I founded Accounting Buddy with the intention to create a space where clients can express what's on their mind and be able to get business guidance, not just compliance work. From my previous experience and knowledge of the industry as a whole I found there to be a distinct lack of firms where the clients are really listened to and that accountants generally are not understanding their clients and what their clients really need.I love helping business owners understand why they went into business in the first place and discover what sort of lifestyle they would truly like their business to give them. I help my clients take massive tasks and break them down into smaller, manageable pieces so they can confidently step forward, continually growing their business. I achieve this creating a real connection with my clients and within a trusting environment we have real conversations about what truly matters to them.My clients recognise and appreciate that growth sometimes involves having support from those on their team who guide them and at other times they appreciate the personal challenge in order to step up and be their best self. In my guidance role as the Principal of Accounting Buddy I recognise that beautiful businesses improve the lives of not just those running them, they also improve the lives of everyone they serve as well. I love helping others through transition and improving their lives for the better.

In my role at Hattam McCarthy Reeves (now Altitude Advisory) I spent a lot of time working in other people's businesses, helping them to understand why they do things a particular way, how they could do those same things better and also why it was important to change. This allowed me to truly realise the importance of understanding our clients' dreams and goals for their business (and lifestyle) and working towards those, rather than holding my own agenda. This experience reinforced that I love the work I do as an Accountant and that I wanted to create my own business so that I could work with clients in a way that suited me and empowered them.For HMcR I was also able to give a lot of value directly within the firm through building and simplifying their marketing strategy, allowing for increased connection with existing and new clients. I also spent a lot of time tweaking existing IT systems, both on an individual staff level and at an overall business level. Both these skill sets have proven highly useful when giving strategy advice for clients looking to get the most from IT in their businesses.

At Shearer and Elliss (now merged with Hood Sweeny) I learnt much of the foundational compliance; tax and accounting work I now use in my own accounting business - Accounting Buddy. This was my home during my Chartered Accountant program and where I was introduced to clients with wealth and large family groups, some family groups having between 30-40 entities across them. Through this experience I came to appreciate how systems, policies and procedures really help every business be far more effective and through understanding these complexities, gain the desired result for each client.At SECA it was noticed that I had an above average understanding of computer programs and IT systems. Eventually I was formally tasked with being in charge of all IT issues, being the staff IT support and being responsible for the business' 40 terminals and 3 servers. This part of my role, again has helped me to serve my current clients within Accounting Buddy as every client I work with has at least one IT device and is therefore likely to experience some type of IT challenge within the scope of the work we do together.

At Outliving; a gifts and lifestyle company, I learnt many amazing people skills that serve me well in my current Accounting Buddy business. From managing team members to creating a space where prospective clients could feel comfortable, tweaking and refining my communication skills to the point where I understood the client's needs and the value they would get from products ranging from $30-$1000, are all skills have proven to be immeasurably useful in the years since.One of the most valuable communication tools I picked up was being able to understand the client’s needs, choose an appropriate product which I knew would suit them and then explain the real value of how the product would serve their needs. This skill has proven to be highly transferable across industries and allows me to serve my Accounting Buddy clients as I find most business owners do not understand their true value.Perhaps the best perk of this job was being able to travel to each of the capital cities and many regional centres in both Australia and New Zealand, and through this experience I came to understand how differently people communicate in different parts of the continent, how to connect with them, understand what's important to them and thereby help to solve existing problems for them.Doing this Sales Manager role has turned out to be one of the best things I could have done in order to prepare me for understanding people and truly serving my clients within my own business in the years that followed.