[Update 17/10 - we've turned this post into a feature because, well, we thought everyone should get a chance to read "partners abusing the living daylights out of each other" in the comments.]
1. Reports of ongoing merger talks – one spy writes that “the CEO of BDO (NSW-Vic) has been in discussions with the board of PKF re kicking off merger talks again”. After a new finance arrangement is passed, debt will reportedly fall to $40m on revenues of $80m-$85m. The PKF Board have apparently “told BDO that the debt is still too high but if it drops to $20m-25m then they will take the deal to the remainder of PKF”.
2. New personal guarantees - to push the merger through, a new entity called ‘BDO (NSW-Vic) Group 2′ has been set up to which “most” partners and directors will personally be required to guarantee over $1m – including recent hires – to reduce the debts of the firm to its existing creditors. (Baseless conjecture: isn’t that almost exactly how a ponzi scheme works?)
3. Squeamish exits – another spy thinks that there “are a number of Partners/Directors who have resigned but BDO have not notified their banks (ST George and BankWest) to avoid having to re-financing existing debt….” It heartens us to learn that the BDO upper crust have as much debt at home as they have at work. Or are they just behind on their interest payments on their partnership buy-in loans? Apparently several management CVs are circulating among recruiters.
4. Secret side deals – also news that the finance deal is “on the ropes” since revelations that various side deals have been concluded with some, but not all, partners and directors who have agreed to vote for the new deal in exchange for not being required to bear any increased personal exposure. Meanwhile, some directors have, according to one spy, “about to enter administration” (we’re not sure what the spy means by this) and are quitting without signing the deal, while refusing to pay back the P300 money and advance loans. Apparently, the wider group of partners and directors doesn’t know this. Oops. Our spy adds: “a wine habit is very expensive to maintain”. So true, so very very true.
5. Resignations - head of indirect tax at Melbourne BDO has quit. [FS Edit: One tipster reckoned it was due to an ongoing feud with a Brisbane partner, but a commenter has since put that rumour to rest.]
One of the above spies adds that “the wise BDO management have previously employed a private investigator to explore the leaks and reviewing all SMSs on phones (software these days)”. Streuth! Maybe they should ask the investigator to find out where all the firm’s money and clients are going.
But another spy sends word that the situation is spreading to other BDO offices: most recently Adelaide. S/he comments:
The rot within BDO isn’t confined to NSW/Vic or even the debacle in the Qld office. BDO SA is sinking under significantly increased rental costs (shiny new offices and expensive new cars for all the partners).
The staff are angry – no pay increases (refer above) … The rate of attrition has spiked in recent weeks, as the personnel grab their lifejackets and jump over the side.
The SA partners are waiting patiently for a Big4 to come and buy them out so they can cash up and leave the mess for someone else to sort out.
Sounds like an optimistic gambit. What about the clients?
clients are becoming less impressed by the lack of service/attention they receive.
Market share has tumbled on the back of the interstate revelations and a complete lack of foresight within the leadership of BDO SA.
BDO SA has been described as a fractured partnership on several occasions, by several people (former partners, former consultants and former clients). The brand is damaged and they are rapidly destroying any remaining value.
We’ll say it again: BDOuch. Any insiders care to shed light on the developing situation? Remember: don’t post from work, don’t use a work phone or laptop, keep the tone civil and use your anonymity wisely. Amusing though it is, we don’t want to be inundated with complaints about partners abusing the living daylights out of each other.
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Apparently Steven W Jones a Melbourne Partner has recently appointed a bankruptcy trustee and is hoping to do a Part X with his creditors. Bot sure if this is related to expensive wine.
Grabs popcorn and waits patiently for BDO PR department to start voting down comments
The partner who is about to enter administration referred to above by the SPY is actually BDO Melbourne Partner Steve Jones. He appointed a trustee in late September to put forward a Part X to his creditors. Interestingly though he is still listed as a Partner on the BDO website.
Mr Jones, Mr Jones, there’s a thing (Part X) goin on!
Re 2: Baseless indeed. This is not at all like a ponzi scheme. You should probably have looked up what it means before posting, no?
