RSM Alumni Newsletter

To our RSM Alumni,

As we move through another busy year at RSM Australia, I'd like to take a moment to thank our alumni community for continuing to stay connected with the firm. The relationships we build throughout our careers often extend well beyond our time working together, and our alumni network remains an important part of the broader RSM community. The value of those connections, and the support many of you continue to show for the firm, is something we greatly appreciate.

One of the qualities that continues to set RSM apart is the strength of the relationships we build with our clients, communities and colleagues. These trusted relationships remain a key driver of our success and are reflected in the loyalty of our clients and the recognition we continue to receive in the marketplace.

This year, we were delighted to be named Best Accounting & Consulting Services Firm at the 2026 Client Choice Awards, marking the eighth consecutive years our clients have voted for us in these prestigious awards. This recognition is particularly meaningful because it is based on direct client feedback and reflects the commitment of our people to delivering exceptional service and value.

We were also proud to see one of our own recognised on the global stage. Warwick Spargo, Audit & Assurance Partner in Melbourne, was named a finalist for Audit MVP of the Year at the international DataSnipper Awards, securing a place among the top three nominees worldwide. Being recognised among the world's leading audit professionals is an outstanding achievement and highlights Warwick's contribution to innovation, leadership and excellence within the profession.

As our firm continues to evolve, we also acknowledge several respected leaders who retired from the partnership on 30 June. On behalf of the firm, I would like to thank Cameron Taylor, Roger Darvall-Stevens, David Johnston, Andrew Sykes and Rod Edwards for their significant contributions to RSM and the lasting impact they have had on our people, clients and communities. We wish them every success in the next chapter of their careers, with some continuing to support the firm in consulting capacities. 

New senior appointments

Congratulations to our newest Partner and Director appointments, which are effective 1 July 2026, and welcome to our most recent lateral hires.

Partners

• Adam Cormack, Restructuring & Recovery | Canberra
• Shelby Earl, Audit and Assurance | Albury, Ballarat, Gosford, Wagga Wagga
• Rhys Edwards, Business Advisory | Perth
• Marie Van Blommestein, Business Advisory | Katanning
• Amir Lefkovic, Corporate Finance | Melbourne
• Pushpinder Singh, Risk Advisory Services | Sydney

Directors

• Fiona Brazier, Tax Advisory | Brisbane
• Patrick Gordon, Business Advisory | Goulburn
• Laurel Millar (Grey), Digital Advisory | Sydney
• Josh Colagiuri, Business Advisory | Sydney
• Nathan Burgess, Restructuring & Recovery | Brisbane
• Daniel Bisiach, Business Advisory | Melbourne
• Ryan Hammersley, Corporate Tax | Perth
• Emma Tyler, Corporate Finance | Melbourne
• Edward Yang, Audit & Assurance | Sydney
• Waqar Ali, Corporate Finance | Sydney
• Rob Pita, Audit and Assurance | Brisbane
• Shikha Thomas, Corporate Finance | Melbourne
• Charlene Butler, Business Advisory | Canberra
• Shaun Osborne, Corporate Finance | Perth

Retirements

Congratulations to our most recent retirees including Amanda Sproule
- time to put your feet up and enjoy the next chapter!

These individuals have been key in RSM's success and growth, bringing their expertise, leadership, and a whole lot of heart to the firm. We’re incredibly grateful for everything they’ve done and the positive impact they’ve had on all of us.

From everyone at RSM Australia, we wish you all the best on your next adventure!

Awards

RSM Australia has been recognised at the 2026 Client Choice Awards, winning Best Accounting & Consulting Services Firm for the eighth consecutive year, Best Provider of ESG Services: Accounting & Consulting Services for the third year running, and the overall Best Professional Services Firm award.

These honours reflect the trust and feedback of our clients, and we thank them for their continued partnership and support.

