At Pilot Partners, we believe that great relationships are essential for business success for us and our clients. Through strong relationships and open communications we provide a truly tailored service to facilitate growth and actively support our clients’ business evolution.

Background

Fitzpatricks Private Wealth is a national advisory and wealth management firm specialising in estate planning, wealth preservation, financial management strategies and investment management. Fitzpatricks has been a client of Pilot Partners for almost 20 years, with relationships between the firms and partners pre-dating Pilot’s inception.

One of the Pilot partners managing the relationship is Murray Howlett, who leads Pilot’s Taxation Services team.

“Over the past two decades we’ve been proud to work alongside Fitzpatricks and have advised on many business challenges at various stages of their business journey”, said Murray.

Business solutions from Pilot

In the early days of working together, Pilot worked as a technical tax outsource for Fitzpatricks’ clients. As the business’ needs evolved, Fitzpatricks themselves became a client and engaged Pilot for broader accounting services including audit, business valuation, tax, and business advisory advice.

In the past five years, Pilot have assisted in the design and implementation of an equity plan for key executives, as well as playing a critical role in assisting with the introduction of private equity investment and succession planning for the business founders.  This last step involved collaborative work with Fitzpatricks executives and legal team to ensure that the transaction worked was designed and implemented correctly.

“We approach our client’s business with the same enthusiasm and inspiration as we have for our own. Through this approach we have been there at every critical turn to choose optimal business structures for Fitzpatricks’ changing business needs”, said Murray.

Looking ahead

Fitzpatricks Founder, Scott Fitzpatrick, and CEO, John Woodley, plan for Fitzpatricks Private Wealth to continually evolve as a business to ensure they deliver positive outcomes for their clients.

“Pilot have supported us throughout each stage of our business evolution, responding to our needs and helping us solve complex issues” said Scott Fitzpatrick.

In an environment of constant regulatory focus and changes across the wealth management business, including implications from the recent Hayne review, Fitzpatricks continue to be proactive in their business approach. Fitzpatricks works with Pilot to pre-empt changes and implement measures to comply with proposed legislation in this sector.

“Murray and the Pilot team truly understand our big picture goals. Our strong collaborative partnership helps us to continually meet our business objectives”, said John Woodley.

Summary

Pilot Partners’ strong relationships and open communication allow us to deliver personalised services to actively support every stage of our clients’ business journey.

For more information on how Pilot can help your business grow, contact Murray Howlett on mhowlett@pilotpartners.com.au or (07) 3023 1300.