning at William Buck Adelaide is geared to helping new staff understand what makes clients tick and why they ask certain questions. Directors and senior staff try to foster this knowledge, with the ultimate goal of getting to a point where they are happy for their staff to deal with clients directly. People and Culture Director Tom Laundy says he is both a beneficiary and an advocate of the “pay it forward” mentality, as when he was a new recruit, Ian Snook and Lee Fuller spent extra time supporting him. “Lee started around the same time as me, but he was more experienced and he was a good sounding board,” Tom says. “He would look around and say, ‘I’m always helped when I ask questions, so I need to pay it forward when it’s my turn to do that’”.

Above: Tom Laundy, People and Culture Director

William Buck Graduate College hosted in Adelaide, 2022

Since the Giles & Giles days, staff training has really ramped up. In addition to the all-important on-the-job training, William Buck Adelaide enrols staff from all areas of the business in formal training programs, many of which are provided by external training providers. The William Buck Group also has dedicated learning and development resources to assist in this area. The Group’s annual Graduate and Senior Colleges provide a two-pronged learning opportunity, teaching new skills and exposing participants to the William Buck Group. This helps graduates and other staff build their networks and benefit from shared learning experiences. More recently, William Buck Adelaide has introduced a Business

Harvard Business School education

Perhaps one of the most significant investments in learning ever made by the William Buck Group has been the initiative of flying professors from Harvard Business School (HBS) to Australia to coach senior leaders. After completing a course at Harvard, Nick Hatzistergos wanted other Partners to benefit from this experience. Rather than flying them to Harvard, he brought professors from Harvard to Australia on three separate occasions in 2014, 2015 and 2019. It was a massive advantage to learn about managing professional service firms from the world’s greatest business educators. Knowledge on best practice was dispersed throughout the Group, and the Harvard visits became much talked about events at William Buck. This wasn’t something that any other accounting firm offered, and staff saw it as yet another benefit of working for William Buck.

Above: Ashish Nanda, HBS Professor presenting to William Buck Directors and Managers

Jamie McKeough, Tsedal Neeley

– HBS Professor, Nick Hatzistergos, William

Buck Sydney Managing Director, Karim R. Lakhani

– HBS Professor, and Lynton Haynes – former Executive Director of Executive Education

Development (BD) program which encourages all staff to participate in attracting new clients or securing new work from existing clients. It’s about encouraging staff to create their own opportunities rather than waiting for the firm to serve them up on a platter. As part of the BD program, staff are financially supported to expand their networks and attend business events. The BD program is the result of a conscious decision to push responsibility down to everyone working at William Buck, because the firm’s client base is dynamic and attracting new clients is an important part of its growth strategy.

As is the case in all professions, there’s no escaping the fact that most people at William Buck start at the bottom, doing data entry, scanning, checking tax returns and in the old days sifting through boxes of files. Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill, who was one of the firm’s first graduates in 1990, says he was fortunate to be recruited into Dennis Laundy’s team which had the biggest client base and provided a constant supply of accounting work. However, other graduates were not so lucky and on occasions were instructed to read the master tax guide or do some filing when things were quiet. Director Tom Laundy recalls that when he was a graduate, one of his duties was to change the light bulbs at 48 Greenhill Road! On another occasion, Tom was tasked with taking Jamie McKeough’s car for a service. Fellow Director Paula Liddle agrees “it wasn’t always glamorous, but you learned a lot,” She says this sentiment was conveyed beautifully in a letter to the firm’s staff written by William Buck Manager Alex White, shortly before he died from leukaemia in 2014 aged just 29 years old. Alex wrote, “When I started at William Buck, I was still at Uni, and for the first couple of years my main job seemed to be scanning minute books and box files, putting files away, finding files and occasionally doing tax returns. I

always tried to complete a job as professionally and properly as possible, no matter what I was asked to do, and I think it was this attitude more than any particular technical skill or knowledge that really carried me through. I was given some great opportunities by my managers and Directors (which everyone gets in this place sooner or later), these people really put their faith in me and I always strived to never let them down. Being given the chance, as daunting as it can be sometimes, to grow and earn people’s respect is one of the great things William Buck can offer and helps you improve as professionals and people. I’ve never worked at any other accounting firm, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t many firms where you can go from ‘scanning dude’ to Employee of the Year in a pretty short space of time, so stick it out.”

Alex was held in such regard by his colleagues at William Buck that in 2020 a new award was named in his memory. The Alex White Achievement Award is presented to a young and rising star who displays qualities similar to Alex; personable, capable, humble and a team player. The inaugural Alex White Achievement Award was presented to Henry Schofield in 2020 and the following year it was jointly awarded to Maria Siahamis and Emma Kittel.

People and Culture Director Tom Laundy says the firm’s Directors and senior staff understand that new recruits will make mistakes and appreciate that this is a valuable part of the learning process. However, not making the same mistake repeatedly, accepting responsibility and saying ‘this is what I’m going to do to fix it is essential. “It’s not the mistake that’s terminal, it’s how you respond,” Tom says.

Alex White winning the Outstanding Achievement Award, 2010

“The Alex White Achievement Award is presented to a young and rising star who displays qualities similar to Alex's: personable, capable, humble and a team player.”

It’s not uncommon for careers at William Buck to be fasttracked, whether this is performance based, or just being in the right place at the right time. For those who feel at times that their career is going nowhere, they only need to read Alex White’s letter or look to the examples of many others who have found themselves in a similar situation. Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill says he learned from personal experience that things can change very quickly, but he cautions graduates that the journey to Director is not an automatic rite of passage. Promotion at William Buck is fairly and squarely merit-based and is never guaranteed. Staff are promoted based on their

ability, rather than how long they have been in the chair. The firm’s role is to provide the tools and the opportunities but it’s up to individual staff to have the drive and embrace each opportunity as it arises. Janine Williamson’s non-traditional journey to Director has taken a lot longer than it has for other staff, but she says working her way up from the office junior to Director shows that putting in the hard yards pays off. “It demonstrates what you can achieve when you are loyal, committed and passionate to your organisation and what you do,” Janine says. “That also goes the other way, and William Buck has demonstrated tremendous loyalty to me.”

Sink or swim

Several of today’s Directors had the benefit of being mentored by Dennis Laundy in their formative years at Giles & Giles. Dennis took the view that any person who is any good can get a job anywhere, so you have to provide them with a reason to stay. He gave his fresh-faced graduates plenty of responsibility, including face-to-face contact with clients at the earliest opportunity. Dennis believed “sink or swim” was the best way to teach people. Martin Hill recalls that he and another graduate were sent to the Kadina office to do a pile of tax returns with just six months’ experience under their belts. “We knew stuff all, we were thrown in the deep end,” Martin says. “We had to bluff our way through and the clients probably knew more than we did on most things,” Martin says it was a great learning curve and they always felt well supported by Michael McLaren who was running the Kadina office at the time. It was definitely sink or swim! Jamie McKeough says that while the firm’s training platform has progressed significantly, the reality of the profession is that people learn the most when they are out of their comfort zone. “That’s the sink,” he says. “The support would always

be there, but if you had to swim hard and be challenged, well that’s how you learn. We don’t plan for it necessarily, but some of those moments you are thrown in the deep end, that’s when you learn the most.”

Martin Hill, Director

"The firm’s role is to provide the tools and the opportunities but it’s up to individual staff to have the drive and embrace each opportunity as it arises."

Step back in time: early learning and development initiatives

While there is an emphasis on training staff at William Buck Adelaide, over its history, the firm has also demonstrated the benefit of training clients. Debbie Colebatch has been an integral part of this, supporting clients through the introduction of new systems and technology. Debbie is a certified consultant in just about every accounting software program and when cash book programs came in in 1996, she gained certification in MYOB. Over the years, she has assisted hundreds of clients with installing and operating MYOB, as well as a range of other accounting programs. Rob and Nancy McLean and Scott and Robyn Hoyle are among those clients who are very grateful to the firm for its guidance as they moved from manual book keeping to accounting software.

“We have been assisted with the technology growth required for “keeping the books” and William Buck has provided the expertise of qualified people to guide us gently from handwritten ledger books, to present day MYOB accounting

software,” Rob McLean says. Scott Hoyle acknowledges that the patience and tolerance shown by the firm’s staff during this time was much appreciated by his family as it graduated from a “shoe box accounting system” to a manual cash book which Scott’s mother, Elaine, was a dab hand at. “As we grew the farm business, Mum decided there were too many entries to deal with and that I should be doing the books, so I was given access to the 100-leaf cheque book, the A3 hard-covered cash book, a new box of pencils and eraser and a fresh set of batteries for the Casio calculator.” Scott says. “Then along came computers and MYOB! The bell sounded on the end of any interest Mum had in financial record keeping, and accounting codes, general journal entries and P & Ls became a part of everyday conversation.”

Over the years, the vast majority of the firm’s clients have embraced technology and William Buck has played an important role in assisting them. The firm prides itself on lending a hand and to ensure that running a business is made easier for clients, not harder. The combined experience and technical expertise of William Buck's IT team has facilitated the roll-out of new technology and systems, particularly the interface with clients and staff and in the critical transition phase during mergers.

Debbie Colebatch, Practice Systems Manager

Leadership

In the modern history of William Buck Adelaide, there have only been two Managing Directors, Dennis Laundy and Jamie McKeough. Between them, they have led the firm for 34 years. Those who worked closely with Dennis describe him as intuitive, very determined, very smart, and having statesman-like calmness. When Giles & Giles first joined the William Buck Group in 1996, Dennis confesses he had a slight inferiority complex,

which was unfamiliar to him. “We were joining all these really gung-ho firms that were doing fantastic things,” he says. “But the main benefit I got was that these firms were having a go.

Dennis Laundy, Former Managing Director 1987-2006 and Jamie McKeough, Managing Director 2006–current

“Jamie runs a good ship, there’s no question about that. Martin comes across as understated but he’s extremely capable. They are a formidable duo.”

– Former Director, Wendy Drake

They were having a crack. They didn’t always get decisions right, but they had a go at things.” There is no doubt that Dennis’ clear vision to modernise the firm was catalytic. When Dennis passed the baton to Jamie in 2006, he knew his successor had even more octane and would drive and grow William Buck Adelaide to the point where it exceeded even his own expectations. “We had to make some tough decisions on people and these things were difficult to deal with at the time,” Dennis said. “But those decisions were made in the best interests of clients and staff so the firm could progress and I’m very proud of what has been achieved.”

So, who is Jamie McKeough? According to staff at William Buck he’s a gun! Equipped with an amazing memory, Jamie arms himself with facts and figures and presents a convincing argument, particularly when he is passionate about something. He’s a good listener, a great communicator and brings people along with him. Jamie has the charisma to build genuine rapport with clients and staff and make them feel special each time he sees them. Above all, Jamie is innovative and forward thinking. He’s driven the merger agenda and the specialisation of the firm’s services for the benefit of clients and staff. Jamie has also been an important driver of the firm’s culture and his significant contribution to the evolution of the William Buck Group was recognised with his appointment as Chairman in 2021.