Read the article

RSM Australia was also recognised at the 2026 Accountants Daily Rising Stars Awards, with Philip Song (R&D Tax, Sydney) Winner of Multiservice category and earning finalist honours in Tax & Compliance and Specialist Consultant, while Emily Chau (Audit & Assurance, Sydney) was named an Audit finalist.

Sarah Kelso (Business Advisory, Toowoomba) was also shortlisted for Young Accountant of the Year, and Jess Olivier (R&D Tax, Sydney) was a finalist for Partner of the Year.

Celebrating our long timers

We know RSM is a great place to work, and our staff celebrating their long service would likely agree! In this edition of the alumni newsletter, we have more than 300 years of collective RSM experience!

Congratulations to our wonderful team members celebrating their work anniversaries with us. Cheers to more years to come!

Where are they now?

Alumni member spotlight

Paula Adamson

CEO, Wrays | Intellectual Property

Worked at RSM from 2015-2016
as a Senior Manager
Office: Canberra

Tell us about your current role

I am currently dual hatted as the CEO of Wrays Australia and Chief Operating Officer (COO) for South East Asia Pacific (SEAPAC) at Rouse. Rouse acquired Wrays in September 2025 and maintained the Australian brand and company. Rouse is a global intellectual property (IP) professional services firm that helps organisations create, protect, commercialise and enforce their intellectual assets. Unlike many IP firms that operate through independent correspondent networks, Rouse has its own offices across key innovation and manufacturing markets in SEA, China, EU and the UK. It is a unique firm that provides clients with consistent advice, quality standards and service delivery across several jurisdictions. This multidisciplinary approach enables clients to manage the full lifecycle of innovation—from identifying and protecting IP through to enforcement, licensing, valuation and commercialisation.

Tell us about your current role

No day is the same, which is why I enjoy it so much. The combination of CEO of Wrays and the COO for SEAPAC at Rouse, is a unique leadership role where I balance responsibility for a successful Australian business while driving the strategic integration and growth of one of the world's most dynamic IP regions. SEA is experiencing unprecedented growth in the protection, commercialisation and enforcement of intellectual property. As manufacturing moves into different jurisdictions and large corporates recognise that SEA is a major consumer of products and services, we are seeing a shift to greater protection of brand and inventions in these countries. As CEO, the priority is ensuring Wrays remains a high-performing business delivering outstanding outcomes for our clients. As COO, the priority is ensuring the broader SEAPAC region becomes a connected, collaborative and scalable business capable of delivering seamless client services across borders. It all comes together when the role combines accountability for business performance, governance, people and client relationships across Wrays and Rouse SEAPAC.

What has been your biggest career highlight?

I have many career highlights and find each role is challenging and interesting. However, being involved in the acquisition process with Rouse was a significant career highlight and something I have never been involved with before. The transaction represented far more than a sale—it was the transformation of a 100-year-old business (with an ageing workforce) into part of one of the world's leading specialist intellectual property firms. The most rewarding aspect has been seeing the benefits and opportunities realised beyond the transaction itself. Staff have access to global secondments, extensive sharing of knowledge and technology system functionality on a broader scale. Clients now have access to one of the world's largest specialist IP networks. I believe it has made us an attractive employer for future talent, it has expanded career and development opportunities across multiple jurisdictions, and the business is positioned for continued growth through greater collaboration, enhanced technology and broader service capability. Leading the sale and integration of Wrays into Rouse stands as one of the most significant highlights (albeit one of the most challenging) of my career because it was aligned to my key strengths, which is leading transformational change that delivers value for everyone involved.

What is your favourite memory of your time at RSM?

The people. I really enjoyed working with the people at RSM (especially Emily Bowd who always supported me). One of the key milestones while working at RSM was winning a major Defence contract.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

The best career advice I ever received was “trust your instincts and stay true to your values”. Throughout your career you will encounter people who are louder, more confident or more forceful than you. Don't mistake confidence for competence, and don't allow someone else's ego to make you question your own judgement. Best advice ever😊

What advice would you give your younger self in the early days of your career?

