He has been ringing around to let as many as he can know he has decided to hang up his calculator.
The chartered accountant ended his 36-year career in public practice in Oamaru this week and, since 1982, he has worked with "thousands" of clients in the rural, retail and commercial sectors in the Waitaki district.
The 64-year-old and his partner Liz Scott are excited about moving into the house they built in Wanaka six years ago, nevertheless, the move away from the town he was born and raised in will be bittersweet.
"I’ve got lots and lots of real good clients that have been with me, all that time some of them. We’ve been through some good times and bad times with those clients, with businesses and farms, and the ups and downs of both those types of things.
"Yeah, it is going to be sad to leave, because they become friends as well as clients some of those guys."
Always a keen sportsman, Mr Scott was looking forward to the outdoors lifestyle in Wanaka, a town he has been visiting for ages, where he and his partner have made many friends.
He still skis, bikes and walks. He also planned to pick up the tennis racquet again and "maybe . . . resurrect the golf clubs", although he admits he has not played a game of golf for 20 years.
And still he is likely to take on some part-time work — of some variety — to ease into retirement,too. In his first year after leaving Waitaki Boys’ High School, in 1973, Mr Scott landed a job working for an accountant in Dunedin.
And though he was "not sure how I dropped into it", throughout his schooling, primarily part-time at the university, he stayed on in the industry until returning home to begin his career.
He took work at JB Spear & Co on the corner of Thames and Coquet Sts, in the offices now occupied by the North Otago Irrigation Company.
The firm then moved to the other end of Coquet St, across Thames St, and was renamed Spear & Co.The business moved back over Thames St — staying in Coquet St — and became Scott & Co for about 15 years.
Then it merged with Crowe Horwath in 2009 and moved once again, naturally, just a bit further along Coquet St.
As a young man ongoing training and "trying to absorb everything that is thrown at you" kept him keen and now the variety that comes with working with a diverse group of clients keeps the job fresh.
"You deal with a lot of people, you deal with a lot of different things," Mr Scott says.
"That’s why I like it. That’s the reason I’m still here. It’s the people and it’s the different . . . you cover off things like tax and business advice, farm and business succession, GST and auditing ... everything like that. You have to learn the lot."
From the drought-prone days of the 1980s, when clients were selling lambs for $3 a head, rather than $130 a head now, he has witnessed the district grow.
Tourism was now ramping up and confidence "is pretty good here really" as more and more people came into Oamaru "which is great to see" he said.
"Because it wasn’t like that 25 years ago. The harbour area was awful, but now it’s amazing down there."
And though none of his children remain in Oamaru, he will not turn his back on his hometown.
"We’ll be able to come back here for a holiday, now," Mr Scott says.
"Just keep up on how things are going down in the harbour area — and obviously catch up with previous clients."
