“It has been a wonderful journey” remarked Cho this week, referring to his decision to leave Malaysia and study at the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education in the early 1970’s, which grew into a highly successful career at Sinclair Wilson, and more importantly, a whole life in the district.
“I was one of the few overseas students who stayed on in the area, and I can’t thank Bill Sinclair, Bill Phillpot and Peter McMillan enough for the opportunity to do so. Sinclair Wilson’s philosophy has always been to give new things a try, to give people a chance, to be innovative, even groundbreaking. At least on a local level our accounting firm pioneered private superannuation funds and licensed financial advice. It was the first major professional services firm with female Principals – and even imports like me! I didn’t even have a footy team when I came here, although some might say I still don’t” quips Cho who is renowned for his sense of humour, despite barracking for Carlton.
As testament to the firm’s commitment to innovation, the highlight of Cho’s career was being awarded the Warrnambool Business Achiever of the Year in 1997. This was in recognition of the sophisticated cashflow budgeting software that he wrote and sold for Solution 6, being the largest accounting software provider in Australia (now MYOB). Cho, who is keen to share the credit with others reinforces “the firm backed me and resourced me in this, and we have such a great number of talented people at Sinclair Wilson – the sort of new work our younger people are doing right now, is just fantastic”.
Notwithstanding this short brush with fame, and leading the firm’s embrace of technology and establishing the local PC Users Group, it is the relationships that Cho has forged with clients that he most values when looking back at his achievements over the years.
“I wish to sincerely thank those clients who have supported me – not only did they give me a go, but they welcomed me into their businesses and very often their families”.
“Sinclair Wilson is family to me too”, stresses Cho, “whilst the firm has grown with offices and 130 people spread across the Green Triangle Area, it is highly integrated and personalised with tightly knit groups so that personnel can easily support each other and closely service clients. A team approach is so important at Sinclair Wilson, it may appear a cliché, but we really do have strength in numbers”. Perry has had a long association with clients throughout the smaller regional townships of Western Victoria, none more so than Timboon, where Perry opened an office to service many clients that sought professional services close to their business operations. Perry commented “developing this presence in local communities is vital for business development, and I have been pleased to introduce Scott Dickie and Stephen Davies to many of the clients from this region over the years. Both Scott and Stephen will continue my legacy by visiting Timboon on a weekly basis”.
Whilst Cho will continue on as a consultant to the firm, and so will be able to remain in contact with many Sinclair Wilson clients, he is looking forward to being able to spend more time with his wife Rose and their family. Typically, Perry won’t take long to rest before continuing his journey.
“I am also looking forward to further developing my interest in photography, which I have started to focus on in recent years, not just as an official photographer at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the May Races, but also freelance. The Southwest is such a beautiful place to work, live and photograph”.
Originally published in the Warrnambool Standard on Saturday July 1 2017.
