This year’s Craig Norgate Scholarship winners want to have an impact not just in the accounting profession but also in the wider community.

The NZ$5000 scholarships for 2022 have been awarded to Gillian Shaw-Veisamasama, a senior risk and assurance advisor at Education Payroll, and Joseph Smith, a client manager at Taranaki accounting firm McCallum & Dallas.

Craig Norgate scholarships are awarded by CA ANZ to support emerging leaders from New Zealand Aotearoa, who have chosen a career in accounting and who are already enrolled in the CA Program.

They are awarded in memory of Craig Norgate FCA, a visionary New Zealand business leader who was a driving force in establishing New Zealand’s Fonterra dairy co-operative in 2001 and acted as its first CEO. As head of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, Norgate helped lead its amalgamation with the Australian body to create CA ANZ in 2014. He died suddenly, aged 50, in October 2015.

Diverse representation

Originally from Fiji, Shaw-Veisamasama studied a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and information systems at the University of the South Pacific. She then took a job at EY, first in Suva and then in Wellington, rising to assistant manager.

“With each audit I had changing teams, which caused me to work with a wide range of managers, partners, and junior team members across various industries,” she says.

“My time in EY has really shaped many of the skills I possess and this has proven fruitful in my current work environment at Education Payroll NZ Limited.”

Shaw-Veisamasama says that when reading about Craig Norgate, “the one thing that resonates with me the most was his contribution to the community that was so immense that it had a rippling, lasting effect”.

“This is the sort of contribution and impact I wish to make on my community,” she says.

“Being a Pacifika woman, I know the impact that I will make brings with it diversity and will help other people like me understand that there is a seat for them at the table: that they too can make a difference that is profound and lasting in their communities.”

Pictured: Gillian Shaw-Veisamasama

“Being a Pacifika woman, I know the impact that I will make brings with it diversity and will help other people like me understand that there is a seat for them at the table.”

Along with her work and her CA studies, Shaw-Veisamasama manages the finances at her local church and provides advice for proper financial controls and record-keeping “to anyone who is keen to listen” in the wider Fijian community.

In early 2021, she worked on a project to send aid relief to Fiji, in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Yasa.

Work and play in balance

Joseph Smith studied a Bachelor of AgriScience Degree at Massey University and worked full-time in banking for three years, before returning to university in 2020 to undertake a Diploma of Business Studies.

Pictured: Joseph Smith

“I completed this to ensure I had achieved the required papers to begin the CA Program and continue my growth and development,” he says.

Smith enjoys being able to apply the knowledge he gains in his studies to the “real world”.

“This makes me strive to do the best I can, so I am able to exceed client expectations and provide service, support or advice that is accurate and appropriate to their needs.”

He aims to be a great team member and an “asset” to McCallum & Dallas. The firm recently underwent a conversion from MYOB to Xero, while also integrating new software such as Figured, and Smith has been guiding his colleagues through their questions about the new software packages.

“Being able to assist my colleagues by guiding them through the steps to complete their query gives me great satisfaction, as it ensures they become more confident with using the software,” he says.

“I would like to develop the skills necessary to be able to one day be a business owner or partner of an accounting firm.”

Smith, who lives in Stratford in Central Taranaki, is a keen volleyball player and has been a member of the Stratford Volleyball Club committee for several years.

“With working full-time and my CA studies, I must be mindful about what I assist with, as there is only a small amount of spare time in my day,” he says.

“However, once I complete my CA studies, I would like to be more involved in the coaching of the younger volleyball players coming through the volleyball club, as well as anyone else who has a passion for the sport.”

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