Allegation 5 is untrue. The Melbourne indirect tax partner referred to (Chris Vittas) has not quit due to an ongoing feud with David Wilson. As far as I know, there is no issue between them. They are both good guys trying to make the best out of difficult circumstances.
Something must be really wrong at this second tier firm. How can a Partner of an accounting firm hold themselves out as a quality advisor if the can’t even manage their own financial affairs???? Has this all stemmed from the Daniel Allison ‘ grab for cash scheme’,? If so, what did Steve Jones do with his payout? Most likely bought expensive wine to show off to clients and staff how ‘cultured’ he was. Maybe the dozen bottles of Grange can pay for the administrator’s costs.
David Wilson has pissed off just about every tax and Pecs partner at BDO, telling everyone who will listen how all GST advice for the whole firm should go through him. Funny how my GST advice seems OK since I moved away from the toxic reach of the Brisbane partners. Who do they think they are telling Sydney Partners how to give advice and run a business. Chris Vittas is a nice bloke, he just couldn’t stand the constant calls from Wilson telling him what to do and what he couldn’t do. Best of luck Chris. The grass really is greener and the dsys sre much happier once you leave the shit hole that is BDO.
good work BDO PR department, every comment having a zero rating is MUCH less obvious…
why don’t you leave the ratings alone, or better yet, comment so you can put forth another side to the story.
The Law of Karma BDO: What Comes Around Goes Around!
Nothing that unusual at BDO Brisvegas – find me a firm with more than three partners, and I’ll find you a partner in that firm who thinks the firm is full of partners who are pr#cks.
Just for the record, who ever leaked this information against Steve is a pri.k. As if things aren’t hard enough. I suspect someone from Brisbane ‘leaked’ this information, just to strengthen their own position. But the laughed on you Brisbane. Everyone knows that Brisbane is doing a little ‘off balance sheet’ smoke and mirrors. It’s well known in BDO that Brisbane has a worse ratio than Melb/Syd, with $35 million in borrowings against income of $50 million. What many people don’t know is that Brisbane have an off balance sheet pension liability of more than $20 million. In the next 10 to 15 years, Gallagher, Young, Schiffmann et al are all going to retire on a huge pension( $1 million us over a few years). This ‘liability’ isn’t in their financials. It would breach their banking covenants to do so and also reduce the income of the senior equity partners. So before you go and slander the name of a hardworking and well respected Melbourne partner, make sure your own house is in order Brisbane. There are more ex Melbourne BDO partners than current partners and while we might vary in opinion about our reasons for leaving, I’m sure all would stand behind Steve. Chin up mate!!
What a train wreck. Partners leaving, staff leaving, clients leaving!!! Don’t worry about 1 partner going into administration. Is BDO solvent and will it also go into administration under the weight of debt??
Everyone loves Steve Jones at BDO Melbourne. Attacking a legend is a low act.
For all the cpa and ca out there have recently read up on apes 110 there are just a few breaches going on…by no means am I saying BDO is ethical based on the numerous accusations but
if someone jumped off a cliff would you then follow?
I understand that BDO Brisbane is being investigated for their lack of financial disclosure. I am also aware that the NAB (Brisbane’s bankers) are having a very close look at their financial viability
Can I just ask the people who write into this forum to consider the impact your comments have on employees at BDO. It’s one thing to hack on partners ( for what out come?), but it makes the life if staff very uncomfortable. Not just at work either. I’m so sick of my friends discussing the latest BDO drama.
And I can’t understand how people can now raise issues about pensions, insolvency etc regarding the Brisbane office without any proof. Why does BDO gossip always end up being a ‘bag out Brisbane’ session. We’re just getting over the last lot of rubbish and, to be frank, the stability at work has been great.
For the record, Brisbane is the best BDO office. The economy is tough and I don’t want to be out of a job because of a gossip website.
Give it a rest people
Is someone at Firm Spy working for BDO?
@Anon (AKA sook)
Just like a Gen Y’er to think about themselves and to be brainwashed into thinking any firm they are in MUST be the best firm.
