History
BDO Dunwoody LLP is both new and old on the scene. In January 1992, our existing Canadian accounting Firms - Dunwoody & Company and BDO Ward Mallette - each with a long history of approximately 70 years, as well as BDO Guenette Chaput - Winnipeg and BDO Frazer Matthews - Edmonton, merged to form the new Firm now known as BDO Dunwoody.
The result was the founding of a new national accounting and advisory firm committed to helping independent businesses succeed. We are one of the largest accounting firms in Canada, with 95 offices accross Canada, over 1200 professional staff and approximately 300 Partners across the country to service our clients.
To help you understand our Firm's philosophy, it is necessary to look at our history.
Dunwoody & Company
Dunwoody & Company was founded by the late Colonel James M. Dunwoody. From its roots as a small local practice to its current status as a national Firm, Dunwoody & Company continued to reflect the influence of its founder.
The story of Dunwoody & Company began when the Colonel opened the first Dunwoody office in March, 1921. By 1939, the Firm had offices in Winnipeg, Kenora and Fort Frances. When Colonel Dunwoody retired from the services in 1943, he set up a Toronto office and in 1947, an office in what is now Thunder Bay. In 1959, a Partnership was created between the eastern and western Partners for the purpose of opening a Vancouver office.
The Firm became truly national in scope in June 1965, when the Vancouver office joined in, and the three Partnerships were integrated as Dunwoody & Company. At that time, it had 23 Partners and 120 employees in 11 offices.
An international link was forged in 1963. The British Firm agreed to the affiliation on the condition that Dunwoody & Company also line up a US affiliate. An agreement was reached with an American Firm, building a union in which Dunwoody was the leader and moving force.
BDO Ward Mallette
From its origins in 1951 as a single office operated by Geoff Ward, BDO Ward Mallette grew to become Canada's seventh-largest public accounting firm.
Prior to 1951, Geoff Ward had acted as auditor for the United Co-operatives of Ontario. When the government passed the Public Accounting and Auditing Act, Ward seized the opportunity and opened his own accounting practice. Initially, his principal clients consisted of agricultural co-operatives and credit unions.
In 1954, the first Partnership leading to the establishment of the Firm was formed with Herb Watson in Lindsay, Ontario. Soon and increasingly, more Partnerships were formed. In the early 1960's, the Ontario-wide Firm name of G.H. Ward & Partners was adopted.
Attempts were made at various stages in the Firm's history to secure international connections. It became apparent very quickly, however, that the Firm had to grow nationally before it could plan international expansion. Discussions took place with Firms in other provinces. This led, in 1973, to a three-way merger of regional accounting Firms: the Ontario Firm, the Quebec Firm (Groupe Mallette, founded by Paul Mallette, past president of the Quebec Ordre) and the British Columbia Firm (founded by David Rolfe, treasurer of the BC Institute).
This new national Firm became the representative of the American Firm Seidman & Seidman in 1975, and in 1977 became members of the international Firm Binder Seidman, which evolved to become BDO Binder and recently BDO International.
BDO Dunwoody LLP - The existing Firm
Both Dunwoody & Company and BDO Ward Mallette had a strong commitment to servicing small and medium size entrepreneurial clients. Since our new merged Firm has been built on similar principles, we understand how our clients operate and therefore are in an excellent position to provide them with quality service.
Because we span the entire country, it is important that we have a central National Office to co-ordinate the utilization of resources. The various departments in National Office (i.e. Accounting and Auditing, Taxation, Computer Services, Marketing, Communication, Professional Development and Human Resources) exist to serve the needs of the local offices. We encourage the local offices to take advantage of the available services at every opportunity.
BDO International
Not only are we a national Firm, but BDO Dunwoody is also a member of the International Firm of BDO. We have come into existence as an international Firm through the process of creating a federation of national accounting Firms, which are tied together by means of a common agreement to operate under the name of BDO International.
BDO International is a world wide network of public accounting firms, called BDO Member Firms, serving international clients. Each BDO Member Firm is an independent legal entity in its own country.
Overall, BDO International's unifying philosophy includes close, personal attention to clients, an emphasis on practical applications and superior standards for all Firms in the BDO International Partnership.
An international directory of all offices around the world is available in every office and on the Internet at www.bdointernational.com.
