William Buck merges with Melbourne accountancy


Mid-tier accounting and advisory firm, William Buck, has announced a merger with Melbourne-based accounting firm, BR Wellington, which provides services across small-to-medium businesses in their growth phase.
The firm said this had been its sixth merger since 2019 and would help enhance its service offering to Melbourne clients and become the leading advisory firm to mid-market clients.
Additionally, the merger was expected to bring together BR’s client base and William Buck’s resources, effective 13 September, 2021.
William Buck’s director, Neil Brennan, said both firms shared the same value proposition of providing exceptional client services and building lasting relationships.
“Like with each of our past mergers, this decision was designed to create an environment where we can improve on our delivery of superior client experiences,” he said.
“The addition of BR Wellington’s expertise enables us to provide increased value and choice for our clients while building new long-term relationships based on trust.
“We feel that clients of both firms now have access to an expanded team of advisers to realise their business and financial goals.”
Brennan also said that the merger would strengthen William Buck’s offering to Victorian clients that operated in property or were looking to tap into the sector.
Under the terms of the merger, all BR Wellington employees would relocate to William Buck’s Melbourne office and would be rebranded as part of William Buck Australia and New Zealand.
Recommended for you
ASIC has banned a Queensland adviser from providing financial services for five years after failing to provide appropriate advice that was in the best interest of his clients.
Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has said it is not a “backdoor attempt” by the government to allow the new class of adviser to provide full advice.
The financial advice industry has seen a net loss after 10 consecutive weeks of net growth in adviser numbers, according to Wealth Data.
Only 11 per cent of financial advice practices have said they are including crypto products on their approved products lists, according to CoreData.