Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to connect with me over the last couple of months, particularly at events in Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney, Christchurch, Hamilton and Rotorua.

A key part of my role is representing you to the CA ANZ board and management, so getting your direct feedback really helps me to deliver your voice.

For those in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Shanghai, where I’m heading as I write this, I look forward to more far-reaching conversations.

As well as a range of areas discussed in these letters, the hot topics have included ATO client linking, trust in our profession and the increasing burden of regulation on our practitioners.

Attractiveness of the profession also pops up frequently, with questions about what we are doing to strengthen it among the next generation of young Australians and New Zealanders. Long story short, we are getting out into the spaces where the next generation lives, learns and plays.

I recently had the first-hand experience of presenting our high school toolkit at a local school in my home state of Western Australia. It was very enlightening, for me as much as for the students.

One of my biggest takeaways is that young people simply don’t have an opinion on accounting. They don’t know what it involves, beyond ‘numbers’. So, it was great to share my experiences, how I got into this profession and the pathway that CA ANZ provides. I hear amazing stories at our celebration events – don’t be scared to take these out into schools and universities, using our high school toolkit. It’s vital to building aspiration in the next generation.

On that front, CA ANZ is pushing into new areas, most recently with a campaign that aims to change gen Z’s perception of accountants. This launched with a cinematic trailer for a mock movie called The Accountants, which is running at cinemas across Australia and New Zealand ahead of screenings of the latest Marvel blockbuster, Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s a clever take on the superhero genre, showing young accountants as superheroes who make epic things happen in exciting careers, and it takes advantage of the fact that gen Zers are heading back to cinemas in droves.

The trailer is just one piece in a wider campaign to reach young people. Check out MakeEpicThingsHappen.com to see a range of campaign assets that you can use to inspire and educate the next generation about our profession.

Finally – I hope you have got your fellowship nominations in, as they close on 6 August. If not, then I encourage you to start thinking about next year – a quick email to your regional manager can get the ball rolling.

Again, I hugely appreciate all the conversations that I’ve had with you all, to help put your experiences and insights at the centre of CA ANZ’s work.