Lorin Joyce of MGI Joyce|Dickson named new MGI Australasia Chairman

Lorin Joyce, the incoming Chairman of the MGI Australasia region, tells us his plans and objectives as he takes over the role from Grant Field. 

MGI Worldwide, international accounting association, is delighted to announce that Lorin Joyce, a founding partner at Canberra-based MGI Joyce|Dickson, has been appointed the new Chairman of MGI Australasia in what is sure to be an exciting new development for the region. 

Lorin takes over the role from Grant Field, Director of Brisbane-based MGI South Queensland Pty Ltd, who is also a former International Committee member for MGI Worldwide, representing Australasia. 

The new Regional Chairman recently spoke to us about how he sees the role evolving, his key objectives, and his greatest accomplishments so far: 

Grant has done a commendable job over the years as Chairman of MGI Australasia. How do you see the role evolving?

"Grant has played an instrumental role in shaping MGI Australasia into the successful network it is today. 

During his four-and-half-year chairmanship, MGI Australasia added two new members to the network and continued to develop closer ties between the firms. The region also implemented an upgrade of the MGI brand and introduced the successor to the Family and Private Business Survey - the innovative, new benchmarking tool, My Catalyst. 

I would like to build on the work Grant has already achieved, while in the position of Chairman, and I would also like to see MGI Australasia continue to grow and develop into a network that harnesses the potential of our information and resource-sharing capabilities to mutually benefit all member firms. 

The MGI Australasia network provides our firms with a strategic advantage in terms of information and resource-sharing. Thanks to the network’s combined size, we also have a comparative advantage when going to key suppliers with our buying power. Continuing to improve these key aspects of the network will be a key priority during my time in the role as Chairman." 

If you were to highlight your main objectives, what would they be?

"One of my key objectives for my time as Chairman is to increase the size of the MGI Australasia network.  Our current priority is to secure a firm in Melbourne that shares similar values and attributes to the MGI Australasia group.  This is a priority, as Melbourne is a key city for the network and we would like to find a firm that will bring fresh ideas, different perspectives and further opportunities for growth to the network. 

As part of the growth objective, I would also like to increase our reach by adding regional firms to the network. I believe that this provides additional opportunities to the network in terms of developing efficiencies, expanding our footprint and increasing our overall expertise and reach. We are currently fine-tuning the member value proposition given the new initiatives introduced over the last couple of years, and will be considering this from both a capital city and regional city perspective. 

Another objective during my term as Chairman is to identify opportunities for the MGI Australasia network to work closely together to find ways to entice staff or provide them with recognition for higher achievements. I believe this will help to boost staff recruitment, engagement and retention. 

I strongly believe that, in today’s economic environment, attracting and maintaining the best staff members can be a challenge and one that is of considerable concern to most firms. As a result, I think this challenge will provide the MGI network with an opportunity to attract and keep high-performing staff. This is because there is the potential to share staff resources across firms, as well as have access to expert developmental trainers, which is something usually only offered by much larger firms. 

There is also the potential opportunity to challenge our staff to develop through the use of secondments to other firms in the network. MGI Joyce|Dickson recently had two staff join MGI Perth on a one-month secondment. I think the experience was invaluable for all involved and I hope this is something we can continue to do across the network - I believe attracting and retaining staff is best achieved by providing them with an environment where they are challenged and feel there are different opportunities for growth." 

What are your three biggest accomplishments to date?

"First and foremost, my family, especially my two sons - they're by far my greatest accomplishment. Watching them grow and develop into the young men they are becoming is something that brings me great joy. 

Secondly, as a founding partner of MGI Joyce|Dickson, I am proud of the journey this firm has taken from being a small firm with one staff member to now having over a team of 40. Watching this company grow and change over the years hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but I am proud of what we have achieved. The business was originally started with the goal of providing a workplace where staff were encouraged and provided with opportunities for development; the outcome of this being better client relationships and experience. These objectives are a constant focus and continued driver for our business today. 

Thirdly, I believe it is important to give back to the community that I am a part of. I have lived in Canberra all my life and love what Australia’s capital city offers. I have proudly sat on a number of boards for a variety of community groups and companies. This included the Canberra PCYC where I was fortunate enough to participate in a Kokoda Youth Program. This program enabled me to train with a group of youths and walk the Kokoda track with them. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had and taught me to appreciate the little things so much more." 

Lorin certainly has a great deal of experience to bring to his new role, and we're very much looking forward to seeing what he achieves as Chairman of the MGI Australasia region.

MGI Australasia is part of MGI Worldwide, a global a top 20 ranked accounting network with some 5,000 independent auditors, accountants and tax experts in over 260 locations around the world.