As the firm’s Deputy Managing Director, Martin Hill knows Jamie better than most. He says Jamie’s high expectations and relentless drive have needed managing at times. “But Jamie has been absolutely fantastic for the firm and everyone recognises that,” Martin says. The increase in the number of Directors from seven when Dennis was Managing Director, to 24 Directors today, means the role of Managing Director has changed significantly. Keeping Directors on the same page is now a critical part of the role and Jamie is able to effectively communicate the game plan and keep the Directors aligned. Another key part of Jamie’s role is making sure that each Director understands where they are on the “Director lifecycle” and the expectations and behaviours that this involves.

Finally, the higher profile of the William Buck brand in the market today, requires the firm’s Managing Director to play a much more ambassadorial role than in the past.

Former Chairman of the William Buck Group Nikolas Hatzistergos says the handover from Dennis to Jamie has been transformational for William Buck Adelaide. “I think Dennis did a really good job of that transition and giving Jamie his opportunity to shine,” Nick says. “Dennis was certainly not too old and he wasn’t past it, but he felt that was the right decision for the firm and Jamie was ready to take over.” Following the handover, Dennis provided good support to Jamie, while allowing him to move forward and make his mark.

The consensus amongst William Buck Adelaide’s Directors is that while Dennis laid the foundations for the firm’s growth, Jamie has taken this to another level. Both he and Dennis have been well supported on this journey by a capable team of Directors and support staff.

Managing Directors of William Buck Adelaide Dennis Laundy (1987-2006), Jamie McKeough (2006-current) and Peter Brock (1983 – 1987)

William Buck Adelaide Directors

Employment at William Buck

Directorship at William Buck Directorship at Merged Firm

Kenneth Giles

Mawson Giles

Jack Davis

Dean Trowse

Graham Byrne

Peter Brock

Ralph Pomery

Graham Perrin

Dennis Laundy

Gregory Broadbent

Michael McClaren

Jamie McKeough

Martin Hill

Ian Snook

Wendy Drake

Pritt Taylor

Chris Gebhardt

Chris Kennedy

Tom Laundy

Adrian Chugg

Andrew Craig

Dean Spencer

Grant Wilson

Ben Trengove

Malcolm Wight

Matthew King

Terry Lewis

Grant Martinella

Adrian Frinsdorf

Janine Williamson

Matthew Illman

Babis Mavrakis

Paula Liddle

Lee Fuller

Andrew Nicola

Michael Fairlie

Luciana Larkin

Scott MacKenzie

Andrew Barlow

James Northcote

Shane Taylor

Samantha Nicholls

Aaron Trombetta

Amanda Anderson

Among those who have made a hugely significant contribution to the firm over 45 years is Kerry Wight, who was appointed as the first General Manager in 1998 and held this role until 2018. During this time, Kerry guided the firm through a period of immense change and supported the firm’s growth through her various roles in HR, finance, marketing and IT. She also provided an important liaison role between William Buck Adelaide and the William Buck Group during its renaissance and played a pivotal role in the success of many of the firm’s mergers. “The General Manager role evolved over time as the firm grew and Kerry grew with it, accepting every challenge

along the way,” Jamie says. “Forty-five years is a long time – a remarkable length of service with one organisation, and something that most likely will never be repeated in this firm. Over the time she served us, Kerry adapted to the times and remained contemporary in her outlook, earning the respect of her colleagues, in particular the Director group who had the utmost trust in her. Kerry played a critical role during many of the firm’s sliding doors moments and we are indebted to the contribution she has made to the success and standing of our firm today.”

Kerry Wight, General Manager 1998-2018

Graham Perrin, Malcolm Wight, Dennis Laundy, Kerry Wight, Michael McClaren and Greg Broadbent

In 2017, William Buck Adelaide introduced an executive team to share the significant management load required by a bigger, more complex organisation. This included the appointment of Amanda Anderson as COO and more recently as a Director. Amanda began her career as an audit graduate at KPMG and after practicing as a Chartered Accountant she spent many years in commerce. Jamie says Amanda is extremely capable and as well as her leadership role in the Adelaide office she heads up the General Managers’ Focus Group for the William Buck Group. “Amanda’s appointment as the first Director in a non-client facing role is a reflection of our confidence in the ever increasing contribution she will continue make to the firm in the future,” Jamie says. Sonja Bollinger took the role of Firm Finance Manager in 2014 and supports Amanda's role as COO, along with the finance team. "Sonja and the team not only take care of the firm's finances but also the William Buck Group", says Amanda Anderson.

William Buck Adelaide’s executive team meets fortnightly, while full Board meetings are held every second month. “We have an incredible group of emerging leaders at this firm and I am extremely proud of how collegiate they are, their commitment to the firm’s clients and staff and their alignment in terms of our strategy,” Jamie says. In the current group of 24 Directors, there are many standouts, but Deputy Managing Director Martin Hill deserves a special mention. Martin has had many different roles in the firm, including serving as deputy for the past 12 years. He did a fantastic job as Staff Director and recruited a significant number of staff who are now well established in the firm. Martin also headed up Business Advisory, the firm’s largest division, for some time and served as COO prior to Amanda’s appointments as the firm’s first full-time COO. Martin provides tremendous support to Jamie and is well-liked for his genuine, no-fuss, get-it-done approach. “Martin’s had a far bigger influence on this firm than people would realise,” Jamie says. “Whatever he’s got to say is worth listening to.”

Finance Manager, Sonja Bollinger

There’s nothing like a global pandemic to test a firm’s leadership and during COVID-19, William Buck Adelaide scored highly. At the height of the pandemic in Adelaide in mid-2020, the firm organised a fortnightly Zoom call with all staff. It was just what was needed during those uncertain times to reassure staff and let them know how the firm was responding. Director Adrian Chugg, who sits on the firm’s executive team, says that at the start of COVID-19 everyone was nervous and a number of firms overreacted by cutting staff pay by 20%, laying off staff or reducing work days. “We took the view that we do honestly care about our people, so rather than the Directors making a decision in their personal interest, we decided we were all on this journey together, whatever it looked like,” Adrian says. “We also took the view that it was a time when clients needed us, so having less resources was not going to be in their interests either.”

As a result, William Buck did not implement any wage or staff reductions during the pandemic, much to the relief of its staff. Many of them acknowledge that they were very well supported by the leadership team during COVID-19. They agree the regular communication was greatly appreciated and because the firm had recently upgraded its IT systems, they were able to adapt quickly to working from home. At the time, Andrew Barlow was a new Director and reflects on joining the Director’s group and witnessing first-hand how much they cared about the staff. “All staff received a $200 gift card at Christmas and in January we gave everyone a COVID-thank you day, which was a paid day off, the day before Australia Day,” Andrew says. “The Directors were always asking, what more can we do to support our staff.”

"In 2017, William Buck Adelaide introduced an executive team to share the significant management load required by a bigger, more complex organisation."

William Buck Adelaide Executive Team – Adrian Chugg, Jamie McKeough, Martin Hill and Amanda Anderson

Step back in time: early leaders

Since the beginning of Giles & Giles in 1946, the firm has benefited from stable and strong leadership. Mawson Giles didn’t believe in hanging on, and neither did his brother Ken. They left when they felt the time was right and were careful not to get in the way of progress. When Mawson retired, he said he felt it was best to make room for younger people. “However good you may think you are, there’s a hell of a lot of better ones coming on and more up with what’s happening and it’s better to let them make the decision, learning by making a few mistakes,” he said. Following in the footsteps of Ken and Mawson Giles, Dean Trowse and Peter Brock had their respective turns at the helm of Giles & Giles, during which time they were supported by Graham Perrin. Peter says they didn’t give themselves titles, but as far as he and Graham were concerned, Dean was in charge following Mawson’s retirement in 1978, through until 1983, when Peter assumed the role of Senior Partner.

Peter says his first impression of Giles & Giles when he joined in 1967 was that it was a nice, family orientated type of firm with a friendly boss. Peter left for a couple of years to serve in the army, but then rejoined Giles & Giles, where like most of the profession at the time, he did tax accounting. Despite having completed his CPA before he joined the army, Peter was asked to complete the Professional Year (PY) so he could join the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He obliged and then became a Partner of Giles & Giles in 1973. He recalls that at that time, the Partners would adjourn to the boardroom once a month for three hours for a Board meeting. He said issues about staff, mainly “hiring and firing”, seemed to occupy most of these meetings. Then, the Partners would return to their work on clients, so the role of Senior Partner at that time was much simpler than it is today. As well as taking on the role of Staff Partner, Peter was responsible for the introduction of computers to the firm and played a key role in establishing the Wealth Advisory division. Peter says he decided to retire as Senior Partner in 1987 when he could see that Dennis Laundy was showing all the signs

of wanting to get on with things. “I had run my race,” Peter says. “It was time for the new brigade to get going. I wasn’t going to get in anyone’s way and I was very happy to hand over to Dennis.”

Peter worked part-time for several years, spending half his time at Giles & Giles and the other half working for his biggest client, the Manuel Racing Group (previously Ferncourt Pty Ltd), which he described as an exciting place to be. “They were absolutely unique,” Peter says. “They were very ethical, very friendly and they looked after all the people involved with them.” In December 1998, Peter left Giles & Giles altogether, but continued to work for the Manuel Racing Group until a few years ago. Since 1979, Peter’s long and happy association with the Manuel Racing Group has given him the satisfaction of combining his interest in horse racing with his profession over more than 40 years.

Below: Peter Brock, Former Senior Partner

Top Right: Ken and Mawson Giles

Bottom Right: Giles & Giles Partners and Senior Staff, circa 1980. Back L-R: Jack Davis, Graham Perrin, Peter Brock, Dennis Laundy, Bruce Giles.

