BDO establishes Greater Western Sydney office in Parramatta

A fast-growing economy and client demand has seen mid-tier accounting and consulting firm BDO launch a new Greater Western Sydney office in Parramatta, which will host 20 partners and staff.

The new Parramatta base is the twelfth for the accounting and consulting firm in Australia, and will initially host 20 partners and staff providing audit, tax, and business advisory services, with a view to eventually grow that number out to 100. According to BDO’s website, the firm already serves over 180 clients in the Greater Western Sydney region.

“Greater Western Sydney is tipped to be the fastest growing economy in Australia over the next two decades and this is the first step in a long-term strategy to give us a physical presence that will allow us to connect more deeply with clients,” said BDO Sydney Office Managing Partner Grant Saxon.

Providing context to Greater Western Sydney’s growth outlook, Saxon noted that Greater Western Sydney has a gross regional product already greater than that of South Australia or the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania combined.

Saxon added that the new office would allow BDO to recruit directly from the large talent pool of professionals in the region, which has one of the nation’s youngest and most diverse demographics, while also providing an alternative location for staff to work flexibly from. “Over time, we expect there will be a natural migration of many of our people who are residents in the region, and who want to work closer to home.”

BDO stated that the new office has been established in response to the client demand and the firm’s recent growth (last year, BDO generated national revenues close to $350 million at a 6 percent increase, while admitting a record number of partners), with the launch being a critical component of its continued growth ambitions.

The firm also stated that the Greater Western Sydney office reinforces its position as the fastest growing mid-market firm in Australia.

BDO currently has a headcount of around 500 professionals in Sydney, including 60-odd partners, while the new Parramatta office joins a network spanning each Australian capital, along with regional branches in the South Australian wine-making hub of McLaren Vale and in Maroochydore, Cairns and Townsville – the latter where KPMG will soon be providing some competition after previously exiting North Queensland in 2014.

Meanwhile, BDO joins KPMG and the other members of the Big Four in having a permanent presence in Parramatta, with Ernst & Young launching an office there in 2020 and PwC setting up shop two years prior. In terms of mid-tier accounting and consulting networks, none of BDO’s closest competitors – Grant Thornton, RSM, and Baker Tilly affiliate Pitcher Partners – have yet to establish an office in Parramatta.