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