McCulloch Butler and Spence: Servicing Our Clients

100 years of BDO Gisborne – Celebrating our stories behind the numbers. 

When the Gisborne office opened its doors for business in 1921, most of the inward work focused on servicing clients that had an existing business relationship with the Napier office of McCulloch Butler & Spence.  

The business needs of these clients at the time, predominantly ranged from audit, secretarial, accounting and taxation work through to business advisory.  Taxation work mainly focused on death and succession duties along with land and income tax and gift duty.

With an increasing demand for the firm’s services extending the length and breadth of the East Coast, an office presence was later established in both Tokomaru Bay and Wairoa.  

This certainly demonstrated the strength of the firm’s professional expertise and experience, as well as a strong reputation for delivering work to the highest quality standards.

Tokomaru Bay Office (circa 1940)

Left to right: Joe Oates, Rex Chaplin (Partner), Joan Riddell and Phillipa Todd.

Read more about BDO Gisborne's history on their website: www.bdo.nz/gisborne/our-history