The Financial Review Client Choice Awards recognise the best firms and practitioners from the accounting, consulting engineering, law and IP specialist sectors in Australia and New Zealand. At a gala dinner on 14 March winners across a number of categories and Victorian firms and practitioners made up a significant proportion of those recognised.
At a gala dinner on 14 March winners across a number of categories were announced and we’re delighted to offer our congratulations to the firms and individual practitioners from Victoria who made up a significant proportion of those recognised:
- GTA Consultants: Best overall Professional Services Firm (revenue under $50m)
- Edwin Patterson – Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick: Best Overall Professional and Most Client-Focused IP Specialist
- Litsa Christodulou – HLB Mann Hudd: Most Client-Focused Accountant
- HLB Mann Judd: Best Accounting Firm ($50-500m)
- Lander and Rogers: Best Law firm ($50-200m)
- Gilbert + Tobin: Most Innovative Firm
You can see a full list of finalists and winners here.
The awards finalists and winners are determined through research and thousands of responses from clients of professional services firms across Australia and independently conducted by beaton.
The Victorian Government’s support of the 2018 awards recognises the major role that professional services plays in the Victorian economy. Accounting for almost 20 per cent of gross state product, the largest contribution from any industry sector, professional services employs over 430,000 Victorians and contributed $73 billion to the state's economy, in 2016-17.
A number of factors are helping to fuel the growth of professional services such as:
- Melbourne’s reputation as one of the world’s most cultured and liveable cities which is attracting knowledge and creative workers and businesses
- major infrastructure projects which are generating huge demand for professional services skills
- population growth which has seen 2,859 new people call Melbourne home every seven days
- the low cost of commercial real estate which makes it commercially attractive to expand and establish business in Victoria.
To support the implementation of this sector strategy, the government established the $200 million Future Industries Fund, the $500 million Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund and the $500 million Premier's Jobs and Investment Fund.
