According to the latest census statistics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent 3.8% of the Australian population, however they comprise less than 1% of CA ANZ's Australian membership. At a time when talent is in short supply, building a diverse pipeline of aspiring accountants is more important than ever, so how can we encourage greater Indigenous participation and inclusion in the accounting profession?

This was a question posed during a recent CA ANZ panel discussion, which was broadcast on 27 September.

Hosted by Gillian Bowen, CA ANZ public affairs manager and host of CA ANZ podcast series Small Firm, Big Impact, the panel included Indigenous members Kedeisha Kartinyeri and Deanne Firth FCA, as well as CA ANZ vice president Tinashe Kamangira FCA.

The discussion focused on Indigenous participation in the accounting profession. It also included insights from constitutional expert and former high court justice, the Honourable Kenneth Hayne AC KC, who answered Bowen’s questions about the upcoming Voice referendum proposal and how it could support greater inclusion.

Attracting the next generation

Like many sectors of the economy, the accounting profession is facing a critical skills shortage. Just 0.5% of CA ANZ Australian members identify as First Nations people, and a more diverse and inclusive approach to attracting the next generation of talent may help to increase that number.

Kedeisha Kartinyeri, co-owner and director of KML business solutions in Adelaide, and a Ngarrindjeri woman, spoke of the need for more Indigenous role models for the profession.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” says Kartinyeri, who co-founded KML almost two years ago with the goal of helping Aboriginal businesses to grow.

“I often use the example of my two little sisters, who are 13 and 17. When they were going through primary school, they would tell their teachers that they were going to be accountants, purely because that’s what I did.”

Kartinyeri outlined ways the profession could seek to attract more First Nations people, such as engaging with school students, creating more flexible work environments and improving career pathways.

“Having things like traineeships, mentoring, workshops and storytelling within schools,” she says. “My business partner and I have just taken steps toward this and have employed a 15-year-old Aboriginal student. She’s doing a traineeship, working one day a week with us.”

Firth is the founder and director of Tactical Super, a chartered accounting firm specialising in the audit of self-managed super funds. A Jagera woman, she is also a member of CA ANZ’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Panel, which she describes as having a similar intent to the Voice to Parliament.

“We provide guidance and advice on things that affect Indigenous accountants,” she explains. “It’s also about trying to increase the number of Indigenous accountants that we have and creating a support network.

“Until the last member survey, we actually didn’t know how many Indigenous members we had,” Firth adds. “Now that we have a baseline number, we can connect, we can come up with strategies and we can use our networks to grow the Indigenous membership.”

Overcoming barriers

The accounting profession faces barriers in attracting more Indigenous Australians to the profession. One challenge, says Firth, is encouraging First Nations people to study accounting at university.

“The best and the brightest Indigenous students tend to study law or medicine and that’s because they can see the tangible benefits to their community.”

“The best and the brightest Indigenous students tend to study law or medicine and that’s because they can see the tangible benefits to their community.”

Firth adds that traineeships may help to encourage students to complete their university degrees.

“If you are working in the industry, you are more likely to complete your degree, because you can see the purpose of it, in action, in your job,” she said. “It gives you a sense of purpose in terms of completing the degree.

“There are so many innovative, entrepreneurial Aboriginals out there and it’s great to have Aboriginal accountants who can support them,” adds Firth.

Kartinyeri has first-hand knowledge of the diversity of Indigenous businesses. Her clients range from artists, to consultants, marketing businesses and social media enterprises.

“It’s exciting to see what Aboriginal people are doing and how they are thriving in business,” she says. “Our number-one goal is to mentor them to be confident in their financials so that they can make important and informed decisions.”

“It’s exciting to see what Aboriginal people are doing and how they are thriving in business. Our number-one goal is to mentor them to be confident in their financials so that they can make important and informed decisions.”

Listening to First Nations people

On 14 October, Australians will head to the polls to vote in a referendum to decide if the country’s constitution should be amended to enshrine a First Nations’ Voice to Parliament.

