President's letter: Kaya and kia ora koutou
Looking ahead to this year, the challenges and opportunities for our profession remain and I will continue the good work of my predecessors, including Murray Harrington FCA, our 2023 president.
Quick take
- We know that in both Australia and New Zealand, the demand for chartered accountants continues to grow.
- CA ANZ is undertaking innovative work with education systems to build awareness of the vast career opportunities that our profession creates.
- I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at events during the coming year, and to hear from you about all aspects of our world-class member experience.
Kaya and kia ora koutou.
While there is no universal First Nations Australian word for ‘hello’, kaya is the equivalent for the Noongar people in Western Australia, my home state. I am honoured to be elected as your president for 2024 and to represent your voice on the Chartered Accountants ANZ board.
2023 was a busy and successful year, and I hope you found an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate it over the holiday season.
Looking ahead to this year, the challenges and opportunities for our profession remain and I will continue the good work of my predecessors, including Murray Harrington FCA, our 2023 president.
That means focusing on key issues, including ensuring the profession’s attractiveness to the next generation. Whether from small and medium practices, public sector or not-for-profit entities, members I spoke to last year are feeling the pressure of not enough talent. We know that in both Australia and New Zealand, the demand for chartered accountants continues to grow.
CA ANZ is undertaking innovative work with education systems to build awareness of the vast career opportunities that our profession creates – working extensively with university academics and undergraduates, and secondary school teachers. And to every member who has downloaded the high school presentation kit and taken your message directly to students, I thank you.
It’s clear that continual innovation – including broadening entry pathways – is needed to attract and retain our next generation of CAs. Not every student has the means or opportunity to attend university and, within different cultures and communities, the adage ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ applies. This is especially true for Indigenous peoples, who are significantly underrepresented in our profession. Wherever we can, we must reach out across socio-economic, cultural and educational divides and to people with disabilities with a key message: ‘If you want to make epic things happen, become a chartered accountant.’ I am looking forward to taking this message far and wide.
The latest remuneration report findings are also helpful in terms of attracting young talent. As covered in these pages, a key finding is that that remuneration growth is fastest in the first 15 years of members’ accounting careers, which is a good sign for those entering the profession.
Another challenge to the talent pipeline and to the work of every chartered accountant is the profession’s reputation. There’s no doubt that last year was a challenging time. Keeping our badge shiny requires us to maintain a strong regulatory framework and be bold in upholding our ethics, rigorous education and skills, and highlighting the critical role we play, woven throughout capital markets, institutions and communities.
The important work to further strengthen the CA ANZ Professional Conduct Framework, which members strongly endorsed in October last year, comes at a time when the public needs to see an effective and robust response to unacceptable and unethical conduct. These changes to the by-laws and NZICA rules will enable our disciplinary bodies to deal more effectively with matters involving firms and individual members.
But ultimately, it us up to us as chartered accountants – as important contributors to the communities and economies we serve – to continue acting ethically and to advocate in the public interest.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at events during the coming year, and to hear from you about all aspects of our world-class member experience; enhancing our brand and influence; having a sustainable profession and professional body; digital transformation; creating a culture of difference makers – and what more we can do to make the profession even stronger.