Early Beginnings​

 

Phillip Browne established Browne & Co in 1991, after having worked as a Chartered Accountant with PKF for nine years, then with LBW & Partners in Chatswood for eight years. Browne & Co started with just two employees, and grew through a strong reputation and client referrals to an 11 person firm consisting of three support staff and eight Chartered Accountants in 2009.

 

Phillip purchased FWA Eagar & Co in 2004 from Ross McKissock and Robert Knox. Ross McKissock retired from the firm in August 2005 and Robert Knox retired in February 2007. The firm has had many partners over the years, including most recently Eric Atkinson, Neville Higham, Walter Knox and Ross McKissock. Walter Knox is the father of Robert Knox who worked at FWA Eagar & Co for 40 years up until 2007. FWA Eagar & Co (now CABEL Partners) is a traditional firm with a long history, extending back to the 1920s.

 

The founder of FWA Eagar & Co was Frank William Austin Eagar. Mr Eagar fought in the South African Boer War (1899-1902) and returned to Manly where he established FWA Eagar & Co in about 1922.  Frank was born in 1880 of Edward George Eagar and Jane Drake, and was the eighth of 12 children in the family. He married Marguerite Wood Moore in 1911 in Manly, NSW. He died on 1 October 1963 and Marguerite on 5 December 1959. Frank was appointed Justice of the Peace in June 1921. (Source: Colonial Litigant Extraordinaire – The Edward Eagar Story, Layman, Attorney, Merchant and Lobbyist. By Kevin Lewis Smith, Published 1996 by Fast Books. Page 146)

 

 

 

Living History

 

FWA Eagar & Co is one of the oldest accounting firms in the northern beaches region and since 2004 has been operating under Phillip Browne, Fellow Chartered Accountant.

 

FWA Eagar & Co (now CABEL Partners) is located in a building from the 1940s era in Chancery Arcade between Whistler Street and Belgrave Street, Manly. The area around and between both these streets has been maintained carefully to keep and display the history that it holds. The offices have been tastefully renovated to incorporate the history and the old style of the building. The building still contains the safes, books and other materials from the 1920s that were first purchased by Mr Frank William Austin Eagar.

 

In June 2007, Phillip Browne purchased Super Return which was rebranded to Backpackers Buddy in July  2009. Backpackers Buddy provides tax and superannuation refund services to backpackers and temporary residents. Backpackers Buddy shares the Manly office with CABEL Partners.

 

 

 

Up to Date

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In 2004, Phillip Browne owned and operated Browne & Co and FWA Eagar & Co as two completely separate firms in two separate locations. Although many clients were aware that Phillip owned the two firms, their operations were not consolidated until 2008. Over the two years from 2008 to 2010, the association between Browne and Eagar (as we called them), grew closer. Locations were used by staff from both firms, IT systems were combined, branding contained both logos and although it made the logistics and operations of the firm easier, it was still not an ideal situation.

 

In October 2009, Phillip Browne was approached by his Business Services Manager, John Hensley, to join Phil as a partner of the firms. Phil accepted John’s request and plans were put in place to restructure the firm to a partnership. It was the ideal time to combine the two firms under the same name, and operate as one entity.

 

In June 2010, CABEL Partners was born as a partnership of Phillip Browne and John Hensley, providing accounting, tax, audit and consulting services. CABEL Partners now operates from James Place in North Sydney and Belgrave Street in Manly. In May 2015 Alan Grevler retired. Sadly, in December 2015, John Hensley left the firm due to his continuing battle with ill health. 

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Acquisition and Growth

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Phil’s strategic plan for succession and business success is to grow the firm by acquisition and internal referrals. On 1 November 2011, CABEL Partners and BEX Financial acquired Alan Grevler & Associates, Chartered Accountants, a long standing compliance firm from St Leonards. Alan Grevler has operated as a Sole Practitioner in business for over 25 years. His clientele are loyal and serviced well by Alan and his team.

 

By acquiring this firm, CABEL Partners will offer a business services group with internal specialisations. This team will support the services we provide in audit, bookkeeping, tax consulting and financial planning. It will also give our team a greater range of experience with new clients and their business.

 

CABEL Partners now offers Business Services, Specialist Tax Consulting, Business Consulting, Financial Planning and Audit.