Work and heritage go hand in hand for Jolene Kawak FCA. In fact, it was her business that led her on a path of self-discovery.

In 2025, Kawak was celebrated as the Indigenous Accountant of the Year at the Australian Accounting Awards.

She’s the principal at Karlaya, a name that means ‘emu’ in her maternal family’s Indigenous language – a language she’d love to fully reclaim one day.

After a career with a big four firm, Kawak launched the business in 2019. It was the same year the inaugural Dream Summit was held, bringing Indigenous entrepreneurs together to network and be mentored. For Kawak, it was a busy time.

“I was heavily pregnant when we went to the Dream Summit,” she says, “and here we were pitching to people, thinking, ‘Who's going to give money to accountants?’. But we made it to the final pitches and we won A$5000 in seed funding.”

Through building her business, Kawak began connecting more deeply with Indigenous communities – sometimes offering support, sometimes learning from others about leadership in the space.

She had always known she was Indigenous, but family circumstances meant her mother grew up apart from her own mother (Kawak’s grandmother), who lived in Western Australia. Her father had taken her interstate, and she was raised in New South Wales and Queensland. Mother and daughter eventually reconnected when Kawak’s mother was about 12. That reconnection helped restore an important link to family and culture.

Now based in Brisbane, Kawak identifies as a proud Yamatji woman and a Yugunga-Nya traditional landowner.

Uncovering her family history has not always been easy. Recently obtained Western Australian government records describe generations of her ancestors as “difficult” because some repeatedly escaped missions. The files also detail who they worked for, the struggle to be granted the right to work and, in one case, an Elder’s fight to access basic health care.

Those records have only strengthened Kawak’s resolve.

Generations later, she’s passionate about seeing youngsters strive – not struggle like so many of her Elders did.

She gives her time to a foundation that supports the Hymba Yumba Independent School, which has a simple mission: to inspire students to “learn and lead in both worlds”.

Excellence is also the mission at media agency Triple A, where Kawak serves on the board.

Finding a calling

Angela Edwards FCA has a memorable accounting origin story.

She left school at 16 and pursued a twisting work path that included stints at a bank, in retail, at a kōhanga reo (Māori language preschool) and even as a homeo-botanist. “Anything I needed to do to make ends meet,” she says.

Edwards hails from Ngāpuhi and lives on whānau (family) land at Waimate North, near Tauwhara Marae, in Northland.

Her career direction became clear during a simple moment over a cup of tea.

“I thought, ‘What is it I want to do? What is it I’m supposed to be?’ And then it came to me – I’m supposed to be an accountant.”

She had always been good with numbers, even though she left school early.

“Even as a kid I would tip out my moneybox, recount it, tip it out, recount it. My family makes a joke of it all the time, that I’d just sit there and play with my moneybox all day.”

The epiphany came in 2000, when Edwards was already a mother of three. The aunty who raised her lived next door and Edwards went straight over to share the news.

Her aunty’s response? “Oh well that’s good – we need an accountant.”

Edwards knew she wanted to work with Māori businesses.

Two decades ago, the Māori economy was strongly linked to forestry, fishing and agriculture. Today, Edwards’s clients span a far more diverse range of industries, often driven by individual business ideas.

“I think the biggest change was probably around COVID-19,” she says. “We saw a lot of Māori startups coming through. We saw a lot of people starting to think: ‘What is it I can do that’s going to keep my whānau fed?’.”

Edwards is now a managing partner at BDO in Kerikeri – the same office she walked into 20 years ago to ask for a job. She wasn’t hired on the spot, but they called her back that afternoon.

She uses her position to support others, including delivering free startup advice to businesses in towns such as Kaikohe.

About six years ago, while serving on BDO’s national board, she helped launch the Sir Henare Ngata scholarship program. Sir Henare was New Zealand’s first Māori chartered accountant.

Northland is a region that often features in bleak economic discussion. For Edwards, the program represents a chance for rangatahi (young people).

“It’s hard to find your way sometimes when everything’s against you,” she says. “Getting your foot in the door is often one of the hardest things to do.”

Representation matters

Both Kawak and Edwards believe the profession needs more Indigenous accountants.

For Kawak, the gap is stark. In Australia, only 0.5% of CA ANZ members identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

She now says ‘yes’ to every opportunity to be visible.

“I realised that if we want our future generations to grow up and do what we do, we have to be seen.”

At the same time, the Indigenous business sector is growing. A 2025 Australian report estimated Indigenous businesses generated A$42.6 billion of social value each year for Indigenous business owners, their employees, households and community.

For Edwards, Māori accountants bring a deeper understanding of community priorities.

“Majority of the time, pūtea [money] is not the main driver,” she says. “Māori accountants understand the dynamics of whānau – what’s important, what’s come before and what’s coming ahead.

“It’s about tupuna [ancestors], mokopuna [descendants] and future generations.”

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