Careers & Conversations

Meet Ross Dixon - Senior Manager, Business Advisory

Ross grew up and lived in the UK before emigrating to Australia in 2019 for work and his passion for cricket!

Ross studied in the UK, attaining a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Leeds as well as becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants In England and Wales and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. 

Ross' journey began whilst studying in the UK, where he was working for one another leading accountancy firm in the International Corporate Tax consulting division. Yearning for something more meaningful where he could develop direct relationships with clients and stakeholders, Ross seized the opportunity to work for RSM and relocate to regional Australia and continue his work in a different capacity.    

Personal Life

WHAT MADE YOU MOVE FROM THE UK TO AUSTRALIA?

My wife is from Australia and so we always wanted to return to Australia settle down here. Elle and I enjoy the Australian lifestyle and the weather, which was a was a major factor in wanting to permanently move to Australia. Furthermore, we were presented an opportunity to relocate to where my wife’s family was living (Albury) with RSM, and it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. 

WHAT APPEALS TO YOU ABOUT LIVING IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA?

I love living in Regional Australia, it has provided me with the chance to work and service the community that we live in which is really cool. We live 10 minutes from the office, which is around the corner from my daughter’s school and the cricket club.

As an office, we are invested in building capability in the region, and it is a real source of pride to see our client’s grow and continue to commercialise new products and enter new markets. 

WHAT DID YOU DO PREVIOUSLY? WHAT LED YOU DOWN THIS PARTICULAR CAREER PATH?

Before moving to RSM Australia, I worked at a Big 4 firm in the UK starting as a school leaver before progressing through the organisation in the Tax Management Consulting Team.

While working in professional services I have continued to study and have completed my ACA/CA/CTA as well as a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Leeds.

Before committing to a career in professional services I played a fair bit of cricket, including playing in Australia in 2014 where I met my now wife, Elle.

Cricket was my first passion and I still love being involved / playing the game. I was lucky enough to play a fair bit of representative cricket in the UK until I moved to Australia.

I have been fortunate to play games at both Lords and the MCG which is definitely a tick off on the bucket list. For now, captaining Albury Cricket Club (which RSM Albury sponsor) is still a huge privilege and is a great way to relax at the weekends.

Professional Life 

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE BUSINESS ADVISORY TEAM? WHAT ARE THE COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT YOUR ROLE?

I emigrated to Australia from the UK to join RSM in June 2019 to join the Business Advisory Team in Albury.

Working in BA in a Regional Setting has been a fantastic opportunity to work with a diverse and ambitious group of clients. The past few years have seen us not only help our clients but invest locally working with a number of stakeholders to build capability across Riverina & North-East Victoria.

One of the misconceptions about working in Regional BA is that it does not offer the same career progression opportunities as metro. Our comprehensive service offering at RSM has allowed us to act as a trusted concierge in the local market which has allowed amazing business development and growth opportunities.

“I am grateful that RSM provides opportunities for staff to establish meaningful and fruitful relationships with all clients.” 

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CULTURE IN YOUR OFFICE/DIVISION?

The BA Team in Albury has a fantastic culture of continued innovation and support for each other – that is one thing I love about working not only in our team but for RSM in general.

Having started my career in a larger corporate environment, I have loved the acute personal and meaningful relationships with both the team and leaders across our office. The Albury office has continued to grow quickly in the last three years which has presented huge opportunities for progression and growth for everyone in the office which is an exciting to be part of.

Something which I have thoroughly enjoyed is growing my internal network across RSM through my work with the National Manufacturing Sector. It has given me the ability to curate strong relationships with several different service lines which has allowed us to deliver great outcomes for our clients. This more importantly has given me a good support network that I can rely on across the network for advice and guidance. 

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT? 

I am passionate about helping support and promote Manufacturing businesses across Regional Australia.

Through my role in the National Manufacturing Sector and the work we have done across the Albury office, in conjunction with Jessica Olivier – we are actively working with businesses to support Australian Sovereign Capability and preparing to commercialise new products and enter new markets.

I am also passionate about living in Regional Australia as it has allowed me to adopt a balanced family life, play an active role in the local community as well as undertake meaningful work. 

IF YOU WERE NOT IN THIS LINE OF WORK, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING? 

If I wasn’t in professional services, I would like to have been able to make a living from playing or working in cricket (unfortunately I was nowhere near good enough!). The closest I will ever get to that I think is being a curator at the local cricket club as a volunteer.

Before committing to my professional qualifications, for a fleeting moment, I explored the possibility of pursuing academia and being a social scientist. The PHD program that I explored was in regard to Health Modelling and Epidemiology (which would have been very relevant given the last few years).

I wrote my degree thesis on Health Inequality in North-West England and the idea of understanding spatial and economic trends really interested me at the time. However, the draw of working in the field that I had joined as a school leaver was too strong.