Bentleys Queensland

The history of Bentleys Queensland dates back to 1 July 1948 when two accountants, Jim Rawlings and Harry Bolton, established the firm of JL Rawlings, Bolton & Co. Rawlings had been the Brisbane partner of Joseph Kenna & Co (a Rockhampton firm which is still in practice today) and Bolton was a partner of G E Jones & Co in Mackay. The original firm was located in the Creek Street precinct of Brisbane’s central business district. In the 1960’s the firm moved to Cribb Street in Milton – but the expansion of commercial activity in Brisbane saw the practice later re-establish in the city. Over a quarter of a century, Rawlings and Bolton led the firm through impressive growth and achievement. Both gentlemen retired in 1972, by which time the firm had grown to become a successful Queensland practice with seven partners and a team of professional and support staff. Whilst initially a business services practice, the firm formally added the practice areas of audit in the 1970’s and insolvency in the 1980’s. There was also progress on other business fronts during these decades - Bentleys acquired one of the first business computers in Queensland, a Hartley computer, and operated a professional share registry service until 1989. Between the 80’s to mid 90’s, Bentleys was located in Hooker House on Creek Street, Brisbane. The firm then moved to AMP Place in Eagle Street in the 90’s. Eagle Street was Bentleys’ “home” for almost 20 years. Over the past decade, in particular in recent years, Bentleys Queensland have continued on their growth trajectory and have established a specialist corporate recovery team in Sydney whilst also expanding in all disciplines in Brisbane. To accommodate our growing team, the firm relocated to brand new office space in the 6 Star Green Star building at 123 Albert Street in mid 2011. Today, the firm boasts a team of 16 Directors and around 130 professional staff who work with more than 2000 major family groups, businesses and professional organisations. Many of our clients are key stakeholders and leaders in their respective industries. Some have partnered with us for decades (such as Rocklea Spinning Mills who became a Bentleys client in 1948 and remained with the firm until they closed in 2003). We also enjoy long and successful relationships with many government bodies and industry partners. Our rural heritage As a firm with regional connections and heritage, Bentleys has a long history of working with rural clientele. Opportunities in various regions have, over the years, opened up new and emerging markets in different locations for the firm. In the early days, this resulted in the firm operating a branch office in Longreach. Our association with this region was further cemented through the building of close links with Qantas. The original firm was also one of the founding participants of the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. Today, our geographical dispersion of clients means that our staff are enabled to work from almost anywhere and they regularly travel to our clients’ locales. We work with key farming and regional businesses across the state, especially those in Central and Western Queensland. The evolution of our brand The firm known today as Bentleys Queensland first became a part of the Bentleys national association when it joined Bentleys, Wheeler, Cartledge & Co in 1970. This association originated following the merger of W H Bentley, Frazer & Co in Sydney and Norman Cartledge & Browne in Melbourne. In 1981, the name was shortened to Bentley & Co and in 1989 – became Bentleys. Becoming a part of the Bentleys fold allowed the Brisbane firm to become a service provider to the major national finance house of the era – Custom Credit. As globalisation paved the way for access to international business opportunities in the early 80’s, Bentleys joined the international association of accounting firms known originally as Joslyn Layton Bennett, then Fox Layton and eventually Moores Rowland International (MRI). Bentleys adopted the ‘MRI’ as a part of its name in 1998. In 2007, MRI made way for Praxity – a global alliance of independent accounting firms. The Bentleys association then made the decision to join the Kreston International global network in early 2012.

Address: Level 9, 123 Albert Street Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia

Phone: +61 7 3222 9777
FAX: +61 7 3221 9250