Big name lures top talent

Deloitte Rotorua partners Murray Patchell (left) and John McRae with Mana Newton, one of the firm's new staff members. Photo / Ben Fraser

It's been eight months since Deloitte arrived in Rotorua and already the 'Big Four' firm is luring some of the city's young talent home.

In March, local firm Hulton Patchell became Deloitte Rotorua and has since expanded with new staff and new services.

Deloitte Rotorua partner Murray Patchell said it was an exciting time.

"Since March we've added capability that allows us to offer professional services, in support of local and regional businesses and iwi, that until now haven't been easily accessible in the area," he said.

Mr Patchell and business partner John McRae, both former principals of Hulton Patchell, pointed out the huge value of the Deloitte brand when attracting new employees.

"The Deloitte name certainly helps us to both convince top local talent to stay in Rotorua and entice those that have been away on their OE to return home," said Mr McRae.

Mr Patchell said the firm had hired five new staff since March with a sixth, a Waikato University graduate, set to start soon. All were Maori and originally from the Rotorua region, he said.

"That's been an important part of what we wanted to achieve," he said. "Hulton Patchell was big in the Maori sector for 40 years ... for me personally I wanted to see us grow more in that space and have more young people."

One of those new recruits is client manager Mana Newton, who joined the Rotorua office four months ago after more than 10 years working for Deloitte in Auckland and Hawaii.

He had been wanting to return home so when he heard about the Rotorua merger "it worked out really well".

Mr Newton said he was enjoying his new role and work in the Maori sector.

"What's being done in Rotorua will help the Maori economy grow," he said.

He said Deloitte Rotorua was an attractive option both for returning locals looking to settle down as well as those at an earlier stage of their careers who could use Rotorua as a stepping stone onto the firm's national and international offices. Both tracks were encouraged by the firm, he said.

Mr McRae said despite the new name the firm remained very much a local business.

"What's different is we can now draw on the Deloitte pool of national and global expertise and resources to solve our clients' increasingly complex business requirements," he said.

"Drawing on this expertise is especially important for local Maori organisations whose needs for professional services advice are increasingly varied and complex. And as part of Deloitte, we now have the largest Maori sector accounting team in the country," added Mr Patchell.

The firm's fees had remained the same since the merger as the partners recognised the need to stay competitive in the Rotorua market, Mr McRae said.

He said going forward the firm would look to continue its growth with a focus on the Maori and primary sectors.