Issue 1 - Polson Higgs

Office move on the horizonPolson Higgs staff in Christchurch arepreparing for a mid-year shift into newpremises in Club Tower, the city's first newtop tier office building in almost 20 years.Construction has almost been completedon the 12 level building, on the corner ofWorcester Boulevard and Cambridge Tce,next to the site of the new Civic Chambers.Partner Michael Rondel said Club Tower- the first South Island building to achieve afive star rating under the New Zealand GreenBuilding Council rating system - fits PolsonHiggs's philosophy of sustainability andgood business practice. Club Tower will beenvironmentally efficient in terms of energy,water use and the ability for recycling on site.The building will also include three levelsof car parking (basement, ground and first),nine storeys of office space and retail / caféspace on the ground floor. It has providedthe solution to Polson Higgs's two-yearsearch for new headquarters within the CBD."The major driver has always been findinga more efficient accommodation for ourteam, so that they can work more effectivelytogether," Mr Rondel said.Improvements would include theopportunity to have people who workedtogether grouped beside each other, aninternal stairway for easy access betweenthe two floors, a suite of client meeting andinterview rooms, and a better cafeteria.Mr Rondel said the move was aninvestment in the future for Polson Higgsand would be a major factor in helping retainquality staff while offering superior serviceto clients.Club Tower is named after the CanterburyClub, which sold some of its land to housethe premium office building - in turn gainingmuch-needed funding for renovations to its133-year-old building.Polson Higgs clients will be kept informedabout the timing of the move, and staff arelooking forward to showing clients throughtheir new premises.Fresh challenge forformer partnerDavid Cope, a founding partner of Polson Higgs inChristchurch, is taking his career full circle.David has decided to set up his own practice, Cope Shearing,from 1 April 2009, which is based in Mandeville St, Riccarton.He said it had been a major achievement in the last nineyears to assist in bringing Polson Higgs to a point where it isa well-known and respected medium-sized accountingpartnership within Christchurch. During this time the businesshad experienced rapid growth going from two to six partners.David, a Business Services specialist, will head a team thatincludes Lynn Shearing (nee Fleming) and other staff who haveworked closely with him. They include Brenda Nagle, who wasDavid's administrator when he set up in sole practice in 1976."I feel like I am completing the circle by moving into a smallfirm again. I'm leaving Polson Higgs amicably and the twofirms will continue to have a close professional relationship,"David said.David's decision to leave the partnership was partly basedon his desire to run a more traditional accounting practicewhile Polson Higgs was pursuing a strategy of providingbusiness advice through an integrated range of services.After nine years in sole practice, in 1985 David merged hisfirst business with Hogg Young Cathie, a national firm centredin Wellington. It later became known as BDO and for four yearshe was the national managing partner. In 2000 the Christchurchoffice of BDO decided to merge with Dunedin based PolsonHiggs, which was looking to establish another branch.David said the current difficult financial climate means thathe and other staff will continue to work closely with their clientsto help with their problems.Function supports newathletics eventPolson Higgs senior staff and clients enjoyed the experienceof being trackside at the International Track Meet held at QEII inChristchurch recently.Polson Higgs was a silver sponsor of one of the keynote eventson the programme, the women's mile. This event was chosenbecause a few years ago it was won by Debbie Sherratt, a senioraccountant with Polson Higgs. Debbie was a professional athletewhose successes included being the world duathlon champion.At the end of the race, she presented the trophy to the winner, KailaMcKnight of Australia.Polson Higgs Partner Michael Rondel said it was rewarding tobe able to support a new international sports event, which broughtathletes from four countries to Christchurch. "Clients and staffenjoyed the night and being able to see the action on the track soclose from our position in the corporate marquee."Highlights from the meet included a New Zealand record in thewomen's 200m and an Australian record in the junior men's 3000m.Debbie said it was unfortunate that the two biggest names onthe programme, New Zealand's Olympic bronze medallist NickWillis and British athlete Andrew Baddley suffered injuries and wereforced to withdraw. However, Polson Higgs enjoyed the chance tosupport a minority sport and she was confident the event had thepotential to be a worthwhile addition to Christchurch's sportingcalendar,"There were some very good times on the night and it was alsoan amazing chance for some school athletes to race in a relay atan international track meet. Polson Higgs staff and clients knewseveral of the school athletes who were running."She said SBS and its marketing manager, Mark Reid were doinga lot to lift the profile of athletics in Canterbury by sponsoring thetrack meet and the SBS Christchurch marathon.2