Front L-R: Doris Brokensha, Dean Trowse, Mac Dunstone, Mawson Giles

Senior Partners, Jamie McKeough, Michael McClaren, Dennis Laundy, Greg Broadbent, Graham Perrin, 1995

Senior Partners, Greg Broadbent, Peter Brock, Dennis Laundy, Michael McClaren, Graham Perrin, 1990

Director Group, 2021. Back L-R: Matthew King, Ben Trengove, Grant Wilson, Adrian Frinsdorf, Shane Taylor, Michael Fairlie, Andrew Barlow, Paula Liddle, Matthew Illman, Ian Snook, Aaron Trombetta, Samantha Nicholls, Adrian Chugg, Andrew Nicola, Tom Laundy, Grant Martinella, Babis Mavrakis, Lee Fuller. Front L-R: James Northcote, Janine Williamson, Jamie McKeough, Martin Hill, Amanda Anderson

Director Group, circa 2012. Back L-R: Ben Trengove, Martin Hill, Dean Trowse, Adrian Frinsdorf, Tom Laundy, Chris Gebhardt, Matthew King, Chris Kennedy, Adrian Chugg, Malcolm Wight, John Lampard, Grant Martinella, Andrew Craig, Kerry Wight, Ian Snook. Front L-R: Priit Taylor, Dennis Laundy, Jamie McKeough, Wendy Drake, Grant Wilson

Chapter 4 summary

William Buck Adelaide Team, 2021

Over its 125 years, many staff have walked through the doors of Giles & Giles and William Buck Adelaide. Staff who represent a wide diversity of thoughts, interests and backgrounds. They all bring something different to the table, but they share one thing in common. They are all William Buck people! Team players, committed to professional excellence and caring for clients and for each other. The firm’s culture and its strong growth have enabled it to nurture young staff and provide them with career paths that are both challenging and

rewarding; to develop future leaders who are closely aligned with the firm’s strategy, who lead by example and represent the firm’s values. William Buck invests heavily in attracting, retaining and developing staff who are critical to the circle of success. As it has proven over the last 125 years, long-term relationships with clients and staff sustain and support the firm’s growth and many accomplishments and they will continue to do so well into the future.

They all bring something different to the table, but they share one thing in common. They are William Buck people!

Our clients

Client service

When it comes to client service, William Buck is very clear on what’s important; genuine interest in and care for clients, their business and their family. If these things are done well it can be life changing! The firm’s staff have a high care factor and are emotionally invested in their clients, perhaps even to the point of having an over developed sense of responsibility. However, that’s been a hallmark of the business, ever since Mr William Buck and Ken and Mawson Giles set the benchmark for customer service that went above and beyond. “It’s the main reason people choose to deal with us,” Jamie says. “We understand things. We’re not just a small, suburban accounting firm doing tax returns, we take a much broader perspective and we’ll sit back and look at the big picture.” As soon as graduates arrive at William Buck, they are taught the importance of understanding what drives clients, identifying the real issues and how the firm’s collective expertise can be used to present a solution.

There are many examples of the little things that William Buck does to ensure it provides more than just a product in return for a fee.

What else can I do?

Director Janine Williamson plays a customer service video to her team that asks the question, “What else can I do for you?” The video features Walt Disney’s CEO walking around Disneyland picking up rubbish and it demonstrates the importance of saying hello to everyone, no matter who they are. “It really resonated with me,” Janine says. “With all of my clients I try and do the best I can.” Janine has several elderly clients whom she visits at home. She is very protective of them and believes that nothing is too much trouble, even when it comes to helping them pay bills or move into aged care. “It’s all about what else can I do?” Janine says.

When it comes to client service, William Buck is very clear on what’s important; genuine interest in and care for clients, their business and their family.

"Despite its growth and size, William Buck Adelaide maintains the family values instilled by Ken and Mawson Giles."

Getting to know you

William Buck Adelaide believes there is currency in really getting to know clients and the dynamics of their business. In the case of family businesses, this means understanding the nuances of the relationships and the strengths and weaknesses of individual family members. Director Tom Laundy says these personal factors enable the firm to colour its advice by considering the qualitative factors as well as the technical issues. “It’s important that we understand what sort of people they are, how they like to be communicated with and how to best reassure them and give them confidence,” he says.

Family values

Stefan Ahrens, Managing Director of Ahrens Group, agrees that William Buck Adelaide’s culture is aligned with family values. “I think it’s about the relationship, the flexibility, they really do care,” Stefan says. “It’s not just a job, they are quite passionate about what they do. Our CFO can ring Andrew (Nicola) in the evening, or he’ll come around on the weekend and sit down with the kids and explain everything. Andrew loves coming up with great solutions, he really prides himself on his work and everything he does. He gets as excited about our business as we do.”

Through thick and thin

Over the last 125 years, William Buck has ridden the waves with hundreds of clients. It’s a real buzz when clients get excited about an unexpected windfall or a new strategy that saves them money. However, staff also get a great deal of satisfaction from supporting their clients through the tough times. Whether it’s digging them out of sticky situation, relieving stress or anxiety, or simply lending a sympathetic ear, William Buck Adelaide prides itself on being there for its clients through thick and thin.

Keeping connected

William Buck Adelaide acknowledges that technology comes with its challenges for many clients, particularly elderly ones. Part of the firm’s personalised service is that it doesn’t try to force new technology onto its clients. Instead, its staff are always willing to assist and offer advice to clients as they adapt to new technology. Some of the firm’s clients don’t have email, so staff either mail documents or deliver them personally. The firm also has one client who still prefers fax!!

Honesty is the best policy

Honesty is a hallmark of William Buck Adelaide. Former Giles & Giles Partner Graham Perrin said providing an open and honest service is critical to gaining the client’s trust and respect. “In my experience, the firm has always been open, honest and genuine,” Graham said. “That’s why clients stay and why the firm has been able to grow.”

"William Buck prides itself on being there for the good times as well as the bad times."

Andrew Nicola and Stefan Ahrens

Genuine care

With trust comes great responsibility and this has been the main driver of William Buck Adelaide's growth. Receptionist

Liz Sellars has first-hand experience of the firm’s response to significant events in its clients’ lives. “We send flowers if a client is hospitalised or there is a death in the family, or we deliver wine and chocolates for special birthdays,” Liz says. “Clients always ring and ask us to pass on their gratitude and appreciation.”

Each of these little things adds up to provide a level of customer service that reaches above and beyond William Buck Adelaide’s technical advice. In combination with its

professional services, these personal gestures are the reason why many clients consider William Buck to be their trusted advisor. With trust comes great responsibility and this has been the main driver of William Buck growth; to broaden its range of specialist services. “Ultimately, it’s all about benefiting our clients, or what’s the point?” Jamie says.

Tee Ping Koh, is one of the firm’s many long-term valued clients, having engaged William Buck more than 30 years ago.

Tee Ping, who owned one of Adelaide’s largest pharmacies,

Liz Sellars, Receptionist

With trust comes great responsibility and this has been the main driver of William Buck Adelaide's growth.

recalls that the firm had a different way of doing things than other accountants. “The big difference between William Buck and the others is there is intimacy with the relationship with the client, such that when you are talking to them you feel as though they are only talking to you and no-one else,” he says. “They have that ability to have that very personal relationship, that you are all that matters to them and they give you all their concentration, all the energy, all the focus and all the attention that you need.” Tee Ping says trust is the cornerstone of his long-term relationship with William Buck. “Now my kids are having conversations with them every now and then and I say to my kids ‘if you ever want to have someone help you, then this is one group of people that I am very comfortable with’. It is some testimonial for me to say that to my kids.”

Friendly faces

A Giles & Giles newsletter in 1989 reported that receptionist Deborah Hudswell answered 300-500 calls a day. “Thanks to her intimate knowledge of how the firm operates and her sincere interest in the welfare of our clients, Deborah is always able to direct enquiries to the correct source for prompt action.” It is clear that nothing has changed when it comes to friendly faces at the front counter! Long-time marketing consultant Marc Makrid says he remembers his first time visiting the Giles & Giles office at 48 Greenhill Road where he was greeted by Receptionist Liz Sellars, who is still with the firm today. “Liz was lovely and she’s remained lovely all the way through,” Marc says. “This firm has a welcoming sense about it. It’s very friendly and caring. When you deal with people at William Buck, you’re having a conversation with a person, not with a technical robot who wants to explain P&Ls to you. First and foremost, there’s a human interaction before anything else happens.”

Deborah Hudswell, Receptionist, 1989

Former Director, Dennis Laundy, Wealth Advisory Director, Janine Williamson with Tee Ping Koh, Burnside Village Pharmacy, 2013

Step back in time: early connection in the regions

The Giles’ brothers very much went out of their way to please their country clients, spending weeks at a time visiting rural clients. Mawson Giles didn’t just work for farmers, he eventually became a farmer, when he purchased a cattle property in the South East. This affinity with country folk is still evident at William Buck Adelaide today, with the firm’s client base retaining a strong flavour of regional clients, from farmers to manufacturers, and everything in between. Former Managing Director Dennis Laundy, who was from a farm himself, said the firm’s modus operandi of visiting clients in the country was still underway in the 1980s. In 1984, 14 of the firm’s 34 staff were involved in visiting country towns. But Dennis says it was about more than the physical effort to make these trips. It was about having a genuine interest in clients. With such a large concentration of clients in regional

areas, Partners from Giles & Giles were regular speakers at Ag Bureaus and contributed articles on tax and other financial topics to the local newspapers. This, of course, led to new business. Even before Giles & Giles was formed, Ken Giles had built a name for himself in the bush, when he worked for Evans & Giles. This reputation grew after Mawson joined his brother at Giles & Giles and they continued to work the country beat. The firm’s presence in regional South Australia was consolidated in 1989, when it opened a fully-staffed branch office in Kadina in the State’s Mid North. Former Partner Michael McLaren, who had been spending at least 10 weeks a year on the road visiting country clients, moved permanently to Kadina where he remained for the next six years. He was joined by a secretary, two bookkeepers and a computer processor, to provide clients with a comprehensive range of services from accounting and secretarial reporting to taxation advice, business management, personal finance and estate planning. Clients benefited immediately from this development and within its first year, the Kadina office attracted many new clients. The Kadina office closed in 1996 when Michael returned to Adelaide.

Ken Giles visiting regional clients

Flinders Ranges client trip mapped out

The Hoyle family from the Yorke Peninsula was one of the firm’s clients who benefited from the Kadina office. They are still clients of William Buck Adelaide today. Mostyn (Mos) Hoyle was originally one of Dennis Laundy’s clients, but there’s been a generational transfer both in the family and the firm.

