My Experience

My training & qualifications are as an accountant and my business experience has allowed me to widen my capabilities to that of a true business leader but at the core I am an educator. It does not matter what the setting is my passion is to educate. I believe in the concept of continuous learning and I have a strong belief that when we are educated we make more informed decision.

My area of expertise is at the intersection of technology and business and certainly in the accounting space. I can advise right across the area. I can get get right into the dirty work; setting up new systems, reconciling accounts & building rolling forecasts, all the way through to consulting on best practice in streamlining systems and workflows, building ‘go to market’ strategies for new products, complex tax advice & setting corporate governance principles for listed entities. My skills are deep and varied and come from over 19 years of experience in the industry but the overlay is utilising technology to make everything efficient and effective

From 2010 one area of thought leadership I have is in the public practice space and what is a “next generation accounting firm” and what are the impacts of technology on this part of the profession. The big challenge is how do firms change and adapt to this new iteration of the industry and its a topic I can assist firms globally with.

And having moved primarily into the corporate space in 2016 as a CFO I have shifted my focus into the future of ‘finance’ and how Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning will continue to change the way businesses and their finance areas operate. Much like how I began to research and write about the cloud in 2010, now my area of interest is on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

When it comes to work I love to build businesses whether they are my own or someone else’s. And while I build them, I love to learn from each experience and find ways to transfer this knowledge to a new opportunity.

Some say I have an entrepreneurial spirit and depending on your view of what is an entrepreneur, this could very well be true. My view is that entrepreneurs are problem solvers and hence why they are at the heart of innovation.

Problem solving is a skill I have built up over the years but my key quality is being able to humanise the solution. I can be as technical as required but ultimately I always work on delivering the advice in as simple and as practical way as possible.

In regards to my day to day professional life I have a diverse portfolio of roles. Currently my main role is as the Global Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Xref Limited (ASX:XF1)

I am also a director of businessDepot following a merger of Aptus Accounting Advisory, an accounting practice I co-founded in 2015 which was named the Most Innovative Accounting Firm in Australia at the 2018 Australian Accounting Awards.

I am also a Guest Lecturer at Macquarie University Australia where I have lectured now since 2014 (6 years, 12 semesters) and have been involved with since 2012 in many capacities, including being instrumental in bring Xero & Xero Tax into their teaching programs.

Former roles that I have held are

Head of Accounting at Xero

Mentor at Slingshot Accelerators

The viewpoints I have through all of these roles (along with my other roles) give me a unique perspective on the industry and I’m very fortunate to have these opportunities as they all tie back to my core principles.