Our Firm

Our Firm
Rob Knights & Co commenced operation almost 40 years ago under the leadership of Rob Knights. Rob studied accounting, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1971, whilst working in a large firm in Melbourne, which later become part of one of the Big 4. His background was predominently in audit.

Our services are now broadly grouped within the following areas:

Benchmarking
Consultations
Valuations
Keynote speaking, facilitations & presentations
Practice broking, and
Practice Protection
Succession planning
It all started in 1972 when Rob relocated to Sydney, acquiring a recruitment firm, which placed temporary and permanent professional and support personnel within accounting and legal firms. From the provision of these services grew our benchmarking services, in particular our charge rate and salary surveys for the accounting profession which commenced in June of 1974. These services expanded to become the leading source of broad ranging key information beneficial to the Australian accounting profession, as well as the collation of charge rates and salaries applicable to the financial planning industry. This information is now supplied to hundreds of firms each year in addition to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Resulting from the expertise gained through these recruitment and benchmarking services, as well as Rob’s training as an accountant, the services offered by Rob Knights & Co broadened to include consultations around topics such as practice performance and improvement; practice analysis; partnership and proprietorship issues; the introduction and retirement of equity holders; succession planning; adjustment of equity; principal remuneration and earnings; merger, acquisition, sale and dissolution considerations; commencing a practice; practice structuring; funding; staffing and recruitment matters; just to name a few. Recipients of such advice include partners, partners-elect, professional and government bodies, as well as corporate and commercial organisations.

The firm also become known as expert valuers of accounting, financial planning and legal firms. Likewise, Rob and later Michelle became highly sought after keynote speakers, facilitators and presenters amongst these select professions on all matters of practice performance, management, proprietorship or succession nature. Our firm is also periodically quoted in, or authors of, articles within professional journals, magazines and the broader ranging press, in addition to our own e-mail newsletter known as the MAP Memo.

Michelle Knights joined her father Rob at the firm in 1997, commencing initially as the Services Co-ordinator and later progressing to the position of Associate. During this time, Michelle retrained in the areas of accounting, financial planning, marketing, business valuation and exit planning. She later succeeded Rob in the leadership of the firm in 2004, following his short battle with cancer. Rob often joked that he bred his own succession plan, but it had an extremely long lead time, that of 30 years.

As a result of a signficant number of requests by practitioners to assist with the sale of their firms, Rob Knights Business Broking Pty Ltd commenced operation introducing a highly structured, proactive and professional approach to the tranactions of accounting, financial planning and legal firms. Michelle, as the licensed broker, is now offering practice sales, merger and buyers’ agents services to firms in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA & WA.

The latest service offering by the firm is called Practice Protection which is targeted at sole and small practitioners as a means of offering them added assurance and piece of mind should they become unexpectedly injured or killed. The service enables the secure storage of all the relevant data which is required to expedite the sale of the practice, and realise the value of this asset, in the absence of the practitioner, without placing further demands on already distressed family and friends.

Michelle is now the primary consultant of the firm and aptly supported by a team of administrative personnel.

Our services are constantly evolving to meet the needs and demands of our clients. Should you have a query regarding any operational or management aspect of your firm, please e-mail us at askus@robknights.com.au.

Given our longstanding involvement within the marketplace, our firm is widely recognised for its expertise throughout the accounting, financial planning and legal professions with in excess of 90% of our business originating from recommendations. We thank our clients and colleagues for such referrals. Importantly, we do not service the general public and are therefore not in competition with your firm as a service provider to our clients.