Director Paula Liddle now handles the account for Mos’ son, Scott, who now runs the family business. Dennis says Mos proved himself to be forward thinking and ambitious, taking the lead on buying farm supplies in bulk on behalf of his neighbours to bring down the price. He also set up several side businesses which were involved in agricultural supplies. Mos was particularly fee conscious and according to Scott, he was convinced that Dennis used an egg timer to calculate his fees. “My father was sure that the sand ran too fast and to remedy the situation he purchased Dennis an egg timer that ran very slowly!” Scott says. “The irony of the egg timer challenge is that today I could not tell you how much William Buck charge for their services. Clearly, I believe that the benefits that the firm provides to our business outweighs account analysis!” Scott says William Buck are more than just our accountants. “As well as tax planning and compliance, they expertly navigate the complexity of regulatory requirements,” Scott says. “Dennis had been spruiking the benefits of superannuation as a long-term investment strategy for some time. I can remember some of

his very blunt lessons on the folly of not contributing to super. So, we set up self-managed super funds, then along came the Wealth Advisory division. My father, with monotonous regularity, would remind Chris Kennedy that if he stuffed it up and lost his money, that Chris should be prepared to have Mum and Dad, along with the old Holden and the dogs move into his house.' Scott also issued a warning to Aaron Trombetta saying, ‘I have two large utes, two boats, a jet ski, a toy poodle and I like 5-star digs, so keep your eyes on the ball!’” Dennis says Scott has an enormous amount of ability like his father and is prepared to take a risk. However, Scott has proved to be very hesitant when it comes to referring his friends and neighbours to William Buck Adelaide. He describes ”The Big Chief” Jamie McKeough as an intelligent bloke with a selective hearing disorder”. “I have lost count of the amount of times I have asked him nicely to stop advertising and taking on new clients from my area,” Scott says. “He is eroding my competitive advantage in having William Buck as a business partner”! On a more serious note, Scott says William Buck is the family’s choice of business partner, and a partner they could not do without!

Three generations of the Hoyle Family, Yorke Peninsula primary producers.

Graham Perrin

Graham Perrin played a central role at Giles & Giles over a period spanning nearly 30 years. During this time, he was a valuable member of the firm’s leadership team and he was also instrumental in maintaining and building Giles & Giles’ strong regional client base. Graham was raised on a wheat and sheep property at Redhill. He recalls that when he went for a job interview, Mawson Giles wasn’t overly concerned that he did not have any formal qualifications. “They had a lot of rural clients and he could see that I was very keen and I had a rural background and I could talk to clients and understand their language,” Graham said. Graham spent a lot of time visiting the firm’s rural clients, particularly around his home patch in the Mid North. “I loved getting back to the farms and I got to know a lot of the country clients,” Graham said. “One of our larger rural clients was the Heaslip family who own a cattle station near Alice Springs. My wife and I have been up and stayed with them. They have been clients of the firm for more than 50 years now.”

Graham Perrin, Former Senior Partner. Graham sadly passed away 25 April 2022

Client value

William Buck Adelaide has come a long way since the Giles & Giles days when it provided a limited number of tax, audit and accounting services. Life and business have become more complex. In particular, the introduction of CGT in 1985 and GST in 2000, increased the level of compliance and complexity for individuals and businesses and accounting firms needed to become larger to deliver all the financial and investment services their clients required, including individual trusts, self-managed super funds, land-holding companies and new business entities. This demand provided the catalyst for William Buck Adelaide’s growth, which was achieved through a combination of organic growth and mergers. The outcome was a much larger firm of nearly 200 staff and a broader range of specialist services. In addition, the firm cast aside the traditional silos that exist in accounting firms and adopted an integrated service model. William Buck Adelaide’s firm-first attitude is an important part of its culture and ensures that clients and the firm always come first. Personal agendas and egos are left at the door.

Former Director Wendy Drake says there’s no doubt that the firm’s clients have benefited the most from the integrated approach. “The bottom line is that you can’t know it all,”

Wendy says. “If you want to solve a problem, you just don’t try and do it yourself. You go to the brains trust all around the table and you get to the very bottom of what you’re trying to achieve to deliver the best outcome for the client.”Today, William Buck’s specialist services are able to address and resolve many different financial and investment issues for a single client. Many clients refer to the firm as a “one-stop shop”. In addition to the breadth of services offered, the depth of these services means William Buck has the internal capability to deal with incredibly complex issues and very large amounts of money without having to engage tax lawyers or other external providers. From the client’s point of view, it’s very reassuring to be able to go to William Buck Adelaide and have everything dealt with under one roof, from tax returns to financial planning and wealth advisory to estate administration. It’s a massive competitive advantage which is serving the firm well. Clients have expressed their strong preference for dealing with one firm and building a trusted and long-term partnership. And while they don’t expect their lead advisor to know everything, they are confident the firm’s collective pool of wisdom will have the answer. It is through this collective wisdom that the firm comes up with superior outcomes for clients that other firms don’t.

The 'one-firm firm' also allows the expertise within specialist divisions to be shared across the firm, providing clients with better solutions and better value.

Dr Tim Edwards from Adelaide Plastic Surgery Associates (APSA) says his business has benefited from William Buck’s specialisation in the health and medical fields. This industry has some unique and complex nuances, particularly for a practice as large as APSA which has grown from two surgeons in 1998, to a team of eight surgeons and 40 staff in 2022. Tim says his business crosses over between health care and commercial activities so it has a mixture of funding which complicates the accounting. Adding to the financial complexity is the GST component on APSA’s cosmetic surgery business and the fact that the doctors are also the owners and require a fair and equitable division of costs. “William Buck has been instrumental in setting up a partnership agreement that has served us well, but equally tweaking it as we have grown,” Tim says. “When we were small, William Buck looked after our accounting on a oneon-one basis and as we grew they quite happily divested some of those responsibilities to our internal structures. They’ve been a great business partner because they have evolved as we have grown and they have been involved every year in our strategy sessions and led those for us. Our relationship as two businesses extends beyond the business relationship and is a friendship relationship which is lovely and the fact that we all get along on a personal level is extremely rewarding.”

One of the benefits of service specialisation and attracting bigger and more complex clients is that it extends the knowledge and experience of the firm’s professional staff. This pushes everyone up to another level and makes it possible to attract better clients. Over the years, this cycle has been a very powerful driver of William Buck Adelaide’s success. Former Director Wendy Drake says that every job and every client teaches you something which builds

confidence and competency. “20-30 years ago we would have been circumspect about taking on some clients because we didn’t have that breath of expertise and experience,” Wendy says. “But our growth and level of specialisation have taken us up to the next level of clients and we’ve proven that we can tackle more complex matters. I don’t think too many firms can say that. That experience is gold.”

Dr Tim Edwards, Specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon – APSA

"William Buck has been instrumental in setting up a partnership agreement that has served us well, but equally tweaking it as we have grown."

– Dr Tim Edwards, APSA

Executive Chairman of Seeley International

Frank Seeley AM, Executive Chairman of Seeley International says he’s been attending the “University of Life” since he was 10, when his father died and things changed dramatically for his family. “I’m 80 now and I’m still in the University of Life and I’m learning new things every day,” Frank says.

“It’s something I have in common with the people at William Buck. There’s no preciousness about them. Unfortunately some professionals, having made up their minds, don’t wish to be confused with the facts. However, I built my business on the basis of asking questions and offering alternative suggestions. Even if you have to make 99 suggestions all of which are wrong, and the 100th is the one where the experts

say, ‘that’s a good idea, we hadn’t thought of that’, then it’s very worthwhile. William Buck are always ready to listen to any suggestion and that’s what I like about them.” Frank says that he and William Buck have mutual respect for what each party brings to the table and that challenging each other creates infinitely better outcomes for everyone. Frank quotes a verse from the Bible which he believes every business person should read. ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another’.

“It’s that cut and thrust that sharpens all of us,” Frank says.

“I think William Buck are learning from their clients along the way, it’s not that I’m particularly unique.”

"William Buck are always ready to listen to any suggestion and that’s what I like about them."

– Frank Seeley AM, Seeley International

Frank Seeley AM,

Over the past two decades, specialisation has become a hallmark of William Buck. The firm is now able to provide a greater breadth and depth of services to clients, particularly those who are growing or face increasingly complex financial issues. One such client is the Morony family who operate a grain growing property south of Bute on the northern Yorke Peninsula. The property is operated by three generations of Moronys; Andrew and Jackie, their son Cameron, and Andrew’s parents Adrian and Lorraine. The Moronys engaged William Buck in 2014 when their growing enterprise required an accountant and business advisor with greater expertise and experience. The Moronys were drawn to the firm because of its excellent reputation and because it sponsored the local

football club. They also had a connection with Director Ben Trengove who grew up in the Bute district and had a good understanding of rural business. William Buck worked with the Moronys to prepare and execute a multi-generational strategy to generate long-term financial and personal outcomes for family members on and off-farm. “We took great confidence in knowing the William Buck team had experience dealing in this area with other farming families,” Adrian said. “They listened, acted professionally and kept us informed along the entire way. We now feel confident that we have better structures in place for the long-term.”

Three generations of the Morony family. Andrew, Cameron and Adrian Morony with Ben Trengove (second from the left)

"There is nobody else who knows our business as well as William Buck do. We have been working with them for 40 years and we like their holistic, integrated approach. It enables them to see the big picture."

– Adrian Hewett, Yorke Peninsula primary producer

Another business that is benefiting from William Buck Adelaide’s expertise and experience is Caledonia Group, which provides scaffolding, scaffolding design and engineering and industrial services to a broad range of industry sectors. When the business embarked on a major growth stage in 2014 it turned to William Buck Corporate Advisory Director Adrian Chugg for support. Strategies and funding solutions were put in place and the business expanded from operating in two states, to become one of the largest specialist access companies in Australia and New Zealand, employing more than 400 staff. William Buck's team has been heavily involved in providing broader strategic advice, including the services of an external CFO and assisting with the development of Caledonia’s 2020 strategic plan. Caledonia Group Managing Director David Stephen says every member of the William Buck team has delivered what was expected and more. “They are hands on, visible and in regular contact and their technical abilities have never failed us. They’ve proven to be exceptional growth partners,” David says.

Jamie McKeough says many clients make the comment that they are glad William Buck Adelaide has grown alongside them, otherwise they would have outgrown the firm and moved on.” “That’s been the main motivation for our growth,” Jamie says. “To ensure that we can provide the mid-market with all the services the mid-market needs, as well as providing more opportunities for our staff.”

"They are hands on, visible and in regular contact and their technical abilities have never failed us. They’ve proven to be exceptional growth partners."

– David Stephen, Caledonia Group

Caledonia Group Managing Directors Jim Cunningham and David Stephen

David Stephen, Adrian Chugg and Jim Cunningham

Paul Martin, former Chair of Jubilee Almonds and Century Orchards, says the upside of William Buck merging with MSI Tilley was that while it remained a personable relationship there were benefits to his company, particularly during the sale of Jubilee Almonds in 2015 and through several significant restructures for Century Orchards.

“When you are dealing with investors’ money it’s important to have someone at the level that William Buck is at,” Paul says. “They offer a range of expertise within the business and no matter what the question is they are able to work through the issues and get the necessary answers for us.”

The current Chairman of Century Orchards (and Laragon), Phillip Henshall, agrees that William Buck’s greater depth of

expertise and more corporate, high-end business approach was critical during what he describes as the “complex restructure” of Century Orchards. Phillip says that despite the firm’s growth and professionalism, it has maintained its warm and friendly approach. “At William Buck we feel as though we are part of the family, we feel well treated and looked after. They have good ethical values in terms of looking after our shareholders and doing things the right way." It is full credit to them,” Phillip says. Phillip says that quite often at the company’s AGMs, which are held in the orchard at Loxton, it’s not just William Buck Directors who attend, but other staff who work on the Century Orchards account. “It’s in their free time, so it shows that they are interested in the business,” Phillip says.

