End of financial year marks end of an era at Kothes

June 21, 2018

When John Hukins retires from Kothes on June 30, 2018 it marks the end of a financial year and the end of an era for the 71-year old accounting firm.

The fourth generation dairy farmer fell into an accounting career which spans more than 40 years. When he left school he wanted to be a farmer but severe drought and medical reasons forced him to seek an alternative. His grandfather knew Roy Kothe, who opened Kothes in Bega in 1947, and suggested John pursue accounting. The year was 1976.

The only university in NSW where you could study externally was the University of New England in Armidale and John remembers sitting for his exams in the rectory at St John’s Bega. Two year later he moved to Sydney to gain a different accounting experience with Lane McNally and Co in Parramatta. Although he adapted well to city life, after two years he was keen to finish his degree and moved to Armidale for full-time study.

In 1981 he moved back to his home district to resume a position at Kothes and five years later became a director.

Client relationships

He marks the most rewarding aspect of his career as the relationships with clients. Specialising in business consulting, business planning and property development, John has enjoyed seeing clients prosper and grow through sound financial management. “When people tell me they followed some advice I gave them ten, twenty, thirty years ago and that it was the best decision they ever made, it’s quite gratifying to see I’ve been able to help people along the way achieve their financial goals.”

He says the most challenging time for the firm was when the government introduced GST on July 1, 2000. “This increased the volume of work within the practice an incredible amount, as we were trying to help our clients transition into computerised systems as well as manage the changes ourselves. In terms of pressure and stress on the firm, this was definitely the most challenging time.”

Opportunity and growth

John is proud of the growth of Kothes which now has 50 staff, seven offices and a client base reaching right across Australia. As well as the organic growth of the business, Kothes has also acquired several smaller accounting practices including John Freeburn, I.J. Riley and Co, Barclay and Donaldson and David Shannon.

“Kothes has always tried to take advantage of opportunities that have arisen and during my time with the firm we’ve had many major changes.”

Technology

He said to manage the growth the firm has needed to always be at the forefront of technology. “Keeping pace with technology has always been important because it’s given us the capacity to service clients outside the area, and allowed us to take full advantage of the efficiencies technology provides.”

John said Kothes also placed a high importance on education and training for staff. “We’ve built up a firm of highly-professional and skilled chartered accountants, financial planners and business consultants so we can offer a broad range of tax, accounting, business, auditing and superannuation services. I’m extremely proud to see what Kothes has achieved during my career, and what it will continue to achieve in the future.”

Busy in retirement

In retirement John is planning to travel around Australia and overseas with wife Sybil and spend more time with their five children and six grandchildren. He’s also planning more fishing and working his other business interests and projects.

“I certainly won’t be idle and with my current list of things I’ve got planned, it will be several years before I even think about slowing down,” John said.