Katya Danilova CA had wanted to be an accountant ever since she’d helped her mother with the books for her father’s construction business. That ambition, long since realised, has proved to be perhaps the most conventional thing about Danilova, whose career path has been full of travel and change.

“I always like a challenge and push myself to go different places, so perhaps I have an innate sense of adventure,” Danilova says.

“I always like a challenge and push myself to go different places, so perhaps I have an innate sense of adventure.”

Russian-born Danilova immigrated to New Zealand with her family while still a school student. In 2010, she graduated with dual degrees – a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in accounting and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in psychology – from the University of Auckland.

Along the way, she also spent five years living in Canada, working as an account manager with a seaplane company.

Danilova’s professional career trajectory began when she joined Ernst & Young’s Auckland office as a graduate; she stayed for three-and-a-half years before making the move to AIA Group. After two years with the insurer, she moved with the company to Hong Kong, which allowed her to achieve an important career ambition at just 30.

“I started in a traditional accounting role but when I moved to Hong Kong I joined a team focused on operations transformation,” she says.

Her current role (as operations performance and analytics lead) deals with the strategic introduction of digitisation into AIA’s business, implementing technologies such as automation and using data visualisation to “translate ideas and visions into measurable results”

“Perhaps it was my psychology degree, but I like change management and helping lead and co-ordinate change,” she says. “Workplace skills are transitioning and I’m really enjoying being part of that strategic shift.”

Danilova has been an active member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Hong Kong Committee since September 2018 and was recently named the CA ANZ 2019 Young CA Regional Advocate, Hong Kong. She is one of 12 Young CA Regional Advocates, who are shortlisted for the 2019 President’s Prize, to be announced in late 2019. The prize recognises CA ANZ members under 35 who have made an outstanding commitment to the accounting profession and have used their skills to serve their local community.

Katya Danilova CA
AIA Group, operations performance and analytics lead
Age: 32
Other roles:
2019 Young CA Regional Advocate, Hong Kong.

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