Instead of thinking about what your friends think regarding the carry on at BDO, have a think about whether there must be some truth to what is being said about BDO in general and Brisbane in particular.
Tony Schiffmann has single handedly been responsible for so many good people leaving their position as partner at BDO, because he is power hungry and everything has to be done his way. Vin Brown, Warwick James, Rob Cassamato etc are all worse off for knowing and being involved with Tony Schiffmann. They stood up to him, or had more influence than him and he did everything in his power to cut them down.
In Brisbane alone, in the last few years Stephen Healy, Jane Madden, Lisa Bundeson, Kate Andrews, Sharon Houghton, Tracey Murray and David Mason were all partners at BDO, all of whom left because of the way that Tony Schiffmann and his bunch of cronies treated them, even though they were also partners of the firm. It is also interesting that there are a significant proportion of women in this list, perhaps an indicator as to how Schiffmann thinks of women who work at BDO.
Gen Y’er, while you are crying about what your friends think, spare a thought for Tracey Murray. You must know of her if you are from the Brisbane office (as you claim). How Schiffmann was ever able to sack her and get away with it is beyond understanding, but I’m sure it will eventually come out. Tracey was hard and wasn’t a ‘conventional’ Partner, but from all accounts (both hers and various Brisbane Partners) she brought in the clients and the money. To be sacked, because she refused to go to a psychiatrist without good reason goes against all good management practice and breaks the trust between partners. Knowing how Schiffmann operates, I suspect he put up with Murray until he go sick of having to explain himself to her, then simply sacked her. I know Tracey and I have recently referred her some work at her new firm. From all accounts, its been the worse 6 months of her life.
Gen Y’er, is this the sort of firm you want to work for? For a firm with a ‘leader’ who puts his self interest above all else, including the interest of the national firm and all the other BDO Partners.
No, I really meant for you to respond to the question of whether a Firm Spy staff works at BDO, sleeps or has slept with anyone from BDO, or is mates with anyone from BDO.
To clarify a point made by @Green Dot Partner, Vin Brown demise from Melbourne (Howarth office pre-2007 merger) may have been more to do with the debt fiasco which he orchestrated.
However, 3 months after ‘retiring’ from Melbourne, VB moved to Perth. Within 18 month, most of the Perth partners who were BDO pre-2007 merger (including Rob Casamento) had left – I recognise only 2 names remaining of the original 8 BDO partners in March 2007 (ie. pre-merger).
May be VB learnt a lesson from TS on people management?
Tony Schiffman recently pulled his Linkedin profile after it was reported that he never was at Harvard. He’d studied at Southern Cross.
Tracey Murray recently changed her Linkedin profile to hide that she had studied at Southern Cross, as did Schiffman. Why would Tracey downgrade from her Honors (apparently) at Uni QLD to study at Southern Cross….Following in Tony’s footsteps? A personality disorder or two? Is she Single White Femaling a girlfriend near you….
http://au.linkedin.com/pub/tracey-murray/38/9a2/989
A couple of observations that may or may not be relevant:
1) The high number of comments added in on the weekend – I am assuming that BDO employees are too scared of the hierarchy to post during the day (particularly given BDO employing private investigators to track down fs contributors), work too long to post during the night and therefore only getting an opportunity to vent on the weekend!
2) BDO Brisbane Partner Tim Bone’s linkedIN account lists his current employment status (as of last month) as ‘Gardening Leave’ (I am assuming Shiffo wanted to send him off to a shrink as well!! HAHAHAHA)
3) I agree with ‘Firm Spy and BDO’ and their insinuation that Firm Spy is not particularly a fan of BDO
4) In the same vein, I agree with me that Mark Fenton-Jones is in bed with someone from BDO (probably Shiffo). For a mid tier accounting firm Mark appears to be able to produce a disproportionate number of news articles lauding BDO in Friday’s accounting section of the Financial Review
5) With respect to the BDO/PKF merger talks, are the powers that be factoring in to the sell price the fact that a new salaried partner at BDO receives $150,000 and a new salaried partner at PKF receives $250,000? On the basis that there will be an equalization of wages (and on the basis that PKF partners aren’t going to take a $100k pay cut) the only conclusion is that BDO will need to stop paying the pittance it currently pays its salaried partners. If there are 50 odd salaried partners in the BDO network, that is an extra $5 million on the sell price. How will that influence now much the BDO full equity partners are currently taking home??
