Position: Business services manager
Organisation: Rose Corporate Accountants
Location: Melbourne
IPA status: AIPA[/fastfacts_content][/fastfacts]What attracted you to study commerce?
I’ve had an interest in numbers since I was young, but I didn’t make a decision to enter accounting until a few years after graduating from high school.
Unsure if I’d enjoy this field, I first completed a Diploma in Commerce. This confirmed the career path I’d been thinking about, and I went ahead and completed my Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University.
What skills did you pick up from your first jobs?
My first full-time job was with a legal firm. This gave me extensive knowledge of the professional practice industry, and I learned how to work under pressure and manage multiple tasks. Working in a small accounting practice while also studying part-time gave me hands-on experience and exposure to the industry. I quickly learned on-the-job people skills and also the technical skills required.
I believe the quickest and best way to learn is to be thrown in at the deep end. You’ll either sink or swim to safety. This was my attitude when I started in my first professional accounting practice, taking on jobs where I had no experience and trying to get as many opportunities as I could to learn.
For the past five years, I have been lucky enough to work closely with and be mentored by fellow IPA member Shane Rose. I’ve picked up valuable skills and techniques through our working relationship.
What does your job entail?
My position at Rose Corporate is business services manager. This entails running and maintaining a portfolio of clients from a variety of industries, including the franchise sector.
I am responsible for accounting and taxation advice and the preparation of financial statements and income tax returns. I am also involved with client acquisitions in areas such as corporate structure, due diligence, preparation of cash flow forecasts and profit and loss projections.
What are the challenges and rewards in your position?
One of the greatest challenges has been to build the necessary technical accounting skills and knowledge to become a specialist in the franchise and club gaming sectors. Watching our clients build their businesses and seeing franchisees expand to multi-site operators with our guidance and expertise is very rewarding.
I’ve also been working on a few projects in the gaming industry, specifically in South Australia, which is very exciting.