School speech sparks major changesA motivational talk to some high schoolstudents in Roxburgh prompted PolsonHiggs client Keith Cullen to realise theimportance of reaching his goals. Theexperience has ultimately led to Keith andhis wife, Monica opening a new supermarketon the main street of Te Anau.When farming suffered a decline in theeighties, the Cullens took over a small grocerystore in Roxburgh and then decided toaccept an offer from Progressive Enterprisesto turn it into a Supervalue. "At the time banks,post offices and rural service companieswere pulling out of small towns and wemanaged to grow the business. It hadbecome quite cruisey but when I was talkingto the students it made me think more aboutthe goals we had set for ourselves."His first action was to improve his fitnessand within three years he was contestingthe first of four Coast to Coasts. In 2001 theCullens took up an offer to move to Te Anauand became owner operators of theSupervalue supermarket that they could seehad potential."We borrowed a large sum of money andpaid it off in 18 months. My philosophy is todo a lot of little things well and the big thingswill take care of themselves."The Cullens soon realised the majorimpact tourism had on the picturesque town.Its population of 2000 more than doublesduring the summer and the supermarketwas fighting a losing battle trying to keepenough stock on its shelves to meet thedemand, while no off-street parking alsohandicapped their business."So five years ago we started looking atdifferent options. The building owner is agood friend and he found a site nearby thatwas highly visible and the right size for ourneeds."Opposition from the local communityboard slowed progress but the new 2300sq m facility, Fresh Choice Te Anau, openedfor business last December. The Cullensare thrilled with the store, which has 90carpark spaces, more display space, alarger bakery and delicatessen and betterstaff facilities.Throughout the project they workedclosely with Les Stewart and the PolsonHiggs Business Services team, who havelooked after accounting matters for theCullen family for 36 years. They have alsobeen backed up by Progressive, which runsa sophisticated reporting system so that theKeith Cullen and his wife, Monica, are enjoyingthe advantages offered at their new FreshChoice Te Anau supermarket.Cullens know how every division within theirstore is performing weekly and can alsobenchmark against other Fresh Choicesupermarkets within the group.Keith is grateful that Rhodes Donald fromPolson Higgs Wealth Managementencouraged him to review the familyinsurances seven years ago. Recently, hesuffered a health setback and as hegradually eases himself back into theworkplace, he is relieved that his insuranceprogramme provides some replacementincome during his convalescence.Dunedin office growsThe Dunedin office of Polson Higgs, in Moray House, isbeing expanded and refurbished by the landlord, to cater forthe growth in staff that has occurred in the past five years.Partner Steve Dunbar, who is overseeing the project, saidthat when the work is finished in July, the business will have anextra 260 square metres of space, which will be used for offices,a shower and toilets. As well, a new lift is being installed, andthe reception and administration areas are being renovated."The creation of two new business, being Wealth Managementand the Protocol Credit Bureau, have contributed to the growth.This, together with growth in the more traditional accountingbusiness, has seen the offices starting to get quite cramped,"Steve said.The project, which began in January, has been fitted inaround the business' day-to-day work. Twelve staff have,however, moved to offices nearby. Steve said that both staffand clients have been understanding about the noise and dustaccompanying the renovations. "The brief was to produce amodern professional look that wasn't flashy, and I'm confidentstaff and clients will be happy with the fresh look."The refurbishment of the Dunedin offices of Polson Higgs in MorayHouse should be completed mid-year.3