Scott McKenzie, Technical/Operations Manager of Century Orchards

"At William Buck we feel as though we are part of the family, we feel well treated and looked after. They have good ethical values in terms of looking after our shareholders and doing things the right way."

– Phillip Henshall, Chairman of Century Orchards

Client events

Anne-Marie Quinn, Karen and Philip von Einem, David and Anna Varley, Neil Clark

Terry Lewis and Chris Kennedy

Sue Giles and Dennis Laundy

Alison and James Juers

Brian and Barb Rugless, Dennis Laundy, Peter Rugless and Shirley Rugless

Matthew and Lucy Tripodi

Rick and Libby Vater

Jamie McKeough and Colin Rugless

Daniel and Gabrielle Cehic AM Liz and Kevin Scarce AO

Danielle and Ben Hooper

Angela Carey, Gosia Schild, Grant Wilson and Christopher Penny

Catherine Dichiera, Judy and Alan Burchard

Andrew and Gayle Robertson, with Adrian Frinsdorf

Allan and Judy Burchard, Anthony and Michele Kittel, Sandy and Patrick Schwerdt with Adrian Chugg

Mary-Anne and Bill Yeo, with Babis Mavrakis

Peter and Dianne Brock, Kerry and Vivienne Henderson

Pam Stewart, Chris Duguid, Lynn Stewart and Malcolm Wight

Adrian Frinsdorf, Jane and Greg Mudie

Ann Saunders, Libby Broomhead and Sue Warnecke

Peta Laundy, Michele Arthur, Denine McKeough and Cate Aucote

Astrid Deen, Wendy Drake, Kaye Challinger and Diane Ranck

Pam and Roger Vater

Graham Perrin, Janine Williamson and Claire Perrin Lisa and Geoff Vogt

Martin Hill and Haydn Wilkinson

Santosh Poonnoose, Anju Chandy and Tom Laundy

Step back in time: the Snook amendments

When the Federal Government legislated new Superannuation rules in 2007, Wendy Drake took exception because one of her clients was about to retire and would stand to lose a substantial amount of money. She enlisted the help of Tax Services Director Ian Snook who wrote a submission to the Senate Committee for Superannuation. Ian’s challenge was successful and an amendment was introduced for small to medium business in respect of planning and structuring for retirement, allowing un-deducted contributions of up to $1 million per person into their superannuation. Rob Smyth, who has been a client of Giles & Giles and William Buck Adelaide since the 1980s, recalls how he was able to contribute to “The Snook Amendment”. Rob was the farming client who was set to retire and he happened to know Federal Senator Cory Bernardi. A meeting was arranged with Wendy Drake, Ian Snook and Bernardi (and Senator Grant Chapman), at which the Senator suggested that with the election coming

up there was chance they could convince the Treasurer to make some amendments. “So Snooky put together a list of seven or eight propositions and Bernardi took it to Canberra,” Rob said. “The Treasurer looked at it and said I can’t handle that one there but the rest I can, but don’t come back again! So, we got it through and everyone was happy. The firm made a bit of a fuss over it and took us out to lunch and dinner.” Whilst Ian is not certain of the extent of his input into the changes, within the walls of William Buck Adelaide, this change to the legislation was known as “The Snook Amendment”.

Ian Snook, 1999 Rob and Jan Smyth with Ian Snook, 2006

Multi-generational clients

William Buck Adelaide goes to great lengths to earn trusted advisor status from its clients.

William Buck goes to great lengths to earn trusted advisor status from its clients. Jamie McKeough says clients often know the answers, but they want confidence that they are making the right decision. In this situation, he says the firm’s role is to either endorse what its clients are doing, or tell them if it’s a bad idea. “One of our advantages is that we actually run a business and we are also in the privileged position of seeing so many businesses that we work on,” Jamie says. “Every business is unique and we see so many different situations, so from that we draw great knowledge to be able to advise our clients.” Simply put, William Buck is in the business of helping clients make good decisions! If the firm gets this right, it earns the trust and respect of clients and this is the foundation of long-term relationships on which William Buck is built. The majority of the firm’s clients are privately owned, or family businesses, as well as small corporates, notfor-profits and high net worth individuals. Not only is it easier to establish long-term relationships with these businesses, which are traditionally more stable, but these clients place great value on building long-term relationships with their trusted advisor. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement which aligns closely with William Buck's strategy, vision and values.

The term “cradle to grave” is often used at William Buck to describe long-term client relationships and multi-generational wealth transfers. The reality is that “cradle to grave” has been repeated many times over when it comes to those clients who have been with the firm for three or four generations. These multi-generational clients are highly valued. William Buck is deeply entrenched in their businesses, and often in their lives. But it’s a two-way street.Whether the firm is helping clients run a profitable business and reinvest in the business or elsewhere, helping them sell their business and invest the money for future generations, or assisting with succession planning, the advice and support provided by William Buck has enormous value. Over the years, the firm has learned from experience how critical it is to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to multi-generational families and businesses. Things can go horribly wrong when control and wealth shift from one generation to another. However, through its role as trusted advisor William Buck helps clients plan for succession well in advance to ensure a smooth transition or to facilitate an exit strategy. Client Adrian Hewett says his family is a beneficiary of William Buck’s pro-active approach to succession planning. After three generations running a 4,600 wheat, barley and sheep farming business on the

Yorke Peninsula, Adrian and his two brothers, Graham and Colin, decided to restructure to allow each of them to run their own business. “Working through the split has been the most challenging issue we have faced as a farming enterprise,” Adrian says. “We were fortunate to have been working with William Buck for many years, so they were in a strong position to help us split our assets without creating capital gains tax.” William Buck’s intimate understanding of the family and its farming operation, as well as its status as

a trusted advisor, were critical to achieving the clean and amicable division of the business. “There is nobody else who knows our business as well as they do,” Adrian says. “We have been working with them for 40 years and we like their holistic, integrated approach. It enables them to see the big picture – the business, our private wealth management, taxation, superannuation and succession.”

"We have been working with William Buck for over 40 years and we like their holistic, integrated approach. It enables them to see the big picture – the business, our private wealth management, taxation, superannuation and succession."

– Adrian Hewett, Yorke Peninsula Primary Producer

Adrian and Lincoln Hewett with Martin Hill

North to south

South East farmer Richard Halliday recalls his annual visits to Giles & Giles, which began about 40 years ago. “Usually when we rolled up, because we’d be the first appointment in the morning, you’d look over to the parklands because Jack (Davis) used to be out in the parklands walking before he started work, then he’d wander across the road and catch up with us. We’d head into the old Giles & Giles building on Greenhill Road and manoeuvre our way past miles and miles of filing cabinets and records and God knows what to Jack’s office.” Richard says his family has a long connection with Giles & Giles which he believes goes to the firm’s very beginning. “Jack used to come up to Orroroo to service our family even before I started

William Buck Adelaide’s new Family Office formalises the range of services which the firm has been providing to family businesses for six generations. Relationships with many of these families are still going strong and today’s clients take great pride in the fact that their parents and grandparents were also clients of Giles & Giles or William Buck Adelaide. In recent years, there has been a shift towards educating the next generation to manage wealth so that families don’t fall apart over wealth transfer or have to split up their assets.

When it comes to multi-generational clients, William Buck takes the view, “It’s a journey not a job.” The firm prides itself on building long-term relationships and being there to support family businesses through thick and thin. Being a trusted advisor is a privilege and comes with a great deal of responsibility. That’s not something William Buck Adelaide takes lightly!

working on the farm,” Richard says. “My grandfather used to do his accounting there, then Mum and Dad.

“The firm has always had a strong commitment to its rural clients and that’s something that has kept us there. Giles & Giles, and now William Buck, they understand what we do. We feel that connection to our business and to us. People say to me, ‘there’s no such thing as loyalty anymore, it’s just whoever gives you the best deal’. But I actually believe there is value in loyalty because it’s your understanding of each other and the trust that’s most important.”

Adrian Frinsdorf and Andrew Bradley, Family Office

"Being a trusted advisor is a privilege and comes with a great deal of responsibility. That's not something William Buck Adelaide takes lightly!"

Step back in time : now and then

William Buck has a long list of clients who have been with the firm for more than 40 years, including former Port Adelaide footballer Geof Motley. Geof played football with Dean Trowse and they were close friends, so he was well acquainted with Dean’s tax expertise. “Giles & Giles were very solid and very reliable in the highest meaning of the word,” Geof says. “I still get looked after to this day by Martin Hill and I have a very strong relationship with William Buck which has never wavered. I had no hesitation working with Dean in the early days based on his honesty and integrity and that’s something the firm has been able to maintain today.”

Riverland pork producers, orchardists and feed mill operators Rob and Nancy McLean have been clients of Giles & Giles and William Buck Adelaide since 1967. Before that, Ken and Mawson Giles assisted Rob’s father, Murray, in the 1950s, when he moved to the Riverland to set up a fruit orchard.

Rob says Giles & Giles and William Buck Adelaide have always treated farming and primary production with respect and professionalism. “I have seen William Buck grow into the huge company they are today, but still retain their personal touch from the front desk, to the advisors, to the various Directors, right up to the Managing Director,” Rob says. Initially, Doris Brokensha was the McLean’s advisor at Giles & Giles, but on her retirement, Jamie McKeough took over their account. They now trade as Riverhaven Enterprises and Top Multiplier with their son, Mark, as Managing Director. “Like Giles & Giles, our business has grown from two employees in 1967 to more than 25 full-time staff,” Rob says. “We are now seeing the third generation continuing the legacy with what was formerly Giles & Giles and we trust the firm will continue to look after them as well as they have looked after us for the last 55 years.”

Doris Brokensha with Rob McLean, late 1980's.

Growing together

Over the last 20 years, William Buck Adelaide has grown alongside some of its most successful clients. But these clients are not just those who generate the most revenue, or pay the highest fees. They are clients who are successful in their own right, whether that’s a farmer who is buying more land, an award-winning business or a client who is breaking new ground. William Buck Adelaide highly values those clients who are like-minded and aligned with its vision and values. While many of the firm’s clients fall into this category a few stand-outs are Osmoflo, REDARC and Commercial Retail Group (Chapley Foodlands).