Dear Anon
At the risk of sounding condescending, you will appreciate this debate when you get a little further in your career and a little further up the partnership ladder. Lets assume that the gossip is correct and that the fully equity partners in Brisbane are raping the company in order to feather their own nest prior to leaving the company. This is going to produce an enormous burden on BDO in the future. A burden that you and I will need to bear. When you get to an AD/Salaried partner level at BDO, you know that you are paid $100,000 less than other mid tier accounting firms, and $200,000 less than the Big 4. You know why we hang around? Its because we have the likes of Curran and Young in our ear telling us that they make $1.4 million per year – much more than the other mid tier firms. Therefore, we hang around because we are intelligent and know we are better off in the long run.
Now, assume that the rumors are correct and that the partners took out a $30 million loan in 2009 and set up $30 million in pension payments when they all retire over the next 10 – 20 years. That is a HUGE debt burden. What are the interest payments on that? That cuts directly into your and my take home pay when we get to partner! By the time I get to full equity, that extra $200-400,000 that the current equity partners get, will be eaten up in interest payments. Worst still, assume the pension is somehow connected to how much revenue a partner generates towards the back half of his career. If that is the case, you will get the likes of Gallaher and Wright swapping clients to maintain revenue while Talyor and Just sit around twiddling their thumbs. Gallagher and Wright retire with a huge pension and, because the client relationship was with them, the client leaves when they leave. You and I not only have to pay the pension for two partners that are no longer putting time on the WIP but also don’t have the clients to serve this debt!
Believe me, this debate is good. With a bit of luck it will cause change. Change that will ensure we are able to receive the benefits from the fruits of our labour rather than paying for the greed of the past.
Best of luck.
@Murray Shifty
If your going to tell a lie, keep it close to the truth.
Can’t shed light on the Shifty comment, but can help clarify the Tracey Murray comments. Firstly, no evidence that Tracey has changed her linkedin profile, per the link you sent through. Secondly, as per attached link (her profile at Griffith Hack, not sure there is any hiding going on regarding academic qualifications.
http://www.griffithhack.com.au/people-TraceyAMurray
No hiding, no cover up. Pretty clear details of an Arts degree from Queensland uni (no Honours mentioned) and a Masters of Accounting Studies at Southern Cross University (with Distinctions).
Strange Comments, not sure where they came from or what motivated them. Perhaps from that BDO spy
Charles U Farley what you are missing out on is that BDO, in good old backyard fashion, hands out titles rather than $$ to incentivize directors and partners to be go getting.
Boohoo $150 K.
Beats beating for a beating and eating beatings to ignore beatings.
On things PR, are Firm Spy and BDO rorting the spy honor system?
@ Southern Cross Alumni: You’re rather than Your.
I’ve put forward the truth. On a segue, using common sense you’ll note that you’re not able to track changes on Linkedin.
Go ask Murray what especially nasty habits have enabled her to change her persona over the years.
Schiffman should have asked for more than a psychiatric evaluation, he should ask Murray to subject herself to 1/10th of the cocktail of abuse she has concocted. The rest should be buried under her bed.
Many thanks to Firmspy for hosting this forum.. I’m one of those people who read, but never right in.
I made an exception because I wanted to let BDO know that even if there is no factual truth to these posts, the venom expressed in this forum is an indicator to me that something is very wrong at BDO.
All the talk about work/life balance, the free breakfasts, Bwell campaigns etc. was good and I believed it, but not after reading this. I want to be happy at work and proud to tell my parents I work with a good firm. If they saw what is being said in this forum, they would think I am scraping the barrel for a job.
Andrea will have my letter withdrawing my acceptance for that audit graduate position. Good luck to the rest of the Graduates
Dear Anon.,
Don’t contribute comments to fs when drunk
And the power of the Grad silences them all
Go Gen whyers!!!
