McKinley Plowman joins international alliance

Joondalup-based accounting firm McKinley Plowman has joined the MSI Global Alliance, after recruiting a new director from a rival firm.

Subiaco-based Marsdens was the Western Australian member for MSI network from 1996 until the end of June this year.

However, MSI signed up McKinley Plowman in mid-August, after Alec Blacklaw joined the firm as a director from his previous role as a director at Marsdens.

Mr Blacklaw is also MSI area representative for the Asia Pacific.

"The process is pretty robust, so notwithstanding (my involvement) they still flew out to do the whole peer review and there were no shortcuts," Mr Blacklaw said.

"McKinley Plowman definitely got in there on their own merits, but that's how the connection came." 

He said the MSI Global Alliance usually had one accounting firm and one law firm in each state.

"I guess it's a real coup for McKinley Plowman because it may otherwise have been a more city based firm," Mr Blacklaw said.

Marsdens director Marissa Bennett said her firm, which has existed in various partnerships and sizes for about 40 years, was now looking to grow in time from its current staff of six accountants and 10 total employees.

"I have the utmost praise for the MSI Alliance; it wasn't that I didn't want to be with them, it was part of Alec exiting Marsdens," she said.

Mr Blacklaw said McKinley Plowman had been interested in joining an international alliance for some time after recognising that some of its clients required it, and to help it almost double its current size of 40 staff including 27 accountants within three years.

McKinley Plowman has three core business activities – a business advisory service with a specialist tax arm subset, a finance department that assists with business's funding requirements and wealth creation, and a financial planning division.

Since joining as a member of MSI Global Alliance, McKinley Plowman has improved on its pension transfer service for WA residents who have moved from the UK or South Africa.

Mr Blacklaw said the global alliance allowed member firms to remain independent and McKinley Plowman would not be exercising its option to add MSI to its name.

"We can still carry on business the way that we always have," he said.

Mr Blacklaw said MSI firms didn't have to conform with uniform processes or marketing standards often seen with large corporate firms, but that its clients would benefit from a network of shared knowledge.

"We're trying to have the best of both worlds."