Grant Thornton works on the inside

Two months after the accountants at Bentleys MRI Perth joined the Grant Thornton network, they have undertaken a striking refurbishment of their West Perth office.

The firm hopes its new-look audit team office will assist it in the recruitment stakes and allow more current staff to work off-site.

Marshall Kusinski Design Consultants has taken to the 400 square metre floor with a colour palette of black, white and bright green, which Grant Thornton will likely replicate across its entire office on Kings Park Road in future.

Essential to the design intent and success of the refurbishment is the latest Schiavello ‘hot desk’ office furniture and an open staff hub and balcony for client and staff entertaining.

Completing the look is a graphic ‘numbers wall’ made of black and white Knoll Textiles wall vinyl that makes a bold statement across a large wall in the open plan work area.

Marshall Kusinski designer Tracy Bear said Grant Thornton was keen to enhance its profile with a fresh look that would increase graduate interest in the current market.

“The old fit-out was a bit of a rabbit warren but the refurbishment has allowed the firm to use their space more efficiently and draw more natural light into the interior,” she said.

All workstations were converted to “hot desks”, which any member of the busy audit team can use, Ms Bear said, which helped the project to achieve an efficient employee space ration of 10.5sqm.

Grant Thornton head of assurance services in Western Australia, Jeff Vibert, said the refurbishment represented a substantial investment for the company and would help it maintain organic growth.

Where the office once accommodated up to 37 people, Mr Vibert said it could now fit about 50 people with room to spare.

“We recognised that the previous office was not going to serve our purposes in the longer term. I think we need flexibility in the premises to allow us to grow,” he said.

“Staff feedback demonstrated that the premises were important to them and their experience with us.”

Mr Vibert said recruiting the right people in the current economic climate was important as it was looking to grow its staff of 110 people.

Just two months ago, the 12-partner local Bentleys MRI team switched allegiance to join the national Grant Thornton network.

The Bentleys MRI Perth partnership has filled the void created in the Grant Thornton network earlier this year when its four-partner local team sold their practice into listed Melbourne-based professional services consolidator WHK Group, which operates under the Horwath name.