Couple of comments directed at the 2012 Graduate.
Firstly, even in an accounting firm, we expect you to be able to spell the word ‘write’ correctly, rather than ‘right’. Perhaps this is an indicator as to the quality of graduate employed by BDO and is one of the reasons behind the poor quality of advice we routinely see produced by BDO Partners (who are no more than a senior managers or at best principal at the Big 4).
Secondly, I think it’s going to be hard to find a new graduate position in this environment, so think carefully about your next move.
Finally, I don’t think you should be making career choices based on what your parents think. With that said, BDO is scraping the barrel, so best move on for your own self respect.
Good luck with the job hunting
Charles U Farley, reach into the beer fridge under that desk if you’re sitting in Melbourne. It was bought to garner brotherly loyalty more than for directors to look up women’s arithmetics…at desk height.
If you haven’t already picked the wrong in this picture, again, you’re position title is an indicator of Mr Schiffman’s focus and not of your talent.
* your
Green dot partner you remind me of the faceless men of the labor party that got rid of Kevin Rudd passed a carbon tax and now what is next on the agenda to put down a grad…you are an absolute disgrace to this profession if you are even part of it…and by your actions you are definitely not a partner
OMG
Just read this post end to end. Everyone’s dissecting it instead of hitting the books.
I’ve got some questions.
1. What is women’s arithmetic? I just don’t get that post.
2. Why are all the votes 0, except for Rob, who is -1?
3. Is there really that much difference between firm, in terms of Partner pay
4. Why is this gossip allowed to go unchecked?Surely if even a fraction of ithe gossip were true, the papers, news.com, etc would have been all over it.
Anon. is clearly drunk again
Dear Anon.,
What did I tell you about drinking and writing…
If John Grisham is looking for a topic for his next best selling novel, he need look no further than this post!
Not X BDO, Charles U Farley, your character assaults are common at BDO. Put on your not-broken-in running shoes and travel. And don’t forget to collect a VB (yes VB) from that beer fridge on the way out.
BDO audited Craig Thomson and his abuse of public trust. BDO spun that media frenzy to cover up its own mess. Sinking money into the AFR helped purchase air time in advance. As did dining with Tony Abbott. Abbott switches. As does everyone else.
BDO should simply look inside itself for people that do worse than public servant Craig Thomson.
In considering an acquisition of BDO, you’d have to look beyond the deal sheet and look at management of the firm. 30% of acquisitions fail. “Partners” (nationwide there are 155 in a firm of 1200) in VIC seem to be looking at the world through the star struck eyes of having $1 million dollars, in BORROWINGS. Borrowing to “put some skin in the game” is as addictive and as disciplined as a group of school kids buying new Televisions on their credit cards…again.
2011 revenues artificially spiked, in part due to the acquisition of stressed-out-people-going-broke in states outside of Victoria and NSW and in part due to the hoovering up of clients from other fallen firms. They’re still bleeding internally. What will profit (not revenue) do?
Why pay a premium for things that you will soon acquire and have greater power over?
White knights run.
Yes, even from Prince Charmings.
39 comments??? Really u sad buggers! You really need to go out and get laid.
Green dot partner you most of all, I think your in the best place hopefully they won’t review your Internet files so closely!
Ps if anyone wants to criticise my spelling or grammar, please don’t hit me where it hurts!?!?
I wonder if the anti-Brisbane BDO posts in this and other BDO features are infact the one person with multiple personalities. Sounds like a former Brisbane partner who got sacked recently???
Call me confused, but is the reference to VB and bar fridge a reference to beer and the social club’s bar fridge or does VB stand for Victorian Bitter, which is what all the Melbourne BDO partners are.
I can understand why the Melbourne partners would be bitter. They LET themselves get Screwed over by Vin Brown (perhaps the VB referred to), huge money on lawyers over Danial A and co, lost its tax group ( more like they saw the light), Parters in administration – need I go on?
