– From Bentleys Newcastle
We have survived yet another challenging year made more difficult thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic! It is a relief to be at the end of the year and to get some time to unwind with the family member that we might have been unable to see over the year. It’s a time of coming back together and taking stock of what matters most to us. Hopefully, everyone’s socialising skills have recovered post-pandemic now, and no one will have any problems telling their family all of the stories they’ve accumulated throughout the year.
Our story this year has been one of perseverance and persistence. We started with the launch of our new app, which has enabled our clients to communicate with us more efficiently throughout the year. We welcomed new people to our team, like Shalea Townsend, to bookkeeping, and we saw old team members rise in the ranks, with Kim Phillips becoming Associate Director. We raised money and organised fundraising drives for causes like The Mark Hughes Foundation and Pancare. And it was great to see all our hard work paying off with the Bentleys Network rising to within the top 10 accounting firms in the Australian Financial Review. And we managed all that whilst another wave of the pandemic raged on!
We are well aware that the pandemic over 2021 has had a detrimental effect on many of our clients, with the effects of lockdowns and people having to isolate or work remotely. Over this year, we have endeavoured to help our clients through this pain with assistance in areas such as Job Saver applications and rent relief applications. We also know that the pain has not yet gone completely, particularly with the recent outbreak in Newcastle affecting businesses in opening or accessing staff to open. Hence our support will continue in whatever way we can to help our clients get through these difficult times.
With a year like that behind us, we can’t wait for what 2022 holds for us as a business. We hope that all of our clients have a restful and replenishing holiday break, and we look forward to working with you all again in the new year!
This year our office will be closed from Thursday 23 December and will re-open on Monday 10 January 2022.