A key tenet of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the Voice provides a mechanism for First Nations Australians to give advice on the design, development and implementation of the policies and programs that affect them.

If the referendum succeeds, the Voice is expected to lead to better outcomes for First Nations peoples, as well as considerable social and economic benefits for all Australians.

Last year, CA ANZ completed its first reconciliation action plan (RAP) and has expressed its support for a First Nations’ Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the constitution.

During the panel discussion, Tinashe Kamangira explained the considered approach taken by the CA ANZ board to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which builds on its Reflect RAP, as well as consultation with CA ANZ people and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member Panel.

“We've got more than 90,000 members in Australia, so we're a very broad church,” he says. “The number-one issue for our membership is talent – what can we do to not just attract but retain the best people? (...) there’s a huge pool of members that we’re just missing out on.”

What could a Voice to Parliament mean for the profession?

While 72% of CA ANZ members say they want their membership organisation to advocate on issues relating to diversity, equality and inclusion, there has been feedback from some members that the Voice is not relevant to the profession or to CA ANZ’s advocacy goals.

To gain more insight into the Voice, Bowen spoke to former high court justice Kenneth Hayne, in the lead-up to the referendum.

A member of the constitutional expert group, which has provided legal support to the referendum working group on key issues relating to the content and drafting of the constitutional amendment, Hayne explained that the Voice has only one power.

“It has power to make representations. That is, it has the power to speak, and no other powers of any kind at all.

“The basic idea of the Voice is that listening to what people who are in an entrenched position of disadvantage have to say is likely to lead to better solutions.”

When asked how the Voice may impact the accounting profession, Hayne noted that it may help to broaden the talent pool.

“To enhance the reputation of the profession, it must attract to the profession, and keep in it, the very best practitioners,” he says. “The wider the field from which the profession recruits, the easier that will be.

“The Voice provides a chance, not just for accountants, as it’s much wider than that, but it provides the chance to widen the field of participation. And, for accountants who make a living out of giving advice, it is important that their profession is drawn from a broad cross section of the community, and can reflect the standards and insights of that broader community.”

“For accountants who make a living out of giving advice, it is important that their profession is drawn from a broad cross section of the community, and can reflect the standards and insights of that broader community.”

Hayne encouraged all Australians to find out more about what the Voice really means.

“The best place to start for anyone is to go to the text of what is proposed to put into the constitution. It is, I think, 93 words long.

“You'll be surprised and delighted by its simplicity, but read it recognising that it is simple, because what it says is simple – there is no hidden agenda, hidden meaning or time bomb sitting in the text. None of that. It means what it says.”

“You'll be surprised and delighted by its simplicity, but read it recognising that it is simple, because what it says is simple – there is no hidden agenda, hidden meaning or time bomb sitting in the text. None of that. It means what it says.”

Support and mentorship

The CA ANZ panel discussion wrapped up with questions from the audience. One question focused on what could be improved to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates through the CA program.

Firth suggested creating networks for Indigenous candidates.

“If you get students together who are actually going through the program, they can problem-solve and work together,” she says.

Kartinyeri suggested creating more mentorships with experienced Indigenous CA ANZ members.

“It would be great to connect more with CA members that have already gone through the program,” she says. “I was connected with Josh Duke [chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member Panel] and that’s been amazing. Any question I ever wanted to ask, he was more than happy to answer it.”

In the meantime, Kartineryi is preparing to mentor her new trainee at KML business solutions.

“I’m excited to take her to the Aboriginal communities that we have as clients and expose her to how amazing it is to go out there and support them and build a relationship with them,” she says.

Post-referendum note

In the referendum on 14 October 2023, a majority of Australians voted not to establish a First Nations Voice to Parliament. You can read a statement from CA ANZ outlining our ongoing commitment to support First Nations Australians to join the profession here.

Find out more

Watch the recording of the panel discussion.