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It’s hard to believe that on 27th March this month we celebrate our 100 year anniversary of serving businesses in Australia.
Many businesses have an interesting tale to tell on how they came to be. Often, we find that the challenges faced today are not unlike those of our predecessors who also struggled through times of uncertainty to realise success.
Forming a strong culture from the start
The story of RSM’s founding father dates back to the roaring 1920s – so called as the world emerged from a devastating war and flu pandemic. 100 years on, we are reminded of these difficult times as we navigate the challenges of the present COVID pandemic.
Edgar R Woolcott returned from the great war where he served as a quartermaster in the army. Strong record keeping skills are needed for this role and Woolcott used these skills and innovated to develop a unique recording system for businesses. It was the first in the manual bookkeeping systems that Australia experienced.
Australia’s attitude was one of rebuilding and there was tremendous opportunity on offer for those who were prepared to “have a go”. Edgar Woolcott was certainly in this category.
Right industry, right time
After relocating to Western Australia, Woolcott started work as an accountant with WA taxpayers travelling to farms to see clients on horseback often spending the night. At 34 years of age, he established his own business and registered “The National Service” company which was a partnership that he and his wife started on the 27th March 1922. His clients were businesses and farmers and because he was prepared to travel, his book of clients began to grow. In 1925, the firm hired its first employee – Accountant, Alex Redman. This was quickly followed by more hires in a variety of roles including the firm’s first female accountant in 1928.
Luckily for Woolcott, he’d entered the right industry at the right time.
As well as tax, a mainstay of the firm’s accounting service was a “Business System” designed for small business owners and farmers. The system had been copyrighted by Woolcott and was sold alongside a self-balancing spreadsheet known as B 10/11. Woolcott’s innovative spirit is something that remains at the heart of the firm today with new ideas celebrated and often times, invested in as well.
Business in the 1920s was not without its challenges which Woolcott dealt with by surrounding himself with skilled professionals who were crucial to the company’s early success.
We’ve continued with this approach throughout our journey with a regular inflow of specialists combined with our own development programs to enhance the specialist skills for all staff at RSM today.
If there wasn’t enough money to pay weekly wages on a Friday then Woolcott would take to the road on Thursday to sign up new clients and collect fees in advance. 
The firm’s new employees also had their own interesting ways of attracting new clients. For example, accountant Percy Paul was a talented guitarist who would travel the towns and invite locals to attend a musical evening at the town hall. At the end of his performance, he would often sign up a dozen or more businesses as clients.
Forming a strong culture from the start
A culture of familiarity and family appeared to permeate the firm – with Woolcott inviting employees for fishing weekends away, and his wife regularly inviting women from the office to her home for evening gatherings.
However, it was extending this culture of family to clients that is seen as the firm’s greatest competitive edge. Rather than asking clients to bring their books to an office, the accountants would visit clients in their homes. They became part of the family, working from the kitchen table and acting as trusted advisers, which is something RSM’s accountants and business advisers still do today.
Whether we are around the kitchen table or on a Zoom call, our focus is quite simply to enable each client to ‘Experience the Power of Being Understood’.
It’s all about understanding our clients and understanding them better than anyone else.
While the landscape for business owners across all industries has changed in the wake of increasing competition and sophistication, the spirit of entrepreneurialism in Australia is as strong as it has ever been.
No matter how much time passes, we continue to see common traits in those who achieve success with a new venture – determination, an eagerness to do things differently, and a willingness to surround yourself with experts.
