Our Purpose
Enriching families and communities through successful business.
Let’s start at the beginning…
In 1953 Toplis Fletcher & Co opened as an accountancy firm in Kaikohe, started by Ormon Toplis & John Fletcher. In the late 70’s the company bought it’s first computer, which took up an entire room and was incredibly slow! In 1981 Toplis Fletcher became Fletcher Poutsma Whitelaw & Co, with Cliff Whitelaw, Jack Poutsma & Keith Ardern joining as directors. In 1991 after Jack & Keith left, Fletcher Whitelaw & Co was the next incarnation, with John Fletcher & Cliff Whitelaw at the helm.
In October 1993 Wayne Weber joined the office, & in 1993 after forty years as a director, John Fletcher retired. With Cliff having sole charge, in January 1996 Whitelaw Weber was born, with Wayne becoming a director.
Kaikohe, date unknown.
From the very beginning, we have specialised in working with local businesses & agri-businesses.
Whitelaw Weber opened their office in Kerikeri in 1996, working originally out of the Professionals Centre for four years (above where Haigh Workman is now), then moving above where Warehouse Stationary is now for six years. With our office still running in Kaikohe, we also ran State Insurance out of Kaikohe at this time.
In the early 2000’s we had an office in Opononi, closing this when we opened our office in Mangonui. In 2008 we bought & renovated a rest home at 10 Fairway Drive, Kerikeri, our team is still working out of the same building today (albeit with a few more renovations!). In 2010 we bought Ross Christensen’s practice, amalgamating the team with our Kerikeri team. In 2012, we were sharing an office space in Mangonui with local law firm Palmer Macauley, however we then purchased Bell Associates in Kaitaia, moving our office north. With offices in Kerikeri, Kaikohe & now Kaitaia, Whitelaw Weber was growing at a rate of knots.
In 2014 Annika Dickey became a partner, having been a part of the Whitelaw Weber team for sixteen years already after starting as on office junior. In 2016 we purchased & joined Tax & Business Services with our practice.
2018 saw the end of an era, as Cliff Whitelaw retired after being in charge for over thirty years. This was cause for a huge celebration of his time here, it really was a huge change in both his life, and ours!
In 2019 Paul Young became a director after Cliff’s retirement, after being a part of our team for five years. We also renovated the Kaikohe office in 2019 - this office is where Toplis Fletcher first began. Gone are the sparkly blue walls from the nineties!
Business in 2022 is completely different to 1953. We’ve gone from businesses being run with hand-written notes, & type writers - to computers changing the game, running businesses off phones, laptops & tablets, & a pandemic creating a complete shift for our team to working from home during lockdowns. Cloud-based software has revolutionized the world of business, & helped to balance work & life commitments. Our team have taken full advantage of these technology advantages, with some working remotely from home a couple of days a week.
We are the Far North's largest independent firm & our top priority is creating resilient, successful businesses that drive economic growth & opportunity for families. As one of New Zealand's top thirty accountancy firms, we work hard to provide clients with excellent professional advice & service. The advice, experience, support and guidance - that’’s what sets us apart.
Our team consists of over twenty experts - from chartered accountants to administration specialists.
We take care of business, so you don’t have too.
Continuing to lead the way after seven decades, we proudly remain a family business.
Our team go above and beyond to ensure that our clients are getting the right advice for their business.
Don’t just take it from us, here’s what our clients have to say.
Our Values
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Direction & vision with empowerment.
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Unrelenting courage & drive.
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Show empathy & respect; remembering families come first.
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Pro-actively creating & embracing better ways.
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There for you through thick & thin.
It takes teamwork to make the dream work.
We’re lucky to be partnered with some incredible organisations.
NZ CA is New Zealand's largest network of Chartered Accounting firms providing a wide range of tax, audit, accounting and business advisory disciplines. With more than 30 associated firms and over 400 professional accounting staff and 200 support staff, NZ CA sits comfortably alongside multi-national accounting firms, while maintaining our local knowledge, expertise and relationships.
As a member organisation, we benefit from shared resources, online collaboration tools and access to specialists in virtually all areas.
You may be surprised to learn that in New Zealand, you do not require any qualification or training to work as an accountant. In contrast, a Chartered Accountant has undertaken years of study and adheres to strict ethical and technical standards. Choosing a Chartered Accountant gives you the security of knowing you work will meet or exceed these recognised technical and ethics benchmarks.
Whitelaw Weber is proud to be a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).
All CAANZ members must earn one of three designations (Chartered Accountant, Associate Chartered Accountant, Accounting Technician), which means they have already completed a significant amount of study and practical work experience by the time they are qualified.
Members are required to keep up to date with changes affecting the business and finance industry through ongoing professional development.
They’re also required to maintain high ethical and professional standards whether they work in business or practice.
Xero’s online accounting software connects small business owners with their numbers, their bank, and advisors anytime. Founded in 2006, Xero now has 3.7 million subscribers and is a leader in cloud accounting across New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Xero automates many day-to-day tasks and keeps you up to date on the money side of things wherever you are.
Whitelaw Weber has proudly been a Xero Platinum Partner for several years now. A Xero Platinum Partner is an official ranking appointed by Xero which promotes their recommended partners (like us,) who are experts in Xero's cloud-based accounting technology (also, us!).