What's your job about?
Nexia provides a wide array of taxation and advisory services to provide clients with a one stop shop for all their needs. I work in the business advisory division which specialises in preparing tax returns and general advisory for a variety of clients including medium to large enterprises, small businesses and family groups. I personally handle multiple clients across varying industries that include manufacturing, farming and professional services. Although our division is responsible for completing the compliance work for these entities, for example tax returns, my typical day doesn’t actually include much of this kind of work. My days usually involves plenty of phone calls and helping clients with other tax related work as it pops up. TV and movies usually portray accountants as either extremely boring or working for some sort of criminal empire, but it’s more exciting and less dangerous than that. In essence, being an accountant is about being a trusted advisor to your clients as you help them through various stages of their business life. To explain my job to a teenager interested in my career, I would say it is about working with your clients, rather than for them, to achieve the best results for their business.
What's your background?
I grew up in Sydney and went to a private school on the north shore, where my favourite subjects in the HSC were business studies and general maths. After leaving school I wasn’t sure on what I wanted to pursue a career in but decided to do a Bachelor of Commerce at Macquarie. I thought a commerce degree would give me some time to sample a few different subjects and decide on a major later, but after year I still wasn’t sure. Feeling a little lost, I did what all young adults do and travelled to Europe where after a couple of months away, I had time to think it through. Upon my return, I jumped straight into my first accounting job as an undergraduate at Hill Rogers. Starting a new job and studying at the same time forced me to be more organised and encouraged me to work harder than before. After six months, Hill Rogers merged with Nexia Sydney and sometime later I graduated university, followed by my enrolment in the CA program. I joined the CA program in the first semester of the new curriculum, which was upgraded to an online learning platform due to Covid, and after three long years, I was admitted to CAANZ in 2023. Now here I am 6 years after that trip to Europe, still loving my job and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
My role has taken years of development and experience to perform well in however anyone can join the accounting industry. There are plenty of characteristics that overlap with plenty of other occupations. I think the most important thing that is often overlooked is being able to talk to other people and although this sounds simple enough, being a good communicator is one of the best traits someone can have in any profession.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I love the relationships I’ve made throughout my career with both colleagues and clients as they really make the job great. Specifically, being able to help clients throughout different stages of their lives is extremely rewarding. Of course there can always be challenging times, but at the end of the day it’s these relationships that make all the work worth it.
What are the limitations of your job?
There’s an age old saying ‘You get out what you put in’. I believe the same applies to your career. There are times when there is a lot going on and I need to stretch myself to do it all, but I love what I do and take pride in those moments of going above and beyond.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...