Jason Wall and Peter Angelini tell us how Stannards Accountants and Advisors, leading professional advisors to business owners and individuals are helping their Dealership clients manage their businesses in difficult times

 

Tell us about the history of Stannards?

 

Stannards has been in business for approximately sixty years as a family based accountanting practice. We have evolved throughout those sixty years to become a four partner practice with 35 staff. Marino Angelini is the Managing Partner, together with Michael Shulman, Nello Traficante and myself, Jason Wall. We all have varying backgrounds and specialise within a mix of industries. One of our biggest profiles is the motor industry. We have about 35 to 40 motor retail clients. We also act for other industry bodies such as Dealer Councils and large motor vehicle wholesalers. The firm also specialise’s in other industries such as hospitality, building and construction, manufacturing and medical practitioners/specialists.

 

Our clients vary in dimension from mum and dad type businesses that turn over less than one million dollars to multi-nationals that turn over close to a billion dollars.

 

What services do you provide?

 

The services we provide are traditional accounting services; tax, auditing, business advisory and superannuation. We are very involved with our clients in terms of their business operations. That is one of our strengths. The Partners are very hands on and this assists us in understanding our clients industries. As a result we complete various levels of consulting work such as operational reviews, benchmarking performance, business planning, wealth accumulation and succession planning.

 

How did you come to specialise in the automotive industry?

 

It has been evolving for a number of years. I joined the practice in 2003. Marino at that stage had about 15 motor industry clients. I was involved in the motor industry at another firm and once we joined forces, our client base has grown to approximately 35 to 40 motor retail clients. We are now viewed as one of the leading professional advisory firms in the industry. We are very cost effective and offer our clients an hands on approach, which one may not necessarily experience at a larger firm.

 

What differentiates Stannards services ?

 

The choice of professional advisors comes down to three key issues in my opinion. Firstly, I believe you have to have the necessary technical skills and experience to be able to advise appropriately in the motor industry. As we deal in that industry day to day we understand the topical issues, market trends and best business practices. It is a very challenging industry and we keep up to speed by talking to our Dealer Principal clients on a daily basis. Secondly, business owners like to deal with people who they like and trust. We believe that we are good people and are very trustworthy. We tell it the way it is. I believe that comes out in our relationships and the longevity we have with our clients. So trust and being approachable is important. Thirdly, in these economic times price and more importantly value for money is critical. We are very cost competitive and commonly when tendering against our competitors, are between 20 – 30 percent lower than their price.

 

In these difficult economic conditions what are the key challenges facing your motor Dealersip clients and what are some of the things Stannards are doing to assist them in managing these challenges?

 

Certainly these times are unprecedented in terms of economic volatility. This is causing serious pressure on our motor dealer clients. In order to assist our clients on a proactive basis we have been preparing thorough finance applications supported by budgets / cash flows, preparing financial statements earlier than required, analysing procedures and controls and generally reviewing ways to improve liquidity.

 

The upside of these tough economic times is that every Dealer Principal is vigorously reviewing their business models. This includes becoming stricter on internal controls, cash usage, debtor collection, stock management, overheads and staff productivity. These items seem to slip off the agenda during strong market conditions. In to the future, when economic conditions improve, we believe that dealerships should be significantly leaner and more efficient, capable of delivering a much better return on investment for their owners.

 

Peter, you are a new addition to Stannards and have also been dealing with the motor industry clients for a few years at a larger firm, tell us about your background and the differences between the two?

 

Peter - I actually first started here at Stannards when I was at uni and then I went on to travel. When I returned to Australia I went on to work at Deloittes for five years and completed my Chartered Accountancy there. While I was there I worked on three or four large motor dealers which provided an insight into the industry. During this time, I was exposed to many different industries, however I predominately focussed on automotive and manufacturing clients. Since rejoining Stannards, I have initially helped out Jason and the team working with our motor clients. The major thing I have noticed since joining the team is the efficiency in which Stannards process client work compared to larger firms and the hands on training. I get to watch and learn from people like Jason who has dealt with most scenarios before.

 

What makes Stannards an employer of choice?

 

We have always been a young practice and a very successful and profitable one. We always try to recruit people who are better than ourselves, because odds are the practice will end up in their hands in the future. We are very proud of the people we have here and position ourselves as an employer of choice. We have a very relaxed atmosphere and flexible working hours. We have women that have young children and have to leave at 3.30 - 4pm. They do what they have to do to be a parent and also know what is required to get the job done. We have a lot of fun in the office while also maintaining a high professional standard.

 

Peter - That’s another thing I have noticed having seen the business develop since I was a kid. It has gone from a very old school type of business to a modern boutique accounting practice. Many of the things you find in a bigger firm are now here with the same kind of benefits.

 

Jason - You are probably exposed to the practical client issues a lot sooner here too. Your on the job skills are advanced far quicker. These days you have to be competitive with larger firms to retain quality staff. We are proud of our staff retention rate which is high. We like to think that as an employer we genuinely care about providing our staff with a rewarding and challenging career path.

 

If readers are interested in approaching Stannards to seek assistance or advice, what can they expect in terms of your approach?

 

We often initially provide services on a consultancy basis, so that potential clients can try before they buy. Once we have proved ourselves on a consulting basis, they generally want the full suite of professional services. These consulting services vary but may include finance applications, franchise applications, budgeting exercises, internal reviews, benchmarking or restructuring of their businesses.

 

Once they see us in action over a period of time they generally want to commit to the whole service. We understand that choosing your accountant is a very personal matter. We pride ourselves on building trusting and valued relationships with our clients, hopefully leading to a long and fulfilling experience.

 

Anyone interested in approaching Stannards should contact the office on    03 9867 4433    or email jason.wall@stannards.com.au

 

INSPIRING VALUES

 

At Stannards we live our culture and values. We strive to be the best professional services advisors by:

 

• Meeting and exceeding client expectations

• Having open, honest and constructive communication

• Operating as a team

• Recruiting and training talented people

• Wanting clients to be our advocates

• Having fun and celebrating our successes