Sir Walter Scott, AC, CMG (10 November 1903 - 12 February 1981) was an Australian accountant who founded Australia's first management consultancy firm, WD Scott and was active in its leadership until his death in 1981. He was knighted in 1966 and appointed a Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1979. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, WD Scott was Australia's leading management consultancy firm. Born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and trained as an accountant, he is best known for leading the review into decimal currency and heading the Australian Decimal Currency Board. WD Scott was named after Scott and his wife, Dorothy (later Lady Scott). The Australian Graduate School of Management at the

University of NSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

has a leadership scholarship named after Sir Walter Scott. WD Scott was recipient of the first Juran Medal, awarded by the Australian Organization for Quality. It was presented on 4 September 1975 by

Joseph M. Juran Joseph Moses Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) was a Romanian-born American engineer, management consultant and author. He was an advocate for quality and quality management and wrote several books on the topics. He was the brother ...

himself, stating: "Probably few Australians of contemporary times have given so much diversified service to their country as Sir Walter Scott. He is very much a product and a champion of private enterprise; yet governments of differing political shades have charged him with missions of national responsibility. Internationally Sir Walter has been active and has been awarded many overseas honours. He has held a number of important overseas posts including President of the Federated Chambers of Commerce (1968-70), President of the International Committee of Scientific Management (1958-60) and since 1969 has been Chancellor of the International Academy of Management. In Australia Sir Walter’s public service began in World War II notably as Chairman of the NSW Munitions Board. Since then he has been a member of the Secondary Industries Commission; Chairman of the Motor Car Advisory Committee, member of the Aluminium Production Commission, Chairman of the NSW Coal Prices Committee, Chairman of the Industrial Design Council of Australia, Chairman of the Decimal Currency Board and in very recent times Chairman of the Committee examining national Purchasing. It is in the field of quality control that Sir Walter made his mark not only with AOQC but throughout many areas in which he exercised influence. Long ago he recognised the vital role of quality control throughout our industry and the continuing challenge to improve quality of life – in services, in products, methods, use of time and use of leisure."

External links

Australian Dictionary of Biography

References

Australian accountants Australian Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Perth Modern School 1981 deaths 1903 births {{Australia-business-bio-stub