Global connections in our own back yard

The reach of RSM extends far and wide across the globe and the term six degrees of separation recently came to light in the most unusual of places for Percy Aikin, Consultant at our Auckland office. 

A first hand account as told by Percy -

"Earlier this year, I was on a multi-day walk around Lake Waikaremoana, the jewel in the crown of the Te Urewera Ranges, a remote and sparsely populated area of Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

I was one in a party of 14 which included some American visitors.

On the second day of the walk, it became too hot to wear my RSM cap, so I attached it to my pack and continued my walk. About an hour later, I noticed that my hat was no longer attached. I had obviously not secured the Velcro straps. I was not concerned because I knew I was leading many other walkers and felt sure that at least one of those following would spot the hat and it would be returned to me at the end of the day.

Sure enough, one of the Americans had recovered it and I was pleased to get it back. I had met this man earlier and he had told me that he was from Cedar Rapids in Iowa. He asked me what ‘RSM’ stood for and what did they do. I told him that we were Chartered Accountants and that RSM was a global brand. Then he said when he was growing up in Iowa, he knew that his grandfather had a friendship with Mr McGladrey and he knew then of his accountancy practice when it began in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He also explained that he followed the progress of Mr McGladrey as he expanded his practice locally, then globally, and he was aware then of the beginning of the RSM brand.

It was like meeting somebody on your trip who not only knew who you were, but also knew your family members from the previous generation. It surely is a small world. I have a wish when I travel that I will quite randomly meet somebody I know from back home, to affirm my connection with New Zealand, especially the family and friends that live there."