25 Years in Business - Rob Reflects on business growth and goals.
The 16th of April is a significant day for me. On this day in 1999 I first stuck up my shingle as RWK
Accountancy and on 16 April 2024 we will celebrate having been in business for 25 years.
As an indulgence to myself I thought I would recap some of the highlights of 25 years in business.
Originally the business was operated from our home in Willetton, we moved from Perth to Dunsborough in December 1999 and I purchased a small parcel of fees from Jacqui Harbison and from these humble origins the business has expanded beyond my wildest dreams. We first started trading in an office upstairs above where the Professionals Dunsborough office is in the middle of Dunsborough. In the office was me, Sharon and receptionist Tarryn, who had been employed by Jacqui previously. Our first employee to join us was Dani who joined in 2001 and she is still a part of the team today.
By 2005 we had outgrown theses premises and we moved to 191 Naturaliste Terrace on the corner of Greenacres Road. The business continued to grow and in 2012 we moved to the current location at 18 Griffin Drive. In 2014 Gemma became a shareholder in the business and has added to its growth since then. Along the way we have set up an office in Dardanup and an office in Bunbury. The Dardanup office closed in 2017 and we moved the staff into the Bunbury office. In 2019 we split the business of Bunbury into its own entity and welcomed Phil and Kingsley as directors and into the ownership of the Bunbury business.
In 2023, Natalie became a shareholder in RWK Dunsborough joining Gemma & myself. Fast forward to 2024, after a turbulent year in 2023 with Sharon going through her Cancer scare and having a young grandson, and hopefully more to come one day. Sharon and I have decided it’s time to take a step back from the business and pursue other goals.
This doesn’t mean that I will be stepping away completely. I will still be available for consulting work through RWK and will still be available for advice, but I won’t be coming into the office every day. To keep it all in house, the shareholders of RWK Bunbury will be purchasing my shareholding in RWK Dunsborough. The day to day operations will be managed by Natalie, but Kingsley and Phil and Gemma will be making regular trips to Dunsborough to meet clients and assist the staff where needed.
I would like to take a little time to introduce Kingsley, Phil, Gemma and Natalie to you. Gemma has been a partner in the business for almost 10 years. Prior to that she had worked in several larger public practice firms and then headed off around Australia, but only got as far as Darwin before returning to the Southwest. Gemma is a bundle of energy and has injected passion and new ideas to our business, which I am sure will continue from here.
A lot of you know Phil, he has been our self-managed superannuation fund specialist for a few years. After completing his degree Phil worked for a couple of firms in Public Practice that were based in Subiaco and Fremantle. He completed his Chartered Accountancy Certificate with a specialisation in the SMSF field. After this he then completed a Master of Taxation and a Diploma in Financial Planning. Phil has a great technical knowledge and will be able to support all our Dunsborough staff with any technical assistance required. Around 2015, Phil moved down to the Southwest, and in 2016 he became a member of the RWK working firstly in the Dardanup office and then relocating to the Bunbury office.
Kingsley had worked as a senior manager with RSM for several years. Kingsley decided to join us in 2017 to become a business owner and have more involvement in the day to day management of the practice. Kingsley brings a wealth of practical knowledge on business growth and managing day to day business operations for his clients.
Natalie has been a CPA for over 20 years. After completing her Accounting degree, she worked for a public practice firm in Perth and then also worked as an accountant for a business based in Perth for about 5 years. In 2005 she moved to Manjimup and worked in Public Practice for about 8 years and then moved to Busselton in 2012. For about 5 years Natalie had her own accountancy practice but decided to close this and join RWK in 2017. Since then she has become a very valuable member of our firm.
I would also like to take some time to thank all the employees that we have had working with us over the years in the Dunsborough, Dardanup and Bunbury offices. We have been blessed to have great employees who in general have worked with the firm for a long period of time and handle the day to day requirements of their clients well. From Dani who has been with us for nearly 23 years to Kylie who joined us a couple of months ago to take over Sharon’s role. Sharon and I would like to sincerely thank you for all your efforts in helping us make this business the great business that it is.
So, to summarise, it is time for Sharon and myself to move on to the next phase of our life. I will still be available to work with clients on an as required basis so don’t feel like you are being left in the lurch. I also have faith that under the guidance of Natalie, Gemma, Phil and Kingsley that the business will continue to move ahead and will be working with our clients to grow and manage their business.
Read more about Our Awesome Team here