Don’t hack on Brisbane you faceless Melbourne Partners until you are in a position of power and are as successful as Brisbane. We’re called BDO’s head office for a reason!!!
Dear sweet Firm Spy
Have followed you for years when you started out in Melbourne. Though are you now using these posts to rate people?
[redacted by FS. Not sure what u mean by "rating ppl"? And where did u get Melbourne from?]
Gee that partner that left to join Deloitte in Melbourne did well. Took the entire Victorian corporate tax practice ( 20 odd people ) with him and BDOs best clients. He seems to have left in the nick of time.
I’m sure those poor buggers still there at BDO Vic are either VBitter or Pure Blonde!!
I think Anon. should write cryptic crossword clues for a living.
The man’s got a strange talent!!!!!
Must be a mystery to you, scoring performance at BDO.
Can someone please tell me what happened to Tim Bone from the Brisbane office? Garden Leave for 2 months sounds serious. Is it work or personal?
* Curoius = Curious
@ Green Dot Partner
I guess green dot = Deloitte?
From what I have heard, Deloitte is way worse and lately a lot of staff have resigned, in particular in audit…. The hrs are crazy and there are now even sleeping pods at the office??
@ Graduate
BDO is not the only crap place…. Most large accounting firms are like this so carefully consider your job offer… Particularly now when the economy is no good.
@ CA
Lol APES110 is full of rubbish… Yes EBA is one module but are CA’s ethical? Don’t think so.. I have been working at the big 4 and most of them are hypocrites and unethical.. Just look at how shit they treat their staff!!
Just like bandits at BDO to spread their wings and their stench around town.
Deloitte has become the detention centre for BDO refugees. Let them in and send them away when they serve no purpose.
Whilst bagging the ‘Big 4′ is something most BDO partners like to do, shame they will never have the opportunity to join such professional ranks. When you make partner at PwC, E&Y or the others, you do so on merit, not because you are someone’s son or you were ‘the first one on the bus’. You join such firms because you want to be the best you can. Many join second tier firms because it is the only option they have.
That’s OK, there should be a role for everyone in life, just don’t critique something just because you were rejected by them.
Staff at the Big 4 work hard, have great clients and have a great career. There are checks and balances which, from reading these posts, are not in place at BDO. Decision making via the ‘Sunday Morning Breakfast Club’ is perhaps not the most balanced and professional way to run a business.
BDO can’t handle good Partners. Jane Madden left BDO because of the childishness if the senior partners. She has good clients, good staff and was welcomed back into PwC arms when she left BDO. She hasn’t go a good thong to say about them.
Look at the vitriolic posts against BDO, compared to posts regarding PwC and tell me where the ‘stink’ is happening on Brisbane.
@Big4
Take off your rose petal glasses and have a good look around. You clearly don’t sound like you have been in the game very long. Big 4s have just as much politics, infighting, boys club, staff exploitation, and injustice.
But congrats to you, you be the best you can be OK.
@Same Sh*t Different Smell (charming btw – You are obvioulsy cut from the same cloth as Churchill or Wilde).
I agree that the same happenings happen at the Big 4. The only difference I can see is that the Big 4 have the discipline, culture and self respect to not air their dirty laundry in such a public forum and so embarrassingly.
Give the ‘off balance sheet’ treatment of their significant pension obligations, the tendency for individual Partners to call in the administrators and how debt ladened just about all the practices appear to be, does anyone want to take bets whether BDO will have the funds to pay out T Murray if she is successful in her litigation?
Big4 partners have “discipline, culture, self respect” – tell that to the KPMG staffers who are facing redundancies! Every big firm is concerned about one thing – PROFIT!
Tracey Murray is one person who has used a supremely daft M&A strategy in Australia’s worse market conditions – endangering Australians by putting their jobs and their families at risk not to mention endangering clients through the knock on effect of using this strategy in unstable market conditions – to poison pill her former employers.
How?
1. Simply by being at BDO being herself.
2. Quitting and joining a (well insulated?!?!) law firm and litigating BDO. She has locked in BDO and is snowing them under an expensive litigation at a time where the focus is on stabilising the market and on employment.
