Deloitte expands team serving Wellington business clients

Deloitte expands team serving Wellington small business clients

Deloitte today announced it has acquired Wellington chartered accountants Openside CA Ltd and appointed its chief executive Stephen Nicholas as a Deloitte accounting and advisory partner.

Mr Nicholas, who will be based in Deloitte's Wellington office, also brings with him three senior analysts from the team at Openside. The firm specialised in serving a range of fast-growing small business clients, particularly in the IT sector.

He says he's particularly excited about the scale of resources and expertise that Deloitte offers, and the consequent benefits for clients of being able to access comprehensive and integrated services.

"The wealth and breadth of experience and specialist knowledge that the Deloitte network possesses has really struck me, and I'm looking forward to tapping into that expertise for the benefit of my existing and future clients.

"What has also pleasantly surprised me is the extent to which a Big Four accounting firm such as Deloitte is already working with small businesses and how much value they can add to these businesses."

Mr Nicholas brings a unique skill set to his advisory work with clients, having owned and operated a small business himself in the past.

"I think I bring a level of pragmatism to my dealings with small business owners. I know what it's like being in the hot seat and about some of the stresses and issues they have to deal with on a daily basis, so I aim to provide workable, practical solutions.

"Most business people are juggling numerous balls at one time, so when they need help from external advisers they tend to need it quickly and easily. That often requires developing some creative and innovative solutions - a challenge I relish."

Mr Nicholas says Deloitte's focus on developing innovative tools and products was another strong draw card, and was a natural fit for his own approach to service delivery. For instance, in his previous role he oversaw the development of an iPhone app to help clients stay in touch and access their accounting information remotely.

"Increasingly, businesses are looking for services that suit the way they operate, rather than using one standardised model. So that means we have to be creative about how we deliver to them, providing a range of flexible solutions and not taking a one-size-fits-all approach."

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