Osmoflo started out as a modest company in a backyard garage selling water filtration products, with less than a $3 million turnover when it became a client. Owners Marc and Annie Fabig admit they were dubious when Jamie McKeough chaired their first-ever strategy meeting shortly after Osmoflo became a client of William Buck in 1999. Those attending the strategy day projected the business could turn over more than $25 million in the next five years. “I went along with it and sort of smiled and participated, but my heart wasn’t in it,” Marc says. “I remember leaving the room and going home with Annie in the car and saying, ‘what a load of BS, there’s

no way we are ever going to be able to do that in five years.’ As it transpired, we exceeded that in five years, so despite my total dubiousness about the whole thing it worked better than we had even planned.” Marc says that William Buck Adelaide was there throughout Osmoflo’s journey, until the Fabigs sold the business to Japanese trading houses over two stages in 2011 and 2017. At the time of the final sale, Osmoflo’s revenue exceeded more than $100 million. “When we started out, we had no experience on the financial side and we were flying by the seat of our pants,” Marc says. “We wrote business plans every year, but William Buck encouraged us to be more strategic about our planning.” Since selling the business, Marc says William Buck Adelaide now advises the Fabig family office and they deal with Andrew Nicola “who’s a bit of a junior Jamie in some respects”. “Not long after Andrew joined, I said to Jamie, ‘hang onto that bloke, he’s a cracker!” Marc says. “I could tell how valuable he’d be to the business. He just conveyed the right spirit - care for client, listens, responsive, all the great things you look for in staff members.”

Over the last 20 years, William Buck Adelaide has grown alongside some of its most successful clients.

Top: Osmoflo Board - Jamie McKeough, Graham Dooley, Annie and Marc Fabig and Kingsley Purdie

Bottom: Osmoflo Board - Keisuke Sakuraba, Takeshi Kurioka, Marc Fabig, Jamie McKeough and Graham Dooley

As was the case with Osmoflo, Jamie McKeough was invited to join the Advisory Board of South Australian-based electronics business REDARC. “This is the ultimate position of advising to a client,” Jamie says. “We sit on the Board, so we are intimately involved in the business and help contribute to their success.” Many of our competitors do not allow Directors to sit on clients Boards, so this is a real advantage.

REDARC is not only one of William Buck Adelaide’s greatest success stories, it is also one of the State’s greatest success stories after it was named Telstra Australian Business of the Year in 2014. It has certainly been a rapid rise to fame and fortune for REDARC which was bought by Anthony and Michele Kittel in 1997. At the time it had a turnover of $800,000 and employed eight people. The business has been a client of William Buck Adelaide’s since 1999, and in that time, it has built a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, lifted staff numbers to 300 and increased its annual turnover to more than $100 million. Anthony and Michele say they value William Buck for its ability to build relationships with their team. “At all levels of our organisation and within the individual parts

of our business we have a key contact at William Buck who is very responsive and flexible to our needs and ensures we get the very best advice exactly when we need it,” they say.

“The reason we’ve stayed with William Buck for more than 20 years is that they’ve been able to grow and ensure that the services they provide REDARC are up to the speed that we’re growing at. As we grow internationally or take on new markets, they are able to support us in those initiatives.” REDARC CFO

Chris Johnson says the company recently established entities in the US and NZ. “The introductions that the Adelaide-based William Buck team has made for us to Praxity firms in both of those jurisdictions has been absolutely fantastic,” Chris says. “William Buck know our business so well that a lot of the conversations can get straight to the point because they know exactly what we are after. They also know about the future plans of the business so the relationship has got tighter and tighter and it’s more an extension of REDARC than the traditional service provider. The firm has definitely exceeded our expectations.”

REDARC Advisory Board – Chris Johnson, Paul Crawford, Jamie McKeough, Anthony and Michele Kittel. (Absent: Donald McGurk, Peter Alexander and David Longren)

"The reason we’ve stayed with William Buck for more than 20 years is that they’ve been able to grow and ensure that the services they provide REDARC are up to the speed that we’re growing at. As we grow internationally or take on new markets, they are able to support us in those initiatives."

- Anthony Kittel, REDARC

Michele and Anthony Kittel, owners of REDARC REDARC Facility in Lonsdale

Breaking new ground

Clinical specialist Professor Toby Coates, who works at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, relies on William Buck to take care of the business side of things, so he can get on and do his job. Toby’s is a very important job, particularly since he developed a start-up biotech company several years ago which is breaking new ground in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. “As a non-business person you don’t really know the right way to go or what to do when you are setting up a new company, so the first thing I did was contact William Buck,” Toby says. “The Australian-made product we are trialling has the potential to revolutionise the way we treat Type 1 diabetes which is very exciting.

Potentially it will have a global impact and if it comes to that we’ll either sell or manage whatever comes out of it.”

Toby says William Buck has supported him with specialist financial advice since he was an intern more than 25 years ago, when his aunt, Doris Brokensha, who worked for Giles & Giles, told him “it was the firm to go to”. “William Buck’s been a really important part of my financial life,” Toby says.

“In fact, it’s been my financial life because they’ve been able to take care of all the things I don’t have time to take care of and they take care of it in a very professional manner.”

Professor Toby Coates AO, Director Kidney and Islet Transplantation

“I’ve always felt as a specialist that you need to outsource to other specialists, therefore William Buck has been a really important part of my financial life.”

- Professor Toby

Coates

AO, Director of Kidney and Islet Transplantation at the Royal Adelaide Hospital

Growing in size, confidence and capability has enabled William Buck Adelaide to attract major new clients, among them Ahrens Group and Seeley International. Ahrens Group is a national construction, engineering, mining and agri provider, which prior to engaging William Buck, was dealing with one accounting firm for tax and another for audit. Managing Director Stefan Ahrens said the company wanted to use one accounting firm that looked after the whole lot. “We wanted to go to a firm that we would get closer contact with so that we could build a relationship with them and our business,” Stefan said. “That relationship is very important, so they really understand us and understand what we are looking for in the family side and the business.”

Frank Seeley AM from Seeley International says that the staff at William Buck have more empathy than previous providers and have performed very well on all fronts since the firm was engaged three years ago. “They’re a no-nonsense no-fuss, customer-centric organisation and they provide informed advice based on quality research,” Frank says. Frank acknowledges that engaging a professional accounting firm like William Buck is a very necessary part of the cost of doing business. “It’s essential to have informed advice from such professionals, otherwise at some point in time, you’re going to get into trouble,” he says. “ It’s also an investment, because it enables you to run your business with the least number of unexpected, and potentially costly surprises. You can’t avoid problems in business in this day and age, and in fact, in the whole 50 years I’ve been in business, we’ve had numerous issues from which we’ve had to extract ourselves, and we know first-hand the benefits of being able to draw on professionals advice such as William Buck can provide.

While William Buck is fully committed to existing clients, there is always a desire to win new clients to grow and develop the firm's people and our capability. One of the firm’s catch phrases is “we want to win more than our fair share” and the strength of the William Buck brand makes this possible. “There is no doubt that we have to work hard to win new clients and the pursuits are longer because the clients are bigger,” Jamie says. ”We’ve had some great wins, but at the end of the day, we just want William Buck to be thought of if something happens.”

Stefan Ahrens, Managing Director of Ahrens Group

“It’s not just a job, William Buck are passionate about what they do. Andrew Nicola loves coming up with great solutions, he really prides himself on his work and everything he does. He gets as excited about our business as we do.”

- Stefan Ahrens, Ahrens Group

Award-winning supermarkets

Commercial Retail Group owns and operates two of South Australia’s most iconic and award-winning supermarkets, being the Frewville and Pasadena Foodlands. Spero Chapley, son of the legendary Mr Nick, says that for many years, his family kept tight control of its numbers and relied on its instincts to run the business.

“It was a big deal for us to feel comfortable in the initial discussions with William Buck and proceed,” Spero says. “It’s been a big change for us, but William Buck and Adrian (Chugg) have given us more confidence because they interrogate our numbers which is really important, and they have a broader sense of what’s happening outside our four walls. Our business is known for being quite innovative and always moving into areas that no one dares to in our industry and in those conversations, Adrian gives me a lot of confidence, whether he’s comfortable or supportive or he speaks the truth and calls it when he doesn’t agree with something.”

Spero says in the past when he has dealt with other business advisors it has been mainly transactional, but he says it’s different with William Buck because the relationship is profound. “Adrian has been amazing,” Spero says. “He cares about the company and the business and the reputation but also about the individuals involved. Adrian enjoys the vibe and the conversations he is involved in and he has a lot of respect for my father, Mr Nick, and vice versa.”

The Chapley’s broader family are working within the supermarket business, along with Spero’s sister Emily. Naturally for Spero and his family, retail is their passion and Spero describes himself as “basking in this environment.” “Adrian is doing the same thing,” he says. “When he was on his honeymoon in Europe he was sending me photos of retail settings,” Spero says. “I don’t know if he was doing that before he worked with us, but we drew out

that passion to the next level.”

Adrian admits he is quite the “supermarket geek” and loves working with the Chapleys and in the food retail industry in general. “The interaction I’ve had with some amazing people has meant the world to me,” he says.

“It’s an industry I’m excited and passionate about. It’s weird, I go overseas and I visit supermarkets just to see how they are set out and what ideas they have. I find supermarkets quite fascinating and I spend half of my life in supermarkets.” Strange then, that Adrian doesn’t do the family shopping!

Mr Nick Chapley with a photograph of his first supermarket

Mr Nick Chapley with his son Spero Chapley, Director of Commercial Retail Group

Chapter 5 summary

William Buck Adelaide has mastered the concept of exceptional customer service, both in terms of the services provided and how they are delivered. Since the Giles & Giles days, the firm has built on the foundation of family values laid down by Ken and Mawson Giles and carried them into the 21st century. In addition, by broadening and deepening its range of professional services, William Buck Adelaide now offers clients a fully integrated service. A one-stop shop!

These specialist services are essential in the much more complex business environment in which the firm’s clients operate, but they are still delivered with a friendly smile and a genuine understanding and interest in the client’s business. This perpetuates the circle of success and ensures that William Buck Adelaide remains the clear leader in the mid-market and the firm of choice for clients who value a long-term relationship with a trusted advisor.

Professor Toby Coates AO, Director of Kidney and Islet Transplantation at the Royal Adelaide Hospital

When it comes to client service, William Buck is very clear on what's important; genuine interest in and care for clients and their business, becoming a trusted advisor by providing good advice and building long-term relationships.

William Buck Adelaide is the firm of choice for clients who value a long-term relationship with a trusted advisor. This privileged position is not something William Buck takes lightly. It has taken the firm 125 years to refine and expand its services, to build trusted relationships with clients, as well as a well recognised and respected brand. Along the journey, William Buck has invested heavily in developing its staff; honing their professional expertise, bolstering their customer service skills and supporting their overall health and wellbeing. This sustained effort and commitment has proven to be a winning formula and today, William Buck’s clients and staff are reaping the benefits.

