Case Study: Russell Bedford International
Russell Bedford - putting people at the forefront
For the past 40 years, Russell Bedford International has enhanced its network, accommodating and embracing the progress and development of the accounting profession throughout its four decades. At its core, Russell Bedford focuses on its people. The accountant, as an individual, has developed considerably throughout this period; to some extent naturally evolving and, to other extents, due to the advancement in technology, globalisation and client demands.
It continues to be of vital importance for Russell Bedford to ensure the people at the network’s member firms around the world, in 110 countries, are adequately resourced, skilled and adept at providing professional services: fulfilling that role of trusted advisor, consultant and friend to businesses.
Committed to people development
Professional and personal development
Russell Bedford’s content programme helps members grow in both their professional and personal lives. Themes including developing self-discipline, building your network to support business growth, time management and how to be a better leader, cemented Russell Bedford’s award-winning Health & Wellbeing initiatives.
We received a practical, uplifting, and memorable experience that will serve us well. Every one of us was impressed and grateful.
Tony Carey
Managing Partner at Dublin, Ireland member firm, Cooney Carey
We get responses to burning questions with clarity. There are always good take-aways from attending these workshops. Keep it up!
Reena Nagda Shah
Partner at Russell Bedford Alexander & Associates and Alexander McDonald & Scott, Kenya
Recruitment and retention of people
With members facing strong competition globally due to the shortage of talent within the profession, Russell Bedford strategically relaunched the network’s secondment programme. This cultivates the development of good business relationships, best practice sharing, cross-border opportunities, skills enhancement, and provides additional resources during busy seasons.
A Russell Bedford secondment success story
In 2022, Laura Brecht, from Russell Bedford’s member firm in Stuttgart, Germany, completed a four-month internship at the network’s member firm in Sydney, Australia. She says:
Russell Bedford’s secondment programme was an excellent opportunity to gain some working experience while living abroad. I was fully integrated in the team and have made some new friends along the way, gaining responsibility and independence. The support and attention received from each other and from Partners and Managers was great and I was exposed to a wide range of interesting clients while expanding my knowledge. I also participated in activities such as a charity walk, we celebrated the famous Melbourne Cup, enjoyed our Christmas party and had a welcome back breakfast buffet together after New Year’s Eve. I also learned a lot about the Australian way of life.
Laura Brecht
LFK Partner, Stuttgart, Germany
Team building
Encouraging members to step out of their comfort zone, while supporting growth within teams has led the network to focus on team building exercises at physical events.
At the Russell Bedford Americas Conference 2023 held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, delegates gathered for an afternoon of team building exercises on the beach, led by the Russell Bedford Central Office. Here’s what happened:
The session began with an icebreaker challenge where individuals had to complete their question sheets as quickly as possible, collaborating with their fellow delegates to find out interesting facts about one another.
The group was then split into teams and was set the task of taking a photo to visually represent the network and what it means for them. Symbolism, creativity and technical quality were assessed, and delegates used the beautiful surroundings to bring their photos to life, encapsulating the various themes of connectivity, collaboration and togetherness which are at the heart of the Russell Bedford network.
Speed and strategy were then tested as teams headed out on a beach scavenger hunt to track down a list of items. While judging took place, the pace changed to allow delegates to become more reflective and connect on an emotional level, delving into each other’s past experiences and hopes and wishes for the future.
Image: Russell Bedford
Centres of Excellence
In 2022, the network appointed new group leaders for ten Centres of Excellence.
Image: Russell Bedford
Each Centre embraces a niche service or specialist area, helping members to stay at the forefront of their field by sharing experiences online and learning new ways to grow and enhance their practices.
The ‘People’ Centre of Excellence has a played a particularly important role in communicating the wide range of opportunities available to employees of Russell Bedford member firms around the globe. The group meets regularly to discuss topics of concern, including talent acquisition/retention and appraisal systems. The online meetings allow for open discussion where participants can share their thoughts and ideas, while collaborating and working towards common goals.
Championing diversity and social responsibility
As part of Russell Bedford’s CSR programme, the network makes contributions to charitable organisations and regularly promotes prevailing themes:
Social Impact Committee
With a strong commitment to creating a better future by embracing DEI, ESG and CSR, a Social Impact Committee was established to champion these causes, initiating action across the world, promoting volunteering, training, and fundraising efforts.
International Women's Day
Supporting women's rights and honouring their achievements is an essential part of promoting equality in the workplace; something that is central to Russell Bedford’s values.
In recognition, the network ran a campaign, reaching out to women at Russell Bedford, and launched a video on social media promoting what International Women’s Day means around the world.
These are just some examples of how Russell Bedford has not only acknowledged the role of the accountant changing over the years, and the evolving priorities for those entering the profession, but has proactively been at the forefront of that change.