Look up above the Bakers Delight in Main Highway and you will see a large Chartered Accountants sign. From the street level, it's almost imperceptible. But JDW Chartered Accountants Limited is a hidden gem. When you walk up the stairs, you are greeted by Carol or Kimberley or one of the directors as an old friend, and then you notice that the offices are larger and more comfortable than you expect. There are thirteen in the team, ready and willing to help.

Frank Jolly and Don Stanway created their accounting partnership in 1958. Murray Wells joined the firm in 1971, and in 1973 he and Gerald Duncan teamed with Frank Jolly & Don Stanway to form Stanway & Partners. Don Stanway left four years later. Jolly Duncan & Wells moved to Ellerslie in 1986. Auditor Brian Sheridan was promoted to director in 1996 and the business incorporated in 2000. They have refurbished a couple of times since then, and recently rebranded to JDW Chartered Accountants Limited. Serena Irving became a director in June 2018 and Rupesh Parikh will become a director in April 2019.

Frank Jolly, Don Stanway and Gerald Duncan have passed on, but JDW continues to serve the second and third generation of their original clients. This gives JDW a unique insight into succession planning, trust and estate management from these long associations.

JDW supports the Ellerslie community in many ways. It hosts the Ellerslie Village Business Association bi-monthly meetings and offers workshops to its members. Murray and Sharon Wells have been active members of Ellerslie Community Patrol for many years, and JDW provides administration support to the patrol. Murray is also a trustee of Ellerslie Community Arts Trust, which puts on the annual Ellerslie Spring Fairy & Pirate Festival. JDW sponsors One Tree Hill College and Ellerslie Bowling Club regularly and sponsored the Ellerslie Santa Parade for the first time in 2018.

Murray Wells has been chairman of Bucklands Beach Yacht Club Marina for the past 30 years. Brian Sheridan is a trustee of the Saint Patrick's Festival Trust and a committee member of the Irish Business Network New Zealand Inc. Serena Irving has been a Toastmaster for 20 years and is currently Division N Director for central Auckland clubs. Rupesh Parikh has an active involvement in the Gujarati Indian community in Auckland.

JDW's mission is: We help business owners to succeed by giving them the financial, tax and business information and support they need to make better decisions. With their core values of integrity, empathy, simplicity and partnership, people are their most important asset. The team speaks a variety of languages: English, Afrikaans, Cantonese, Gaelic, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Mandarin, & Niuean. As Murray said in their 60 ^th anniversary function, "We have friends who have become clients, and clients who have become friends."

Being a Chartered Accountant in 2019 is not just about producing financial statements, GST returns and tax returns. With cloud accounting, machine learning and process automation making compliance tasks easier, JDW Chartered Accountants are focussed on helping business owners make sense of their numbers, plan for the future, build relationships, providing expertise and friendly advice when required.

Happy Anniversary JDW – Here's to the next 60 Years!

Integrity – We stand by our moral and ethical principles. We are honest and reliable.

Empathy – We identify with the feelings of others. We care for our clients and our community.

Simplicity – We use words that are easy to understand. We look for straight-forward solutions to complex problems.

Partnership – We work alongside our clients. We offer our experience and advice when they need it. We look for opportunities to help them in their business.

How can you get the most from your Chartered Accountant?

Out-source what you aren't good at. Focus on your strengths. We help you:

• Understand your balance sheet and profit or loss reports.

• Structure your business and investments for asset protection and tax minimisation.

• Price your goods or services.

• Focus on your key performance indicators.

• Plan for growth.

• Manage your accounting fees.

• Move your data into the cloud.

First published in Ellerslie village magazine, March 2019 edition.

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Serena Irving is a director in JDW Chartered Accountants Limited, Ellerslie, Auckland. JDW is a professional team of qualified accountants, auditors, business consultants, tax advisors, trust and business valuation specialists.