Growth opportunities in a recessionWhile we all tend to focus on survivalduring a recession there is great opportunityfor businesses to set themselves for growth.This article has been prepared by ShirlawsBusiness Coaching looking at five growthopportunities in a recession. Polson Higgshas an ownership stake in Shirlaws NZ Ltd.Product innovationBusinesses that innovate their productduring a downturn always do well duringthe next boom. The easiest time to repositiona business is during a downturn. The hardesttime is at the height of a boom. Are you stillselling the same product in the same waywith the same pricing structure as you weretwo years ago? If so, then are you still sellinga boom product in a bear market?The key to this strategy: know how toinnovate product, know when to introducethe 'recession product' and when to dumpit in favour of the innovated growth product.To do:Boom time - Product extension strategyDownturn - Product innovation strategyChannels to marketIf a business innovates product then it isclear that they will use different channels tomarket it after a recession than before. If abusiness does not have enough revenuecoming through during a recession, it isclear that whatever channels to market thebusiness was using pre-recession wereeither not:• well enough established or• the correct ones to see the businessthrough all parts of a cycle.If it takes a business too long to establishnew channels to market in the next growthcycle then they can miss a large chunk ofuplift readily available.To do:Boom time - Channel extension strategyDownturn - Channel development strategyFunctional structureWhat stops a business owner/managerfrom spending the time to develop productand find those new channels to market?Answer: the functional structure of theirbusiness. When the manager is draggedback into the business during a recessionto "run" the day-to-day operations, he / shefinds it difficult to allot the space to undertakegrowth initiatives.The output is that the business needs a"recession functional structure" - a lot ofbusinesses fail to adapt their structuresthrough the cycle and end up simplyretrenching staff against cost budgets.To do:Boom time - Micro functionality reviewDownturn - Macro functionality reviewCapabilityWe come out of recession with a freshinnovated product range, sold into newchannels to market; the business needsdifferent levels of infrastructure and differentskill levels post the downturn. Fast movingbusinesses coming out of recession buildtheir capability.To do:Boom time - Wide capability strategyDownturn - Depth capability strategySuccession planningMany businesses forget staffingsuccession during downturns. It is almostas if staff are safe during the downturn sono need to worry about them. They will staybecause they are afraid of not gettinganother job.The problem is that staff, post recessions,then leave. This creates a recruitmentproblem, so while other businesses arestarting to grow during the upturn, somebusinesses are forced to focus on re-staffingand spend those valuable investment dollarson recruitment costs.To do:Boom time - External succession strategyaround equityDownturn - Internal succession strategyaround staffing.DIRECTORY OF SERVICESThe services offered by our divisions include:Business ServicesAnnual and periodic financial statementsTaxation complianceAdvice re business sale and purchaseBusiness and strategic planningBusiness and company valuationsFinancial forecastsSoftware installation and supportBusiness structuring adviceAudit/AssuranceExternal and internal auditReview engagementsCorporate governance reviewsInternal controls/procedures reviewsRisk managementForensic assignmentsTaxationTax compliance and planning reviewsFBT/GST/ACC warrants of fitnessIRD tax audits and binding rulingsTax advice on mergers and acquisitionsInternational tax adviceTrainingInformation TechnologySoftware developmentIT assurance/IT warrant of fitnessStrategic IT advisory servicePC and network supportPackage selection servicesProject managementFinancial PlanningInvestment management advice and solutionsPersonal, business and corporate insuranceEmployee benefit programmesEstate/asset planningBusiness Consulting GroupHuman ResourcesExecutive recruitmentStrategic remuneration advicePerformance managementPsychometric assessmentOrganisation reviewsMarketingStrategic marketing planningMarketing budget developmentAssisting with advertising and promotionMarketing for business profitability and growthBusiness IntelligenceFeasibility studiesMarket research for small to mediumbusinessesPolicy analysis and evaluationSurvey researchPublic opinion polling/organisational profilingTrainingBusiness Management skillsTaxation and Technical topicsAccounting for non-accountantsFinancial management skillsCONTACT DETAILSChristchurch officePartners: Frank Burgess, Taxation; Geoff Bolderston, Business Services;Phillip Roth, Business Services, Consulting; Michael Rondel, Audit &Assurance, Consulting; Noel Walton, Business Services; Frazer Weir,Business Services.Associate: Brian Clarke, Taxation.T 03 366 5282 F 03 366 4254 E info@ph.co.nz W www.ph.co.nzDunedin officePartners: Stephen Higgs, Business Services; Graham Crombie, Audit& Assurance, Consulting; Tim Dunn, Business Services; Phil Broughton,Business Services, Training; Steve Dunbar, Business Services, Insolvency;Michael Turner, Taxation; Henry van Dyk, Business Services.Consultants: Les Stewart, Business Services; Richard Joseph, Director- Business Consulting Group.Associates: Simon Cameron, Business Services; Carole Greer, Audit& Assurance.T 03 477 9923 F 03 477 9795 E info@ph.co.nz W www.ph.co.nz4