By Hayden Maskell

At Asher Group, a Māori-owned accounting firm that works exclusively with Māori clients, te reo Māori isn’t something the team adds to its communications. It’s simply how the team communicates.

“It isn’t about adding Māori words to an accounting environment,” says director Jamie Mariu CA (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto me Ngāpuhi). “It’s about communicating in a way that reflects who we are and the people we work with.”

At Asher Group, te reo Māori runs through everyday conversations, emails, hui (meetings) and annual meetings, and through the language clients use about their whenua (land), hapū (sub-tribe), iwi (tribe), whānau (family) and kaupapa (purpose).

Asher Group shows that bringing te reo Māori into professional practice can happen naturally and meaningfully. As more firms look to incorporate it into annual reports, websites, client communications and stakeholder relationships, the focus should be less on which words to use and more on understanding the people and kaupapa behind them. Te reo Māori matters, but so do the relationships, understanding and genuine intent that sit alongside it.

More than a courtesy

Asher Group was founded in 2014 as a whānau-based firm, and te reo Māori and tikanga (cultural protocols) have been part of the firm from the beginning. “As Māori, te reo and tikanga have always had a natural place within our firm,” Mariu says.

For Mariu, using te reo shapes how the firm builds relationships and understands what clients are trying to achieve.

“For our clients, success often extends beyond financial performance,” she says. “It can include retaining whenua, supporting whānau, growing and protecting assets, and creating opportunities for future generations.”

Understanding that wider kaupapa, she says, leads to more meaningful conversations about long-term, sustainable growth. For accountants, that can reach the substance of the work, such as how a firm frames an annual report or defines success for a client.

The benefits point inward, too. Mariu says Asher Group has become more deliberate about helping the team “develop their knowledge and confidence” in te reo and tikanga, building capability and cultural connection at work.

But not for show

None of this works as decoration. Dr Anaha Hiini (Ngāti Tarāwhai), director of Kōtihi Reo Consultants and a long-time tikanga and te reo adviser to CA ANZ, is wary of te reo that appears for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) and disappears once it’s over.

“Why are you only putting it up for Māori Language Week? Leave it up for good!” he says. He points to retailers that have kept bilingual signage up for years, compared with the box-ticking of language switched on for the week and then removed as soon as it’s over.

He also cautions against a recurrent presumption: that Māori staff will have every answer.

“Often for any mihi [speech of greeting, acknowledgement or tribute], any cultural advisory, [people] turn to their Māori colleagues,” he says. It’s a big assumption that puts pressure on people who may not have knowledge of tikanga, or the experience to lead.

Instead, he says, it’s vital to seek out a language expert or cultural adviser to engage with.

Mariu makes the same point from inside a Māori firm. “We don't assume that because we’re Māori, we’ll always get it right,” she says. “We ask when we’re unsure, we’re open to being corrected, and we focus on understanding the meaning and context behind the reo we use. It’s about using te reo genuinely and respectfully, rather than demonstrating how much we know.”

Where to start

So, where should a firm start? Not with the annual report, Hiini says, but with genuine interest.

“You have to be interested in the kaupapa,” he says. He encourages people to learn through the parts of life they care about most – the home, the garden, a hobby – rather than only at the office, focusing on words they will use every day. A keen gardener who learns the kupu (words) for their tools uses them daily and learns faster.

Vocabulary leads to short sentences and, in time, to confidence. And an organisation’s outward use of te reo is part of a much longer commitment.

Mariu’s advice is to start with people, not words. “Start by understanding the Māori you work with and the kaupapa that matters to them,” she says. “Approach it genuinely, with a willingness to listen, learn and build meaningful relationships over time.”

Above all, Hiini says, it starts at the top. He points to CA ANZ's own consistency, with classes running for years, and says real change comes when leaders take up te reo themselves, setting an example others follow. Encourage management to engage first, he suggests, and the organisation moves with them.

“When managers are on that kaupapa, the people around them see that, and they'll say, ‘let's jump on the waka’.”

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Where to begin

Lead from the top

Encourage leadership to take it up first. The rest of the organisation follows.

Be genuinely interested

Learn through everyday life and the things you’re passionate about.

Start small

Use everyday words first, then short sentences.

Start with the people

Understand the Māori you work with and what matters to them.

Get proper guidance

Engage a language or cultural adviser, rather than leaning on Māori colleagues.

Keep it up

Embrace te reo Māori year-round, not just for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week).

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