Prominent tax accountant Peter Moltoni has left the recently merged BDO Kendalls practice to establish a new firm in Subiaco.
Prominent tax accountant Peter Moltoni has left the recently merged BDO Kendalls practice to establish a new firm in Subiaco.
Mr Moltoni has been joined by former BDO Kendalls director, Craig Miller, to establish the new firm, which will trade as M Squared & Associates.
“It basically came down to the merger,” Mr Moltoni said when explaining his move.
“From the very beginning there was a difference in the culture and values of the two firms. Craig and I had become more disenchanted over time.”
Mr Moltoni, who was with the old Horwath practice before the April merger, said BDO had a more rigid and formal communication style.
He added that the merged firm, with 14 directors and about 160 staff, was top heavy.
BDO Kendalls chairman David Stephens, who also came from the old Horwath practice, agreed that the merger did create “quite a different environment” but did not consider this a problem.
“I think the key thing is a big firm versus a small firm,” Mr Stephens said. “Pete wanted to get back to being in a small firm.”
Six accounting staff had moved to the new firm, while BDO still had 50 staff working in corporate tax.
Mr Moltoni, who is president of the Tax Institute of WA, said he and Mr Miller had enjoyed great support from their clients.
He added that suppliers had also helped, which would enable the firm to move into new premises this month.
Mr Stephens said BDO was keen to promote or recruit new directors, particularly in the fast-growing audit practice and in corporate tax.
Meanwhile, Adelaide accounting firm mhm has opened for business in Perth, just a few months after it opened a Hong Kong office.
The 15-year-old practice, which has 100 staff specialising in accounting, corporate finance and management consulting, has been attracted to Perth by Western Australia’s rapid growth.
One of mhm’s founding partners, Grant Mitchell, is commuting to Perth to oversee the new office, which has 2.5 staff, and the recruitment of extra staff.
“We plan to recruit extensively from Perth as the business grows,” Mr Mitchell said.
mhm managing partner John Hood said the Perth office would assist the national growth of its clients and enable the firm to get closer to WA’s booming economy.
