Firstly, I would like to acknowledge our members and the local communities devastated by the Australian bushfires. Your CA community is here to help you in any way we can. I encourage you to access the range of support resources available on the website.

To help with the recovery processes for the months ahead, we are developing a range of initiatives to assist affected communities, including workshops and a program where members can volunteer their professional services to help businesses access grants and financial assistance.

At the beginning of each term in office, the President of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand has the privilege of choosing key areas to focus on during their tenure.

Picture: Peter Rupp FCA.

As we work to support the profession in the face of rapid transformation, new ways of working and changing community expectations, I have chosen to showcase the fresh and innovative thinking of various generations of CAs, including our newer and younger members.

Over the past couple of years as vice-president, I encountered many motivated CAs who truly want to make a difference and work towards a common purpose. They want to command technology, rather than work alongside it.

It is this continued thirst and enthusiasm for new challenges, among our younger members especially, that I hope to mirror back to the rich community of CAs we are apart of.

In a time when it can often seem like a generational battle between millennials and non-millennials, I believe this cross-generational and inclusive dialogue will reap many benefits across the membership. Just take a look at the extraordinary take-up of the CA ANZ mentoring programs, for example.

I also look forward to the many opportunities the president’s role gives me to meet with members, from new membership ceremonies to marking member milestones and fellowships. I am particularly looking forward to direct engagement with our younger members as I travel around.

This is an opportunity for me to succinctly articulate the value of being a CA, a message that is fitting as we mark the fifth anniversary since our amalgamation to form Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Lastly, as we execute and refine our strategy, I will be focused on championing the growth of our organisation for the benefit of members, in our innovation initiatives such as CA Catalyst and through the development of our CA Program for the next generation.

In essence, I hope to extend a helping hand across the generations, the membership and the globe, since, at the heart of it, we aren’t classified as Gen Y and X but as one community: GenCA.

“At the heart of it, we aren’t classified as Gen Y and X but as one community: GenCA.”