The new Grant Thornton to change industry, benefit staff

4 May 2012

Grant Thornton welcomes the Partners and staff of the former BDO offices in Melbourne and Sydney to the firm.

In an exciting end to months of negotiations, the offices located in Melbourne’s Collins Street and Sydney’s Market Street were swathed in purple overnight, with the new Grant Thornton branding now officially in place.

Almost doubling its size in Melbourne and Sydney, the combination of these leading firms is a big win for staff with leadership teams committed to creating an inspiring workplace for their people and building a strong ‘employer of choice’ status in the market.

Grant Thornton chief executive Robert Quant, who will head the combined firm, says Grant Thornton “has always respected BDO’s practice in Melbourne and Sydney for its strong and collaborative ‘go to market’ approach.

“Our two firms share a clear client service ethic, with great people delivering high quality client service. Like us they understand that genuine industry expertise is an essential element for delivering value to our clients.”

Speaking on behalf of the teams joining the Grant Thornton team, Pat Donato said: “We are excited to bring to our clients and staff the benefits of a truly integrated national firm that shares our passion for delivering exceptional service.”

The completed transaction saw 48 partners and 399 staff join Grant Thornton. Quant said the transaction marks a significant milestone in our journey to realise our 2015 ambition: to become the leading advisor to Australia’s most dynamic organisations. 

“This transaction will reshape the accounting and advisory market. Although we will substantially increase our footprint in Sydney and Melbourne, this is not just about becoming bigger.  We are creating something that is genuinely new and different: a firm that is focused on a type of client, not necessarily the size of clients; a firm that has a structure that enables agility in decision-making and client service; a firm with nationally integrated systems, processes and incentives that apply to all; a team of people who have a broad perspective, skill set and a commercial instinct for growth; and a firm that is part of a global network that is prepared to invest in our development and further growth. 

No other firm can offer this combination to its clients and people,” Quant said.

Quant said now the firms had officially come together, he was determined to harness the potential of our combined talent, expertise and industry insight to help our clients and people unlock their potential for growth. 

"The platform we have created through this injection of talent and capability into our firm will benefit all of us.  We have created a stronger firm nationally.  Our combined revenue of around $230m, driven by over 150 Partners and nearly 1300 staff, will strengthen our capacity to invest in the skills, capabilities and careers of our people wherever they are based,” he said.

About Grant Thornton Australia Limited
Grant Thornton Australia provides audit, tax and advisory services to dynamic, growing organisations and is a single national firm operating from five offices, with 140 Partners, 1,300 people across Australia and national turnover of AUD $158 million. Grant Thornton International is the fastest growing international accounting network in the world, with a global turnover of US$3.7billion and more than 30,000 people and 2,500 partners.

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