Kia ora koutou and hello, everyone.

With an eye on this year’s Australian federal election, it was great to see CA ANZ call out seven practical proposals for the next parliament. These include allowing qualified accountants to provide financial advice, give cash flow certainty to small business by making the instant asset write-off permanent and scrapping the annual super cap to build financial security.

In New Zealand, while it’s not an election year, the challenging economic climate makes it feel like one. Inflation and interest rates are falling but unemployment is rising and there are tough conversations about how the government will balance its books. Due to fiscal constraints, a significant corporate tax cut seems unlikely. Nonetheless, broader reform is needed. Our tax team is working with policymakers to advocate for lower compliance costs and improved tax settings to support businesses.

On the topic of revenue, you may have seen the latest CA ANZ Remuneration Survey report – this has great insights for members at all career stages to inform your aspirations. More detailed salary tables are available exclusively on My CA, so make sure you log in and dig into those. An attractive accounting profession is one that is well remunerated and progressive in terms of addressing challenges such as the gender pay gap, and I’m pleased we’re continuing this in the current climate.

An attractive accounting profession is one that is well remunerated and progressive in terms of addressing challenges such as the gender pay gap, and I’m pleased we’re continuing this in the current climate.

Importantly, our attractiveness of the profession campaign, Make Epic Things Happen, has ramped up with the return of school and university audiences. We’ve had more than 100,000 visits to our campaign landing page, and surveys show a significant increase in interest in accounting careers among high school and post-high school audiences, with double-digit growth since the campaign began.

The campaign has exciting new content in the pipeline – including material for parents to help break down common myths, so keep an eye out and share that with the young people in your lives. Attracting them to our profession requires more than just a marketing campaign. We all need to consistently convey to our potential new members that accounting is an exciting, dynamic and well-paid career.

In terms of widening our pathways into the profession, I’m pleased to see we have kicked off our first CA Fundamentals Pilot Program cohort. This is our earn-and-learn pathway for school leavers. There has been strong interest from firms in regional Australia and New Zealand, who traditionally have great relationships with local high schools but have found it hard to attract and retain talent. I believe the new pathways will prove effective in both increasing our membership and widening the skill base of the profession.

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the development of our new three-year strategy is nearing its final stages. A strong strategy, as CA ANZ has employed over the last five years, provides clear direction on where we want to go and how we get there. The executive team has done a tremendous job in considering the extensive member feedback and data, to weigh up a range of opportunities and investments to deliver what really matters for our members. The board considered the strategic framework at its meeting in March, and I look forward to talking more about it in my next letter.

Until then, I’m looking forward to meeting more of you, alongside VPs Naomi Walsh and Julia Fink, at a range of events.

Please do not hesitate to say hello and discuss any of the above.