Canterbury accounting firms merge to form Nexia New Zealand

Canterbury accounting firms merge to form Nexia New Zealand

Two leading Canterbury accounting firms, HFK and Marriotts, have merged under the name Nexia New Zealand. The new company starts trading on April 1.

Combined, Nexia New Zealand will have a staff of approximately 90 and will ultimately come together under one roof, probably early next year.

Mike Medlicott, Joint Managing Partner, said that the firm is responding to the rapidly changing business environment by combining the strengths of the two firms.

“This will allow Nexia New Zealand to offer a broader and deeper range of services to clients, as well as maintaining our access to an international network of accounting firms.

“We are also extremely proud of having three women shareholders out of a total of nine, which goes against recent New Zealand trends of having decreasing numbers of women in leadership roles,” he said.

Greg Cowles, Joint Managing Partner, said that in the last five years the accounting and advisory market has become much more sophisticated.

“Exporters continue to grow, international value chains are more complex, and the increasing number of markets our clients are competing in means Nexia International will be able to add real value to our current and potential clients.

“New cloud-based technology has added another layer to the services we offer and the way we intereact with our clients. With technology evolving so quickly, we are also able to offer a capability in integrating international financial systems from here in Christchurch,” he said.

Both firms are leaders in the mid-tier professional accounting advice and services category. Marriotts has a strong reputation in the agribusiness, manufacturing, hospitality and trade services sectors while HFK is well known for its work in the health, property and corporate recovery sectors.

Medlicott said that the new company is the right size for Nexia New Zealand to continue to deliver the ‘Canterbury’ personal service for which both companies were renowned, and through which both have built a reputation of trust.

Graeme Marriott, a founding Partner of Marriotts, and Michael Keyse, a joint founding Partner of HFK Limited, were both strongly in favour of the merger.

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