Personal, reliable, positive and professional service
July 2012 marks another important milestone in the life of leading Green Triangle accounting and advisory firm, Sinclair Wilson.
Three new partners are to be admitted into the partnership from July – Scott Dickie and Craig Telford, who are based in the Warrnambool head office and Chris McDonald in the Hamilton office. In addition, Financial Planner Adam Smith steps up to a directorship in the firm’s licensed Financial Planning / Investment Advisors arm, Sinclair Wilson Investment Services Pty Ltd.
Peter McMillan becomes only the fifth partner to depart the partnership in its 63 year history, after an amazing 48 years at the firm.
Despite such a long stint, Peter’s enthusiasm for the practice and his work have remained strong “I just wish I were 20 years younger” the 65 year old laments, “but time doesn’t stand still for any of us – public accounting has become an increasingly vigorous and onerous industry, with the regulatory and technological demands giving rise to the need for bright young and energetic people to be consistently brought through and given opportunities”.
“There are great careers to be had in public accounting” McMillan explains, provided the accountant and the firm have the right outlook “look after your clients and do the best you can for them and be positive about the world – with hard work and care the rest should fall into place as it did for me”.
Over his career Peter has served the needs of many farming, retail and commercial businesses and has been involved with the advent of specialist services such as private superannuation, investment advice and succession planning at Sinclair Wilson, including to the broader Green Triangle region where the firm now has permanent offices at Mt Gambier, Hamilton and Camperdown. The firm now has 21 partners and over 100 staff.
“Whilst big is not always better, I worry how small firms will be able to survive into the future…. I know it might sound like a clever marketer’s play on words, but Sinclair Wilson’s point of difference branding “Strength in Numbers” is so true – for all the competing claims that accountants and certain clients may make about their firms, and the merits or otherwise about size – what Sinclair Wilson’s growth and pre-eminence in the regional market has shown me is that our model must work, or our clients would not have supported our growth – and I sincerely thank them that they have and continue to do so”.
McMillan served as senior partner from 2006 to 2011 and cites that as the highlight of his time at the firm, overseeing the opening of the Hamilton office and the move from the Palais building to 257 Timor Street, as the firm’s headquarters “That would not have been possible, of course, without the support of all the partners and staff, including those before me who have left their legacy of a harmonious forward looking partnership ethos”.On this, current practice Chairman, Perry Cho points out that “Peter will continue on until Christmas time as a consultant and will then hopefully follow Bill Phillpot and Bill Sinclair as other retired senior partners of the firm who continue to frequent the office, helping out with client matters as needs arise, mentoring young staff and partners, making sure the strong culture and high standards of the practice are carried on”.
Perry adds “Sinclair Wilson now really is an institution in the local area, and we are just the custodians of it at the present. We owe it to our clients to make sure that as we grow, the reason we came to being is not lost – essentially the Sinclair Wilson brand of personal reliable positive professional service – I think its great that Peter and the “two Bills” think enough of the place and our role in the community to continue to take an interest that it all still happens”.