There is so much that I would like to tell my younger self. I always wanted to move faster than my experience, my role or the organisation was ready for (a little like a teenager who thinks they know everything). I was ambitious, energetic and motivated to make a difference, and I wouldn't change that. However, I was often impatient and didn’t always bring others along on the journey. Over time I've learned that it isn't about how quickly you can move—it's about how effectively you can bring people with you. Not everyone processes new ideas or change at the same pace, and that's okay. Sometimes the best thing you can do is slow down and listen. I'd also remind myself that making mistakes is part of learning to be a better colleague/leader/manager. Some of the most valuable lessons I've learned have come from things that didn't go to plan. Finally, I'd tell myself never to assume you're the smartest person in the room. You're almost certainly not, and that's a good thing. Every person brings a different perspective, experience and insight. The best of us stay curious, listen, ask more questions than we answer, and never stop learning from the people around us.

Events

Perth

In March, the Perth office welcomed former colleagues and friends of RSM to the brand-new Little Creatures Brewery at Elizabeth Quay for their Alumni Sundowner. The evening provided a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, share stories from years gone by, and catch up on where life and careers have taken us since their time at RSM.

Over great food, drinks and conversation, alumni and current team members came together to celebrate the strong relationships that continue long after leaving the firm. It was fantastic to see so many connections rekindled and new ones formed across our alumni network.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the event such a success. The evening was a great reminder that while career paths may change, the sense of community and connection built at RSM remains, and that RSM will always feel a little like home.

Looking to attend your next Alumni event?

Make sure you are a member of our LinkedIn or Facebook channels. We share all events as they are announced.

Spotlight on CFO advisory services

Today's CFOs are navigating a rapidly changing business environment, balancing growth ambitions with increasing complexity, risk and stakeholder expectations. In this edition, we speak with RSM's CFO Advisory Partner, Maria Williams, about the evolving role of the CFO and the key challenges and opportunities shaping the finance function.

How has the role of the CFO changed in recent years, and what are CFOs being asked to do differently today?

The skills and experience required of a CFO today has evolved significantly from that of the historic looking and compliance focused CFO and finance teams from the past. CFO’s are driving organisational strategy, through the provision of timely and relevant insights for decision making. The demand for data for scenario analysis and decision making has never been greater meaning CFOs and their teams need high quality reliable data, new technologies, tools and capabilities to deliver.

What are some of the common challenges you see when you first start working with a finance function?

Many organisations remain heavily reliant on manual processes and outdated technologies. Pain points often relate to slow monthly close processes, no single source of truth, poor quality data, and lack of timely information for decision making. Finance will often be very siloed from the wider business, reactive and consumed with providing historical information rather than forward looking.

When a CFO says, “I know my finance function needs to transform, but I don't know where to start,” what do you tell them?

Evaluating the current state of the finance function and understanding pain points are effective first steps to develop a roadmap for transformation priorities to assist in achieving the target state finance function maturity (for example move from basic to established).

Optimising finance functions generally requires streamlining processes, technologies and uplifting team capabilities to meet the evolving needs of the wider business.

AI is changing almost every part of business. What opportunities do you see for CFOs and finance teams?

Process automation within Finance and the use of AI enables finance teams access to a wider range of data sources for analysis and report creation leading to significant efficiencies and improving the ability of finance to provide timely insights for strategic decision making. However, the first step is process optimisation across finance to ensure that there is a single source of truth and high quality, reliable data as an enabler to effectively benefit from automation.

For someone unfamiliar with CFO Advisory, what problems does the team help CFOs solve?

Our team supports businesses to strengthen their finance functions, improve quality of data and processes, build capabilities to support growth, and navigate complex transactions or financial reporting requirements.

We have a dedicated hub for CFOs with insightful articles, tools and videos.
Click here to access these resources.