04 Jul UHY HAINES NORTON – Consistent, Genuine, Reliable – Chartered Accountants
Steve Marsten and Tina Zawila have been advising Gladstone’s business community since the ’80s. Together they are the Directors of UHY Haines Norton CQ formerly Sothertons Chartered Accountants. The firm has been operating in Gladstone since the 1970’s. They have observed the ups and downs of the Gladstone’s thrilling economy, and both have enjoyed the ride.
Tina is a Gladstone local and has been here most of her life. Steve arrived in 1983 fresh from University. They have worked together at UHY Haines Norton (Sothertons) since the early ‘90s. Tina is very community minded and serves on several local Boards in the area. Steve has a long history with sporting organisations and local non-profits, but their true love is working with their clients.
“We love working with business owners who truly enjoy what they do,” Steve said. “Our job is to keep them doing what they do best and assist them with building great business foundations that make them enduring, and adaptable to the changing environment and economic forces” Steve continued. “We are proud to see our established business client’s that have flourished over the years, and who have moved through the different stages of business life and are even handing over the reins to the next generation.”
Managing business profits and diversifying investments is the key to ensuring that you have a nest egg to retire on. That is part of building the business foundation that both Tina and Steve advocate to their clients.
Given the last few years have seen one of the most significant booms and resets in Gladstone’s history, clients regularly asked them how the economy is progressing. “Because we are dealing with local businesses all the time, we tend to have a gut feel for how the city is progressing, but we wanted to have some empirical evidence to support this feeling,” Tina said. “Hence Steve, and I decided to gather client information focusing on the turnover of local businesses over the past 4 years. The reason we chose turnover as a measure, is because it is the measure that is least affected by tax planning or discretionary spending,” she explained.
“UHY Haines Norton CQ released their ‘Gladstone Business Barometer’ which highlighted that businesses are on the up again,” Tina continued. “2016 was a particularly tough year, however, the following years have proven to be more positive. That said, the industry struggling the most in Gladstone is hospitality. It seems that locals are not spending as much money on dining out as they once did, and as a result, the number of options have reduced, which has probably made the issue worse. The café and restaurant owners that have established recently have all identified one key aspect of their business that makes them viable again – the cost of space. Gladstone’s rental space is as reasonable as it has ever been, and there has never been a better time to get started.”
Steve and Tina both believe that there will be some exciting new opportunities coming to the City over the next 12 months.
UHY Haines Norton CQ has a client base stretching from the Whitsundays to Brisbane with clients in Canada; USA; UK; PNG and the Middle East. “This has kept us busy and focused and allowed us to provide interesting work for our team.”
“The team is what we truly believe sets us apart in our field. They are very experienced and enjoy interacting with our clients,” Steve explained.
Steve and Tina said whilst they predominately work with business owners, they also offer services to individual taxpayers. “We can prepare personal income tax returns, provide rental property and investment advice, and assist them with personal budgeting to help them be more financially well organised.”
“Steve and I see ourselves as the keepers of the flame of UHY Haines Norton until the next generation of Directors come through,” Tina said. “We are blessed with the fact that our team has stuck by us and allowed us to provide and maintain a high standard of service to our clients. Consistency is critical in our industry and without a stable team, it’s impossible to maintain standards.”
UHY Haines Norton provides diversified services tailored to client needs. “We have always provided a high level of Tax and Accounting services; however, our Business Advisory services and Financial Planning are where we have really made a difference to our clients,” Steve said. “Clients enjoy the value and benefits they derive from this area of service.”
UHY Haines Norton also provides audit work, payroll and cash budgeting for both businesses and individuals. “We can also advise and assist clients with structuring, including establishing entities such as Companies, Family Trusts, Partnerships and Self-Managed Superannuation Funds,” Tina added.
Steve, Tina and their team also offer new clients a free consultation to get to know them. This can be a catch up over coffee or a formal meeting at no obligation, so they can understand their potential client’s needs and determine whether they can genuinely assist them.
To arrange to meet with the UHY Haines Norton team in Gladstone call 4972 1300.
EARLY BIRD OFFER!
Have your Individual Income Tax Return prepared in July & August by UHY Haines Norton and received a discounted rate! Call 4972 1300 to book now!