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How a network was created: Twenty-five years of Staples Rodway
It’s the 25-year anniversary of our Staples Rodway New Zealand network. Today we look back on our history and the moment of serendipity that led to what one partner describes as “the strangest bit of due diligence” he’s ever been involved in.
Time to read: 6 mins
It was the late 1990s. National was at the helm of New Zealand politics and the Big Eight accounting networks had nearly whittled down to the Big Four. Away from the metropolitan areas of the country, several regional offices belonging to one of those networks were uncomfortable with the direction of the firm and its heightened shift to an international and public company focus.
One of the disaffected was Chris Lynch from New Plymouth branch. He and his fellow partners wanted to be in control of their own business, make decisions relevant to their market and continue having direct relationships with clients.
The Hamilton and Hawke’s Bay branches felt the same, so their senior leaders decided to form or become part of another network. Chris refers to them as The Change Group, comprising him and Robin Brockie from Taranaki, Peter Bridges from Waikato and Phillipa Gardiner from Hawke’s Bay.
“We’d seen the benefits of a wider grouping. We wanted another model with the same deep knowledge and sharing of benefits, but which allowed offices to stand on their own merits,” says Chris. “We thought if we had alignment of values and strategy then it would be way better, and so it proved to be.”
Two good firms were recommended but the change group’s meeting with Staples Rodway in Auckland had a serendipitous quality. The business produced the prestigious Staples Tax Guide, was a member of Summit International (predecessor to Baker Tilly International) and was looking to expand to other New Zealand centres.
For their part, Staples Rodway senior leaders Rob Matthews, Peter Guise and John Wadams liked the change group and thought their offices had good pedigree.
The offices all shared values, principles, aspirations and were focused on being hands-on, trusted advisors to their clients. Staples Rodway also had quite a few female partners, which the change group liked. They all wanted to develop and create opportunities for their people.
The boardroom they met in was broadly devoted to the late Arch Moore – former colleague of Chris and his breakaway cohort. “There were photos of Arch all over the walls, and company seal machines that he’d collected,” he says. “Arch had become a Staples Rodway director some time previously, but had died in tragic circumstances, and they clearly loved this guy. They really liked someone that we also really liked and we thought, ‘this is promising’.”
Thereafter followed what Chris describes as the strangest bit of due diligence he’s ever been involved with. “We walked out onto Queen St, looked at each other and said, ‘right, that is the firm’. Sometimes you just know. And here we are 25 years later.”
“We wanted another model with the same deep knowledge and sharing of benefits, but which allowed offices to stand on their own merits. We thought if we had alignment of values and strategy then it would be way better, and so it proved to be.”
– Baker Tilly Staples Rodway tax director Chris Lynch
A new era begins
Staples Rodway New Zealand’s first board meeting was in 1999. In subsequent years the network was joined by our Tauranga, Christchurch and Wellington offices.
The first chair was the personable and down-to-earth Aucklander Peter Guise. Where some big-city accountants might look down on regional contemporaries, he understood provincial New Zealand and practised mutual respect. It was refreshing, says Chris, who describes Peter as “the right guy, in the right place, at the right time”.
Peter’s respect for the provinces is hardly surprising – he grew up in Waikato. “Provincial New Zealand is the heart of New Zealand,” he says. “We’re still an agriculturally based country and agriculture doesn’t come from the city it comes from the provinces.”
The board created key strategies, including staff development, putting a lot of money into training and development, and growing Staples Rodway New Zealand.
From the outset, it was decided each region would have a director on the board, partners would have a share in the network and new partners would need to meet and be approved by the board. Each office would be reviewed by other Staples Rodway firms. There would be nationally based professional indemnity, accountability and help – and the autonomy of a federated model.
“Our practices are all shaped a bit differently,” says Chris. “We each run our own balance sheet, but there are things we share and jointly invest in, and it's just such a nice model.
“It does mean you can't drive strategy centrally. If you've got ideas that you think are good for the for the wider firms, you've got to bring everybody with you, but the good stuff we unlock well outweighs what we can't easily reach in terms of collective benefits. There's a massive amount of synergy across the network. We're there by choice and we choose to contribute.”
Eighteen months after formation, the network began holding its annual national partner conference, where all the national directors and their spouses gather for a couple of days. It’s a great way to build rapport, says Peter.
Another aim of the founders had been for partners to develop and continuously grow their skills, so it created an interesting culture of constant improvement and multiple specialties.
But one of its main requirements was that the network’s leaders be good people. “There were other attributes that we were looking for, but to me, being a good person first is what makes the whole thing work,” says Chris. “Also, we want people who want to grow themselves and grow the firm, and the more we can grow, the more opportunities we create for people.”
The network has only had two chairmen across 25 years. Chris says it shows we've been heading in the right direction. “And (current chairman) David Searle is doing a great job of taking it forward.”
Today the network has 63 directors and 423 additional team members working in eight offices nationally. It also has a multi-office audit practice, which was set up in 2017.
Internationally, we have been a member of the Baker Tilly Network (previously named Summit) for our full 25 years. It’s the tenth largest accounting network in the world and Baker Tilly was named Network of the Year at the international Accounting Forum & Awards in 2023. During that 25 years we have also developed a very strong relationship with Australian accounting, audit and business advisory powerhouse Pitcher Partners.
In 2019, we added Baker Tilly to the front of our name to show our international alignment.
But we haven’t forgotten our roots. Many of the strategies adopted during our formation are still in place and our regional firms work well together, says Peter.
“I think we’ve got a very good network,” he says. “It’s been great to see how everybody has worked together over those 25 years. And in the future I’d like to see us grow the network within New Zealand.”