Apes and chimps use this strategy.
Be reminded of the bigger picture, that Australia is just one country in a global economy and that you don’t want to send your kids broke.
“C.” needs to get their facts straight. Tracey Murray didn’t quit, she was terminated, hence the litigation. Do some research and get your facts straight before you start using your ever so impressive words and acronyms and slandering people.
On that topid, why don’t we all behave like adults and stop maliciously slandering each other and our “professional” services firms? This has gone beyond a joke.
Baffled you are…quitting and joining are both used in the figurative sense, Honey. Taking profit from then denying the ripple effects of one’s actions, particularly when it damages the employment of Australians, is irresponsible. How often do you see a nobody litigating their former employer? Sound and robust discussions of these effects is not malicious at all. The last time I checked BDO is an acronym that is not so impressive.
Does anyone else have trouble trying to understand both Anon and C? Is C asserting that one person (other than Ms Gillard) can bring down the Australian economy by their comments on FS? Keep it real C, or you lack credibility.
But I agree that Murray has gone from somebody to a no body. She’s gone from PwC, down to BDO and is now at some small law firm. Next move will be Coles Loganholme.
Dear Green dot partner
According to Firm Spy’s article of 16 September, that ‘small law firm’ that Tracey Murray joined is the most profitable law firm in Australia – more profitable than Mallesons, Freehills, Utz, AAR, etc (I have attached the fs link below in case you want to see how much more money she is making than you). In addition, in March this year Griffith Hack was named the IP Specialist Firm of the Year at the ALB Australasian Law Awards in Sydney…so could you kindly inform everyone how moving from a mid-tier accounting firm to Australasia’s premium law firm is a step down? Thx – Look forward to your response.
http://firmspy.com/allens-arthur-robinson/6635/partner-salaries-exclusively-revealed-australias-top-10-most-profitable-law-firms
@Green Dot Partner.
The key point is that Tracey Murray is putting Australian jobs at risk by taking valuable time and resources away from BDO (by being herself, and by litigating her former employer) in unstable market conditions when Australian assets are at risk.
You’ve distorted the message. On top of this, you’re the only person to even suggest that Tracey Murray is even able to bring down the entire Australian economy.
With Murray’s text book moves she’s become a textbook Persona Non Grata.
Hi C
Sorry but I think you may be closer to a C- or even a D. You didn’t actually use ‘quitting’ or ‘joining’ in the figurative sense at all. Using words in a figurative sense is where the word/s diverge from their usual meaning (such as in the use of a simile or metaphor). In the context of your sentence (i.e. quitting and joining a law firm) you adopted an absolute literal (albeit incorrect) application of both those words.
If, in a figurative sense you were actually trying to convey the message that Tracey Murray was unlawfully terminated you should have used a sentence such as, “When sacking Tracey, BDO demonstrated as much diplomacy as Hitler invading Poland”. That is a simile, and hence, an example of speaking figuratively.
Now, C-, I want you to keep your chin up. You have done some really good work here. Linking Tracey’s termination to the future health and wellbeing of my family and my kids was fantastic. Appealing to my sense of patriotism re the Australian economy was also a sound strategy. To date, BDO’s handling of the FirmSpy situation has been amateur and sloppy. I sense something different in you. In a way I hope you are a senior equity partner at BDO Brisbane. That way you will be financially shackled to the firm, will be unable to desert the sinking ship and we can engage in future tussles! As the risk of sounding like Big Kev – I’m excited!!
Following on from KPMG redundancies Tony Schiffman’s revelation in todays AFR of a sudden drop off in activity at BDO during October must be of grave concern given reported debt levels and the like.
A Plus,
I think you should go to your partner and assert your distorted interpretation of people’s words and your preponderantly wealthy picture of the world on your partner instead. It could have been so mesmerizing.
Murray quit BDO in the figurative sense as all she had to do was be responsible, consult to herself, and use the relationship management skills learned as a partner in a professional services firm to keep her job. Particularly before she got the sack and sabotaged the firm for personal profit. The psychiatric evaluation was justified given her type of relationship with and instructions to people both at the firm and socially over the prior years.
