March 2022 - CEO Message

The challenging times are really the best of times

I always try to be thankful for whatever situation comes across my path, good or bad, because I believe we are shaped by the challenges we face.

We have talked about setting goals for yourself in the new year, whether it be financial, personal, or career goals, which will shape the direction you’d like to head. However, in order to know how to move forward; it is important to look back on the past and see how far we have come.

I find myself reflecting on my own personal business career, and how far I have come since I was a young accountant fresh out of university.

I have been particularly reflecting on the first 10-years of my career between 1987 and 1997 (yes I know some of you are too young to remember this far back!), where I graduated university and faced my first years in the ‘real world’. During those first 10-years, I saw the effects of the following great economic events:

1987 stock-market crash

The year roughly a third was wiped off the share-market index. I can even clearly remember conducting an audit on that day at a well-known Australian company and walking into an atmosphere of a dark storm cloud. As a young auditor I was gullible enough to ask the other auditors what was wrong and received the sullen reply of “I’ve just lost all of my superannuation”.

1991 recession

Following the crash, we found ourselves in the famous 1991 recession, once coined ‘’the recession we had to have” by former prime minister, Paul Keating. This Recession resulted in an unemployment rate of over 11%, introducing a period of disruption and economic distress. Now, however, we can look back on that period and recognise the good that came out of restructuring the economy.

Early 1990s high interest rates

Like in today’s property climate, buying our first homes back in the 1990s was a struggle. We were faced with shockingly high interest rates of 18%, and I still remember the pain we all felt when making payments. However, within a few years, interest rates had dropped to 5% and many Australians made significant capital uplifts on their properties between 1996 and 2003.

Asian Economic Crisis 1997

A period where emerging Asian economies experienced a significant adjustment to their stock-markets, causing an Asian Economic crisis. Although feeling once again distressed on what the future may hold, recovery between 1998-1999 was rapid and worries quickly subsided. Even today, we continue to see the Asian economies soar, with unparalleled growth over the 20 years since that crisis.

Certainly, I faced quite a long period of instability in the first 10-years of my career, with periods of anxiety and distress, and not a whole lot of good news.

But do you know what they all have in common?

They were all overcome. Some were overcome quickly, while others took a little longer, and all introduced new opportunities.

As we fast-forward to the present day, we see some recurring patterns emerging. The COVID-19 crisis has had ongoing economic effects for the last two (2) years for many businesses and individuals, and the effects will continue to be seen for a while to come. In addition, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents new threats to geopolitical stability.

However, as seen in the past, these challenging times are always overcome by resilience and end up creating new opportunities for the future.

Remember Keating’s famous quote? Perhaps we have had to face these last few years to achieve new heights of success in our business and personal lives.

I know myself and our staff members are looking forward to helping you seize new opportunities and achieve success in both your business and personal lives.