Perth’s largest accounting firm has selected Tim Richards to succeed Michael McNulty, who has overseen rapid growth during his 10 years as office managing partner.
Perth’s largest accounting firm has selected Tim Richards to succeed Michael McNulty, who has overseen rapid growth during his 10 years as office managing partner.
Mr Richards is an audit partner with 30 years’ experience, and is also the firm's global client service partner for Woodside Energy.
A graduate of the University of Manchester, he commenced his career with Arthur Andersen in the UK.
Mr Richards transferred to Perth in 1997 and later had a stint with EY before joining Deloitte in 2004.
He said it was an honour to take on the role of office managing partner.
“I believe very strongly in the power of connection and collaboration, and these, coupled with some bold choices, will help to cement our position as the leading firm in this market,” he said.
Deloitte has 71 partners and 923 professional staff in WA, making it the state’s largest accounting firm, according to Business News’ Data & Insights.
That’s a big change from a decade ago, when it was ranked #4 behind EY, PwC and KPMG.
Going back further to 2002, it was ranked #6 in WA, with RSM and Andersen having larger teams.
Its consulting practice has been a big growth driver, a process that started just more than 20 years ago when Andersen's consulting team joined Deloitte.
The growth has been helped by multiple acquisitions, including two in 2019 – Perth firm The Terrace Initiative and Sydney firm Presence of IT, which had operations in WA.
Earlier acquisitions in WA included PKF’s 30-strong audit practice and specialist tax firm KD Johns & Company.
Mr McNulty said it had been a privilege to be the Perth OMP for the past decade.
“I’m so proud of all the work that has gone in to making us the undisputed market leader in WA,” Mr McNulty said.
“Reaching 1,000 team members earlier this year was a real testament to the impact we’re having helping our clients solve their most complex problems and realise their greatest opportunities.”
Mr McNulty intends to continue his roles with a number of key clients and will retain his positions on the Deloitte Australia board and The Deloitte Foundation.
