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The firm is entering into a new phase with the appointment of joint managing partners as it looks to continue its ambitious growth agenda.
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Nexia Melbourne heralds next era of innovative management
17 March 2022
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Nexia Melbourne has appointed new joint managing partners, Paul Clement and Vito Interlandi, to lead the firm and will replace outgoing managing partner Paul Dal Bosco after 14 years at the helm.
The partner group has made the decision that 2022 is the perfect time to refocus and realign Nexia to optimise the growth of the business for the future.
The firm said it was looking to build on a greater ability and opportunity to provide clients with specialised and integrated services, heralding “a new era of management.”
It said the appointment of joint managing partners would bring a strategic focus and allocated functional responsibilities to drive further growth.
In conjunction with other partners and through team collaboration, Mr Interlandi and Mr Clements would continue to drive the expansion of traditional accounting firm services. These now included a range of integrated services such as accounting, audit, tax, management consulting, business and corporate advisory plus a refocus of a “client-centric” approach to all areas of the firm’s services.
“The firm is taking a proactive approach and working with clients to set and achieve their goals through an integrated service offering where our clients can obtain a range of specialist advice and services including financial planning, corporate advisory and management consulting, tax consulting, HR consulting, and migration services now that covid is lifting,” Mr Clements told Accountants Daily.
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“This was escalated through covid to assist clients to retain their businesses and now with covid lifting, it’s now about ‘how do we help grow the businesses for our clients through a partnering approach’.
“Our client-centric approach means that our clients are at the centre of everything we do – consequently, our team is focused on identifying key areas where we can assist in enhancing the financial well being of our clients.”
Mr Interlandi said the firm had seen more start-up businesses, crypto investments and was developing an enhanced service offering around sustainability and the paradigm shift in the energy sector.
“Businesses that were successful through covid are looking to merger-and-acquisition activity and the firm partners with clients on such activities,” he said.
“This is in addition to assisting clients with regular operations and helping them make informed decisions with the most up-to-date data. The firm also through covid and beyond assisted businesses from making financial mistakes that could cost money and also ensured all grants were maximised. Covid has focused attention on contingency planning and downside risk management.”
Tackling the recruitment shortage
Mr Clements said that as the firm continued to grow, it had been hit by a “war for talent”, with huge competition across the accounting sector.
“The Big Four and other firms have been targeting firms such as ours – accordingly we have refocused with a Team First imperative,” he said.
“This involves a greater focus on engagement actions and strategies to retain our great team members, to enhance our employer-of-choice objectives. We are revisiting and expanding our outsourcing across all divisions to ensure we continue to have sufficient resources to support our team and clients.”
Mr Clements said the firm had set up a rolling bank of undergraduates and graduates who were recruited to be on hand for accounting, consulting, shared services overflow or project work.
“The firm is also seeking to automate everything that can be automated for streamlining so that the advisors can truly be providing value-add advice and service,” Mr Clements said.
“The firm is also investing in upskilling of team members, appointing internal champions, and focusing on retention of staff through providing flexible work practices.”
Embracing firm-wide tech adoption
The onset of the pandemic has also seen the increasing pressure for accounting firms to use technology to drive efficiency.
Mr Interlandi said Nexia was focused on ensuring both the firm and its clients were seeing the benefits of these massive changes.
“Our firm quickly adapted to remote working and recognises the importance of cyber security risk – this is foremost through technology platforms as well as through educating all firm and client team members,” he said.
“In addition, the firm is continuously seeking better ways of doing things – a continuous improvement philosophy, through the use of technology.
“As an example, we are always reviewing our processes and the technology used to support those processes.
“Recently we moved to a new HRIS/payroll approach across the firm to ensure maximum efficiencies and effectiveness and this is already happening. Everything is now further streamlined through the HR/payroll process from performance reviews through to recognition awards and super payments etc.”
Mr Clements said adopting new methods of advice delivery through tech would also democratise planning and advice.
“The financial plan is becoming even more critical as it is the lens through which all wealth management activities are examined and executed,” he said.
“This means we are encouraging our financial professionals to embrace the benefits of new technology to facilitate scalable holistic planning as well as the accounting and advisory professionals.”
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