Whats New? 2011 Tax and Accounting Reconciliations Quick Links: 2011 Bas Reconciliation 2011 Payroll Tax Reconciliation 2011 Workers Compensation Wages Reconciliation

About Us

Stewart, Brown & Co is based at Chatswood on Sydney's North Shore, however, we have clients located in many different locations across the country and overseas.

Our Team

The majority of our senior staff has over 10 years' experience with the firm.

We encourage our staff to pursue appropriate technical qualifications and require all partners and professional staff to maintain their technical knowledge in order to provide the best possible advice to clients.

When undertaking an engagement we assess the level of experience, knowledge and skills required to perform the work assignment and to allocate the appropriate mix of staff to each engagement to achieve the outcome required.

Services Overview

The firm has extensive experience in the provision of professional accounting and business services to a wide range of clients, including listed public companies, private family businesses, large government bodies, multi-national corporations, aged-care facilities, non-profit organisations, superannuation funds and individuals.

An allocation of the firm's resources into particular areas of service is as follows:-

Accounting Services	25%
Taxation Advice	20%
Audit and assurance assignmentes	20%
Financial Planning services	10%
Management consulting services	15%
Special Projects	10%
	100%

This balanced spread of services allows us to have an in depth appreciation of the practical issues and complexities faced by clients. It enables us to provide accounting, taxation, management and audit assurance services to clients that will satisfy the scope, objectives and information required in respect of each assignment whilst providing meaningful controls, recommendations and suggestions for management to action.

Industry Sectors

We have a diverse client base including clients operating in the following sectors:-

• Sales and distribution
• Import and export
• Information Technology
• Retail
• Health and Aged Care
• Professional and commercial services
• High net wealth investors

Doing Business in Australia

In addition to our diversified Australian client base we have assisted various international companies establish operations in Australia and to provide ongoing advice and assistance to those businesses. These companies have included listed entities in North America, Britain, Europe and Asia and have covered various industries including medical devices, pharmaceutical, large scale printing presses; computer software, electrical components, dental supplies, etc.

We also have Australian clients who have established business units overseas.

This experience allows us to confidently assist international companies with both the establishment and ongoing management of their operations in Australia.

We also have a broad network of other professional advisory firms to consult for specialist tax, accounting, legal and other services should such advice be required.

India Business Group

With the increase in cross-border investment and trade between Australia and India we have recently established an India Business Group to focus specifically on assisting both Indian and Australian companies to take advantage of the business opportunities that are emerging.

This group is headed by Bhavna Lathigara, who is supported by a team familiar with Indian business customs, regulations and culture. We also have strong professional contacts in India.

It is noted that the Indian business and reporting year end of 31 March is complementary to the general Australian year end of 30 June, which enables a more even workflow with manageable reporting deadlines. The geographical time zones between India and Australia also provide time efficient and convenient working arrangements.

Why Stewart, Brown & Co?

We operate in a professional environment where we are directly competing with the tier 1 and tier 2 accounting firms and on occasions have mutual clients where those firms undertake the audit and we provide other business services to the client.

Over the years we have developed a depth of technical resources and experienced staff sufficient for us to meet the competitive challenge of our profession. To demonstrate this, our structure, approach and efficiency continue to meet and exceed our client's requirements.

The cornerstone of our success is that we have a team of dedicated long-serving professional staff. The longevity of these senior staff allows us to provide service continuity to our clients. We feel that this presents Stewart, Brown & Co with a significant advantage over some of those larger accountancy firms who generally have a higher staff turnover rate at all levels.

Also our fee structure is generally lower than that of larger accounting firms which is usually reflected in the fact that we assign more senior staff to an assignment than that normally provided by larger firms at no greater cost than that of the larger firms, which is actively noticed and appreciated by clients.

Another aspect that we believe presents Stewart, Brown & Co with an advantage over other larger firms is the variety of experiences drawn together within our team. Each of the Partners has considerable experience in the "commercial" side of business. This has been gained in a number of ways and further details are provided in the staff profiles.

We take pride in our work and are committed to providing quality service in a timely and professional manner.

Fees

Our fees are based on the time taken to carry out the work required and are calculated at the rates applicable to the individual grades of staff working on the assignment. It is our policy to allocate a high proportion of senior staff to our major accounting and audit assignments, and where possible provide consistency and continuity of staff.