INTERVIEW
RSM AUSTRALIA: AN INTEGRAL PARTNER TO AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY By Thomas Hage,
Defence Writer,
WA DEFENCE REVIEW
WA DEFENCE REVIEW spoke with RSM Australia’s West Australian defence industry team - Simon Harcombe, Tom Huberli and Riaan Bronkhorst - to explore the trends they are seeing across the sector, and to talk about the services RSM offers the defence sector. Tell us about RSM and what your company can offer defence businesses? Tom: Firstly, RSM is a people business. When you’ve been around almost 100 years, outside of expecting a letter from Her Majesty, you’d also expect to have developed a pretty good and comprehensive service line, which we have. Services we can provide include the expected financial
to be really clear and succinct on what you can offer. We can help you piece this together as part of your business case or plan, as well as line you up with the right people to take you further on that journey. Simon: RSM as a large mid-tier firm has also developed the specialist capabilities that you would typically only see in the larger firms. We recognise the value adds that these specialist areas can bring to our clients and include R&D tax and grants, risk, IT, and cyber security as part of the service. The ability to scale service offerings and bring in the specialists to ensure the right service is delivered at the right time, we believe, is of critical value.
How does RSM differ from other accounting firms? Tom: We love working with SMEs, be family run businesses or larger groups. If we get a feel for what you’re doing in your business, we’ll be of more value to you and that’s why we like doing it that way. We translate financial information in an understandable manner, hence RSM’s tagline, ‘The Power of Being Understood’. That’s not just a slogan, we live it. Why wouldn’t we? With a large network of professionals from other services all over the country - not to mention our international RSM member firms - you can expect local and global expertise delivered hands-on, at your doorstep.
What led you to become interested in delivering services to the defence industry?
RSM Australia has over 30 offices nationally including in Perth, Rockingham, Wagga Wagga, Canberra and Albury. © RSM Australia.
reporting, tax and other regulatory reporting compliance requirements. However, we also get in at ground-level to help with your data processing day-to-day, cloud data solutions, as well as the management reporting and dashboarding that comes from that. This along with budgeting and planning support helps you keep clear sight on your performance and helps you stay compliant. To be a part of Defence’s supply chain, you need
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Tom: It’s going to sound funny and a bit contradictory, but I am Swiss by birth, and despite Switzerland being a famously neutral country, they invest a lot of time and money into their armed forces. They have a compulsory military service for all males found to be suitable from age 19 to 34, and later if desired. It’s a bit genderist unfortunately, females can play too, but only on a voluntary basis. Conscription and volunteers make up the majority of the Swiss armed forces, so most of the adult males in my family’s history, as with any Swiss family, have military service experience, whether they liked it or not! I missed out on this as my family migrated to Australia in 1980 when I was just three years old. Hence I’m trying to make up for it by consulting to defence-related businesses with RSM instead!
