In the wake of two tumultuous years in a global pandemic, Kate Boorer FCA, the newly appointed President of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand for 2022, is focused on highlighting the support the professional body can provide members.

“It’s a privilege to lead a team of incredible colleagues around the world and represent the voice of all our dedicated members who volunteer their time, experience and expertise in service of our organisation, our profession and the communities in which we live and work,” she tells Acuity. “Their contribution is a testament to the passion and commitment of the CA designation.”

Boorer is a founding partner of Quantum Impact Group, an organisation that specialises in the alignment of capability, leadership and organisational culture with business strategy.

Before she started on her entrepreneurial career path, Sydney-based Boorer honed her business acumen and skills as a graduate, commencing her career in audit at KPMG before pursuing an executive career in a variety of private sector organisations.

“My passion for the CA designation comes back to the diversity and flexibility it has afforded me in terms of career opportunities,” she says. “It’s a career that has given me the freedom to work where I want, with whom I want, on what I want,” she says.

Boorer first joined CA ANZ’s NSW Regional Council in 2015. She served as its chair in 2017 before being appointed to the CA ANZ Council and being elected as 2021 vice-president for Australia and then CA ANZ president for 2022.

Picture: Kate Boorer FCA.

When life gives you lemons

Boorer showed an enthusiasm for business from an early age. As a youngster she’d go door-to-door in her neighbourhood selling lemons from her family’s tree.

“Studying accounting at university was an easy choice for me,” she explains. “It was a way of getting into the business world, which is where I wanted to be.

“My mother worked in accounting all her life, starting as an accounts payable clerk when she returned to work after having a family and later progressed to an office manager supporting a small practice ‘start-up’ (not that we called it that back then).

“So I knew from a young age it was a career option that would help me grow – even though maths wasn’t my strongest subject!”

Boorer pivoted into self-employment at a critical point in both her career and the world’s financial position. She was nearing 30 and looking for renewed passion and purpose, but it coincided with the global financial crisis.

“I think I was blissfully unaware of what it would be like starting a new business from scratch, let alone in that environment,” she says.

“It was a tough couple of years experimenting, but I always felt no matter what happened, I would be able to earn a living and make a difference because I was a CA.”

Fast-forward a decade or so and Boorer is a highly regarded international speaker, mentor and author working with individuals, corporations and industry groups to navigate the personal, social and structural barriers to achieve cultural change.

Her personal journey combined with the stories shared by her clients inspired her to establish the Young Professional Women Australia in 2012, a network which helps professional women build networks, grow confidence and take courageous action to achieve their career goals. It’s a skill she plans to bring to the role as president. 

The diversity of a CA career

Boorer is determined to showcase CA ANZ members’ diverse experiences to promote the many benefits of the profession.

“I really want to showcase the diversity of the career opportunities and possibilities that are available to people, to everyone who comes into the profession – whether you start as a graduate or transition midway through your career,” she says. “It’s a career that can truly take you anywhere.”

Attracting and retaining talent will continue to be a big challenge for the profession as we transition to post-lockdown ways of working. Boorer wants members to know they are supported.

“Business owners, leaders and clients trust us to support their professional needs,” she says. “Showcasing the many career opportunities our profession offers, combined with creating workplaces where everyone feels included and supported to succeed, means that not only will our profession be attractive to all types of people, it will provide an opportunity for a fulfilling, rewarding and diverse career.”

If she had to sum up one thing she hopes to achieve while in the role of president, Boorer says it would be how the professional body and the wider CA network can help members and their businesses grow and thrive.

“I really want to highlight the support that our professional body can provide as we navigate whatever comes next – whether that is COVID 3.0 or the recovery period. I want people to know that they’ve got a network and a professional body that is there with them, that we are stronger together,” she says.

2022 Vice-presidents

Tinashe Kamangira FCA has been appointed as CA ANZ’s new vice-president for Australia and Murray Harrington FCA will remain in the position of New Zealand vice-president for another year.

Perth-based Kamangira is a director at Deloitte Australia with more than 16 years of accounting, taxation and business advisory experience. He also holds governance roles with various not-for-profit organisations.

Harrington is a former partner of PwC and CEO of a specialist lease accounting software company. He holds a number of directorships and investments in private companies in addition to governance roles in infrastructure, tourism, education and health care. 

Picture: Tinashe Kamangira FCA.

Picture: Murray Harrington FCA.

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