You’ve used a disturbing Nazi propaganda technique in taking a name “C.” and turning it into a mark on the A-F high school grading scale.
On your stimulating Schadenfreude, it’s very exciting to hear your excessive contortions of Murray’s abilities. It’s delightful to see that her wrecking a firm and sending people jobless in an ongoing financial crisis can bring such joy to you. I’m happy to see you so happy at the thought of sending people to libraries and cafes whilst your family feasts on flesh. It’s fantastic to see you gloating about profiting from peers to feed your face. It’s all great because what appears to be your textbook abusive, psychopathic behavior is laid on the pillow of this page.
It’s scary to realize that the loyal few that managed to get Murray in positions in the 1990′s have fewer real advantages and fewer real skills than the intelligent mass that march behind them. It’s scary to be conditioned to be loyal to and to agree with a Nazi-perfect person.
Peeking outside the cubicle in Brisbane, it’s scary to realize that the underlying damage is committed daily.
By the way, Murray has used a more exciting propaganda in that she picked up a role to star in a square box.
Classic propaganda moves used in 1940′s Germany.
Murray I salute you.
Who ever C is, start taking your meds and start speaking in English!!
C, help us all out. We want to support your quest, but you are speaking in riddles. If you have information on Murray that will help us well and truly break her, tell us. We’re not interested in this ‘ taking food out of children’s mouth’ talk.
The need for contraceptives in Brisbane has spiked recently, however, I don’t think I’d be asking for a loan.
It’s strange how if some of this stuff is published in traditional media, it’d be considered defamation. Somehow it is deemed to be acceptable in this forum.
I bet people wouldn’t be saying this stuff face to face to each other or to the person they are slandering against – which makes the perpetrators nothing but cowards.
Go on, keep hiding behind anonymity and fuelling this rubbish but I hope you understand how your words reflect on your character, which I should add is rather dubious for a lot of the commentators.
On the assumption that around half of the posts on this ‘discussion’ are BDO partners or very senior staff, can I suggest that everyone at BDO needs a psychiatric evaluation!!
This is better than the Fin Review and a Grisham novel all in one. Only thing missing is dignity.
@C
That’s it?!?! One decent post followed by mindless, incoherent dribble? Where is the intelligence? Where is the substance?? How disappointing. I would like to withdraw my earlier comment where I said I look forward to future tussles.
@fed up
One person did have the guts to say what everyone else was unwilling to say without the cloak of anonymity and that was Tracey Murray.
She was the one that voted againt the raping of BDO in 2009. I have been in partner meetings where Tony said that any merger needed to have a iron clad guarantee of no remuneration reduction for Brisbane equity partners. Tracey’s response in that partners meeting was that she would be willing to take a pay cut if it was in the long term interest of the firm.
And what happened…she was sacked.
I guess this forum allows us to express our opinion without fear of losing our jobs. If the culture at BDO encouraged fair and open debate, you wouldn’t be seeing these types of comments here.
I’m going to make a bet with my cat that Anon. and C. are the same person. Similar type of writing style.
Word on the street is that BDO have lined up ex R&D staff to testify against Murray in the upcoming Supreme Court action and anti discrimination case. Carley Small (now at Poopers) and Matt Plowman (E&Y). Carley just can’t wait.
That’s BDO’s star witnesses!?!? Would hate to have a couple of million riding on those two…oh wait…
Comfort in 2′s. Ploughmen conspire to support any good looking blonde’s false testimony. As directors at BDO have already done. Wink wink.
[redacted by FS - keep it nice guys]
Blast from the past: You’re a professional swindler.
I missed what blast from the past said – anyone able to provide me with the general gist?
Blast from the Past uttered a cry of victory that sounded rather smart that is actually rather dumb. Not bad for ability to copy and cheat.
I called Stev W Jones a %^$& and a %^$&
Blast: You’re relying on your mates letting it slide. Additionally, I see that you’re a cunning linguist.
BDO – you’re blocking up the courts and wasting tax payer dollars with your sh*t.