It’s fitting that as part of our 125th birthday celebrations we thank our clients. Without long-term relationships with our clients, we have nothing! And of course, we must

thank our staff, past and present, who have been such an integral part of the William Buck journey. As we enjoy these celebrations, we raise a glass to Mr William Buck and to Ken and Mawson Giles who entrusted us to carry on their strong family values and unwavering commitment to clients. The solid foundation they laid has enabled William Buck Adelaide to remain grounded as it has pursued greatness. This story celebrates the firm’s achievements over the past 125 years and acknowledges all of the clients and staff who have contributed to our success. It allows us to do what we do best. Changing Lives!

"This story celebrates the firm’s achievements over the past 125 years and acknowledges all of the clients and staff who have contributed to our success."

The William Buck Adelaide team

Suzanne Adams

Belle Alcazaren

Shan Amante

Amanda Anderson

Jessie Anderson

Malcolm Anderson

Michael Attaliotis

Kristie Baehnisch

Rosa Baldino

Amelia Barbara

Andrew Barlow

Danielle Barron

Millie Basedow

Marjorie Biasbas

Ayeisha Bishop

Vanessa Blackshaw

Chelsea Bojnoordi

Sonja Bollinger

Reimart Bote

Leena Bou

Sharon Bowden

Andrew Bradley

Georgina Brooks

Tom Burgess

Tanya Cap

Alison Castle

Tierney Cavanagh

Melanie Cel Galura

Joann Chang

Amanda Cheeseman

Adrian Chugg

Abby Clements

Debbie Colebatch

Jim Conferido

Cherry Cruz

Jessica Cumming

Grace Danganan

Peter Davis

Hansini De Foneska

Chris Deed

Catherine Dichiera

Vicki Dimas

James Dodd

Layla Duckworth

Kellie Dunnicliff

Charuni Edirisinghe

Shaira Empleo

Michael Fairlie

Melissa Feller

Michelle Fergusson

Kylie Fitzgerald

Paer Flygare

Alessandra Forero

Jenylyn Francisco

Chris Franco

Adrian Frinsdorf

Lee Fuller

Amanda Galler

Pina Giangregorio

Chris Giannopoulos

Danielle Gibb

Sarah Gibson

Cameron Green

Alison Gum

Yoatzin Guzman

Jay Han

Alyce Hardstaff

Tom Harvey

Jody Heptinstall

Amy Hewitt

Martin Hill

Natasha Hillman

Nicole Holton

Kate Howard

Zaw Htoo

Grace Hullah

Michelle Hurcombe

Paul Ibay

Matthew Illman

Darren Ip

Shawn Johnstone

Cody Jones

Japjeet Kaur

Lily Keene

James King

Matthew King

Emma Kittel

Brooke Kleinig

Tricia Kleinig

Tharmini Kuruparan

Alice Lam

Ellah Larase

Luciana Larkin

Tom Laundy

Krizza Laxamana

Geraldine Lee

Paula Liddle

Eben Lok

Shiena Macapagal

Scott MacKenzie

Millie Maitland

Alan Marks

Grant Martinella

Lavine Martis

Anele Masumbika

Babis Mavrakis

Luke McCauley

Nathan McCormack

Eimear McDaid

Caitlin McKeough

Jamie McKeough

Sarah McKeough

Cain Meschiati

Joshua Mills-Bayne

Sheilla Morales

David Mounce

Caitlin Moxon

Lisa Murray

Sean Nicholas

Samantha Nicholls

Andrew Nicola

Jingyi Niu

Ashlynn Noack

Jakeb Noble

James Northcote

Krishna Nyayapathi

Samantha Oxford

Rosemary Pahl

Isadora Paixao de Oliveira

Laxman Parameswaran

Melissa Parente

Sarah Parsons

Karan Patel

Nikki Peng

Leng Phuah

Daniel Proctor

Alice Psevdos

Georgia Pyromallis

Jennifer Rees

Sharon Reinke

Sarah Rigby

Kimberley Rositano

Chris Rosser

Patrick Ryan

Naomi Sack

Henry Schofield

Braden Schwark

Liz Sellars

Sharvi Shah

Kent Sharp

Maria Siahamis

Amanda Sigley

Matthew Simmons

Anna Sivkova

Tei-El Smith

Ian Snook

Jessica Stapleton

Kiran Strawhan

Hannah Taylor

Shane Taylor

Alistair Taylor-Spry

Yong Teo

Mikiel Tesfa

Melissa Thayer

Lauryn Thompson

Brea Thomson

Mary Tidswell

Alexander Toth

Ben Trengove

Aaron Trombetta

Sarah Tropeano

Emily Tropiano

Danica Ulanday

Ratna Uppalapati

Jasmine Venzon

Leah Villanoy

Carmel Vinas-Wilson

Jenny Vincent

Vani Wahi

Yolanda Wang

Liam Weedall

James Whitehead

Janine Williamson

Cassie Wilson

Sarah Withall

Sindy Woo

Valerie Xu

Becky Yap

Michelle Zhao

Testimonials

“I’m learning new things every day. It’s something I have in common with the people at William Buck. They are ready to listen to everything and anything and that’s what I like about them.”

Frank Seeley AM Seeley International

“William Buck are an integral part of Leyton Funds and Anna’s and my businesses. Martin is like family and we’ve had plenty of colourful discussions and disagreements, but he’s guided us brilliantly to get to where we are today. We feel enormously comfortable with William Buck. We can have any conversation we like, we can ask the dumbest questions and we always get the best answers. It’s proven over a period of time that we haven’t dropped the ball too many times.”

Damien Brown Leyton Funds

“It’s not just a job, they are passionate about what they do. Andrew Nicola loves coming up with great solutions, he really prides himself on his work and everything he does. He gets as excited about our business as we do.”

Stefan Ahrens Ahrens Group

“Joining William Buck has been one of the best financial decisions we have made. The level of advice and professionalism from William Buck is truly outstanding and the people that manage our accounts and their staff are like family.”

Rick and Libby Vater Vater Machinery

“William Buck have been an integral partner during our company’s growth, providing extremely sound advice on a myriad of matters over the 16 years they have been acting as our external accountants. What has stood out for me is that the strong relationship with William Buck has continued to grow and due to their ability to retain great people has ensured we are dealing with the same familiar faces for many years.”

Patrick Schwerdt Cooperages

“The staff at William Buck have acted professionally at all times and have always been friendly, courteous, welcoming and dealt with any requests promptly and efficiently. From my perspective, William Buck has managed the current COVID-19 pandemic seamlessly. It is hoped this relationship will continue long into the future.”

Paul Lewis Panaramitee Pastoral Company

“William provides a sophisticated and tailored business advisory service with the highest levels of professional integrity. William Buck were invaluable when guiding our business through a sale process with a large publicly listed company.”

Dr. Fergus Whitehead Adelaide Pathology Partners

“All of the team are very professional, courteous and knowledgeable in their areas of expertise. It is a very personal service and nothing is ever too much trouble. Any requests for assistance are dealt with in a timely manner. The team really take the time and trouble to understand the business and are able to tailor their style accordingly.”

Howard Coombs Seeley International

“We have always had a great relationship with the William Buck people over the last 30 years as they offer specialised ‘personal’ service.”

Chris Penny

Ginn and Penny Insurance Brokers

“There is outstanding professionalism in the way they conduct their business - trustworthiness, their people, their culture and values. They focus on the best outcomes by giving sound advice and choices. We know we are in safe hands with William Buck because they are our partners in business and they care. Our accountants are an integral part of our business and provide peace of mind that we are doing things right.”

Roger Vater

Vater Machinery

“Without exception, we have found them to be extremely knowledgeable with valuable and timely expertise in accounting, tax matters and financial advice. Some have indeed become good friends and are now helping our family’s next generation.”

Malcolm and Gail Wicks

“The longest professional relationship I have ever had, and it continues strongly today. My perception is that William Buck Adelaide is performing extremely well, going from strength to strength. One of these strengths is being able to provide advice for any situation and if it falls outside their considerable reach William Buck has a range of contacts that can be called upon. This means that the culture at William Buck is well managed, or they understand their clients well, or more likely both.”

Bill Trowbridge

Brecon Breeders

“The endearing qualities of William Buck that we most value are the honesty, trust, respect and friendship that we now share and the feeling that you take a genuine interest in our affairs and encourage us to grow and expand our business. For William Buck to survive and expand for 125 years, you must be doing a lot of things right.”

Grant Rundle

Rundle Farming

“William Buck have made a significant and positive impact on our business and we now consider William Buck as an integral part of the team at Caledonia. They’ve proven to be exceptional growth partners.”

David Stephen

Caledonia Scaffolding

“Adrian and his team go above and beyond on business acquisition assignments to ensure all the boxes are ticked, to reduce our risk while remaining commercial in their advice. Ultimately Matt and Adrian have been integral in helping me to establish Amplify Equity Solutions, for which I am extremely grateful.”

Tristan Just

Amplify Equity Solutions

“Their advice has always been constructive, creative as appropriate, timely and reflective of “value for money”, with an unerring capacity to identify the issues of concern to potential clients.”

Seth Thuraisingham

Consilium Technology

“In business it is so important to build strong relationships and William Buck with their business ethics of trustworthiness, lawfulness, respect and compassion have established this with the Rugless Family. I have been amazed at their development into such a modern accounting firm among the best in Adelaide. In striving for excellence they have created a modern environment offering many services.”

Graham Rugless

Rugless Family Retail Group

“For well over 40 years William Buck have been my financial rock. They have supported myself, my family and businesses in all financial matters including accounting, reporting and financial planning. Corner store friendly service mixed with first class know how of an international standard. True trusted professionals giving you peace of mind.”

Stephen Loechel

Global Wombat

“We find the staff at William Buck approachable, helpful and professional in every way. They have assisted us in providing financial clarity, supporting us in all aspects of financial management, and helping us achieve a comfortable retirement lifestyle. We are truly grateful for the ongoing support and direction provided to us.”

Cheryl Cope

“The appeal to us is the longevity of staff and their advice based on the knowledge of our background, family situation, interests and risk appetite. We trust their advice and their honesty. In a few words I would say that William Buck despite its growth, are people focussed, conservative, honest and reliable with a genuine interest in positive outcomes for their clients.”

Kevin Clarke

“We started dealings with William Buck back in the midnineties. Since then we have never looked back. We have always found all the people we deal with at William Buck very professional, helpful and friendly to deal with, that includes Jody and her team in marketing and Liz and the team at reception. The advice and recommendations William Buck has provided has always been considered, relevant, honest and valued, and time has proved it to be well founded and pertinent.”

Peter Owens Colour Tech Copying

“As a long time client of William Buck (50 years) we have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the company. Their staff are very welcoming and professional, always effecting the best outcomes for our business. William Buck is a company that places great emphasis on making the small operator feel as important to them as the big business enterprises.”

Ian and Pam Rodgers

E

M Rodgers and Son

“We have had an affiliation with William Buck for over 40 years. Staff have always been friendly approachable efficient and effective. Their knowledge, expertise and professionalism in their field is excellent/outstanding.”

Scott

and Julie Clarke

“Our Audit team from William Buck has been focussed, professional and very easy to work with. Any issues are discussed robustly without fear or favour with the objective of ensuring the most appropriate outcomes.”

Neil

Retallick

The Barossa Co-Op

“We retired in September 2001 and thankfully met with William Buck and they took away all our concerns having to manage ourselves financially. We have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with everything handled professionally by the helpful and very friendly staff.”

Barry

and Chris Farmer

“Your Directors knowing their customers and their needs is your greatest benefit, the same as it is for us to know our clients’ needs and expectations. It is reassuring working with a professional company such as William Buck.”

Phil Perry

LH Perry and Sons

“From Liz, at reception to the rest of the staff that crosses my path, I always feel that there is friendly genuine help at hand. Never lose this personal touch, all of you. It is a standout quality. I know the firm is now huge, but each person is important so please don’t lose the personal touch.”

Sue Trott

Five Geese Wines

“The team at William Buck have completely immersed themselves into the idiosyncrasies of our business. This includes taking time to visit our head office in Germany to fully understand our business mechanics. I believe this delivered an outcome that could not be matched by any other financial services business.”

Ian Biggs

Titan Strapping Systems Asia-Pacific

“We had a very small operation and it was carefully, carefully does it, but today I wouldn’t describe our business as conservative. I would describe it as aggressive. William Buck has definitely supported our growth and I feel confident that we can turn to them if we need anything.”

John

Tremlett

“MRS Property and Harmony Property Investments have enjoyed a long and successful partnership across a number of areas of our businesses. We particularly enjoy the accessibility to the Senior Management at William Buck and the prompt and efficient turnaround times to get things done once an agreed scope of work or task has been agreed.”

Geoff Robertson

MRS Property

“It is crucial to have expert financial advice in order to achieve success and this is essentially what Dennis Laundy and the team from Giles & Giles and William Buck managed to do with care and professionalism for my parents Mick and Marie Dermody and their business, Dermody Petroleum.”

Cate Aucote

“We now reflect on the huge influence Jamie McKeough and all his associated talented staff at William Buck have had and continue to have on the success of our family business Hansen Farms. In particular our Hansen Family as a whole. We have left meetings and felt such relief in knowing we have all bases covered, expert advice always and secure in the knowledge that we have been looked after with our future generations protected by the BEST.”

Garry and Merrawyn Hansen

“We and our business have been clients of William Buck Adelaide for more than 20 years. In my relationships with our own personal/business consultants and advisers this is what I look for; Professionalism, Integrity, Personalised service. Above and beyond that I am not repared to work with an adviser unless I can develop a friendly, enjoyable and common ground relationship. This is what I have experienced with Jamie and the team at William Buck Adelaide.”

Doug Reed

Germein

Reed Lawyers and Conveyancers

“It has been a revelation since switching from KPMG to William Buck. The quality of advice has been superior and the service reflects the genuine interest WB staff show toward their clients.”

Ian Drummond Australian Property Projects

“We feel we truly have friends in William Buck from the receptionists right through to the upper management. We really would be lost without the support from the whole team. Each and every one of them are always polite, friendly and helpful and we are so pleased we made the decision to engage your company with our association now in its 15th year.”

Mel and Ann Dalton

Trammel Toolings

“When we started out, we were flying by the seat of our pants. We wrote business plans every year, but William Buck encouraged us to be more strategic about our planning.”

Marc Fabig

Armas Group

“They have an understanding of what we do, they want us to do well and they go above and beyond to look at alternatives, to look at options that will give the best result for our company. It’s been a really good experience!”

Mike O’Reilly

O’Reilly Model Flight

“I have always found the William Buck people to be very professional and very committed to looking after our affairs and our best interests. In the end it all boils down to the people and trust. My wife and I have much confidence and immense trust in the integrity of the William Buck people to serve our best interests. Congratulations William Buck for your 125th anniversary. I wish you many more anniversaries.”

Dr Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton and Leconfield Wines

and Hamilton House Plastic Surgery

“The big difference between William Buck and the others is there is intimacy with the relationship with the client, such that when you are talking to them you feel as though they are only talking to you and no-one else.”

Tee Ping Koh

“William Buck is our choice in business partner, and a partner we could not do without.”

Scott

Hoyle

“What William Buck has been able to demonstrate so well “We have seen William Buck grow into the huge company they are today, but still retain their personal touch from the front desk, to the advisors, to the various Directors, right up to the Managing Director.”

Rob and Nancy McLean

River Haven Enterprises

“I have been using Giles & Giles/William Buck for 40 plus years. They are reliable and solid. I’ve always been extremely satisfied with their service that they have provided.”

Geof Motley

“At William Buck we feel as though we are part of the family, we feel well treated and looked after. They are always professional, but warm and friendly, and they have good ethical values in terms of looking after our shareholders, and doing things the right way.”

Philip Henshall

Century Orchards

“What William Buck has been able to demonstrate so well is the building of relationships with our team so that at all levels of our organisation and within the individual parts of our business we have a key contact at William Buck who is very responsive and flexible to our needs, ensuring we get the very best advice exactly when we need it.”

Anthony and Michele Kittel

REDARC

“We’ve recently established a US and NZ entity and the introductions that the Adelaide-based William Buck team has made for us in both of those jurisdictions has been absolutely fantastic. William Buck has definitely exceeded our expectations. The ability for them to understand our business and introduce us to their networks has been really important as we’ve grown.”

Chris

Johnson

REDARC

“They are friendly and professional and they listen to determine the right advice that helps you accomplish your goals.”

Daniel

Palumbo

Palumbo

“We have a personal relationship with these people and I think that’s one of the beauties of William Buck. To use the old adage it’s like a big family and you become comfortable and confident in that relationship that you’ve built to know that they have got your best interest as a business at heart.”

Richard Halliday

“William Buck are really interested to understand not only what we are doing but why. With William Buck and Adrian that relationship is profound. They give us confidence in our decision making.”

Spero Chapley

Pasadena and Frewville Foodland

Commercial Retail Group

“We would like to thank all of the staff at William Buck who have helped two generations of our family over the many years. Their advice is appreciated, especially for succession planning, and always conducted in a friendly, amicable way. We value their assistance and hope it continues on into the next generations.”

John and Susan Wilkinson

“I’ve always felt as a specialist that you need to outsource to specialists to manage things, so to me to outsource to William Buck and have the best people taking care of the finances is exactly how I like to do it. William Buck’s been a really important part of my financial life. In fact, it’s been my financial life.”

Professor Toby Coates AO

Director of Kidney and Islet Transplantation

Royal Adelaide Hospital

“William Buck are a big part of our business. We almost treat each other like family. We can confide in them. I always feel a big sense of relief after catching up with our advisors at William Buck. William Buck were instrumental in our Brighton project and we just couldn’t have done it without them.”

Tim Rugless

Brighton Foodland

“Our family’s been dealing with William Buck for over 50 years. We’ve sought advice from William Buck and we’ve trusted what they’ve told us and followed through on that. It’s always worked out well for us and we wouldn’t be in the position we are now without their sound advice.”

Paul and Brett Paterson

“William Buck’s content knowledge of general practice is excellent. You can’t just go to any old accountant for this stuff. It’s not enough even to understand health, you have to understand general practice and these guys really do. They speak our language.”

Danny Byrne

Chandlers Hill Surgery

“We took great confidence in knowing the William Buck team had experience dealing in multi-generational issues with other farming families. They listened, acted professionally and kept us informed along the entire way.”

Adrian Morony

“There is nobody else who knows our business as well as they do. We have been working with them for 40 years and we like their holistic, integrated approach. It enables them to see the big picture.”

Adrian Hewett

“We joined William Buck after they acquired Giles & Giles. Our first adviser was Roger McLaughlin followed by Emma Mather and finally, Tom Laundy. Tom has guided us through many changes in structure, succession and superannuation.”

Brian Ramsey

Ramsey Proprietors

“Whilst there were perceived benefits to being a client of the smaller entity, these were overshadowed by the greater knowledge and resource base of William Buck whose services we continue to appreciate. We note William Buck’s growth aspirations and hope that your firm grows not only in corporate size, but also knowledge and service capability - without losing the important values of trust, honesty and making each client feel ‘valued’.”

Client for over 50 years

“Martin has been a constant help; understanding and never making one feel inadequate however inadequate the question. We are also glad to have had the advice of the Financial Planning arm of the business. Wendy Drake was an inspiration in our early planning days, and Adrian Frinsdorf has kept us on track since.”

Helen and Geoff Fels

“William Buck offers a range of expertise within the business and one thing that stands out is that no matter what the question is, they are able to work through the issues and they are able to get the necessary answers for us.”

Paul Martin

Century Orchards

“William Buck is genuine, trustworthy, empathetic, reliable, humanitarian, knowledgeable. So friendly and pleasant.”

Colin and Jude Hewett

“Papa would certainly be happy that the firm has continued on and hasn’t been gobbled up by another Adelaide firm, but rather has chosen to be part of a bigger brand. Also, the commitment from William Buck Adelaide to capture this history and to ask questions about Papa - I’m sure that’s something he would love to know.”

Crawford Giles

“William Buck are innately embedded in my business at every level from an operator basis all the way through to a Director basis and I appreciate that because William Buck truly do understand my business because they are part of it. They understand us, we understand them. We are willing and active partners working together for the best outcome for this business.”

Mark Laucke

Laucke Flour Mill

2002

Wealth Advisory FUM reaches $500m.

2003

Audit specialist division established.

Wealth Advisory obtains own AFSL.

2006

Jamie McKeough appointed Managing Director.

Expanded Brand and Marketing activities.

2009

Joined Praxity. Merger with Moore Stephens. Staff numbers reach 100.

2010

William Buck Group turnover passes $50m.

2001 Superannuation specialist division established. Joined AGN International.

2004

Merger with Harmer & Associates.

2005 Staff numbers reach 50.

2008

Relocated to 211 Victoria Square. Global Financial Crisis.

2011

Merger with MSI Tilley.

Wealth Advisory FUM reaches $1b. Tax specialist division established.

2014 Corporate Advisory specialist division established.

‘Changing Lives’ brand promise launched.

Merger with Flood Allen.

2015

Investment in technology to allow remote working.

2018

William Buck Group turnover passes $100m.

Wealth Advisory FUM reaches $1.5b

2021

Jamie McKeough appointed Chair of William Buck Australia and New Zealand.

2012

Merger with Lewis Richmond.

2017

Merger with SP Accountants.

Staff numbers reach 150.

2019

Merger with Tregloans.

2020

Merger with MacKenzie Advisory. Managed Funds Administration specialist division established. COVID-19 Pandemic.