By Nathalie Martin CA

2005–2011

In 2005, I started my cadetship with KPMG in the Private Enterprise (PE) division. I loved the variety of the work and the smaller team environments. I graduated in 2009 and gained my CA designation in 2011.

2012

In 2012, I became a management accountant at NEPEAN (engineering and mining services) in Narellan. It was different seeing cows and goats as you looked out the office window! I seconded to various divisions, and even found myself at the warehouse conducting stocktakes.

2013

In 2013, I decided to pursue my life-long dream of becoming a dancer. Corporate wear by day, gym gear by night, I travelled from the Hills [in north-west Sydney] to the city on weekday evenings, three or four times a week. It was a challenge I was committed to. Our dance team grew life-long friendships and won multiple National Championships in our Latin Dance Pro division, Samba.

2014 

I left NEPEAN in 2014 and joined Gloria Jean’s Coffees (now RFG Group) as the financial accountant for the roasting division. My love for coffee grew stronger with the occasional new product testing onsite. I enjoyed making new friends, and when we needed to get active to work off all those frappe calories, we represented RFG at Sydney’s City2Surf fun run.

By 2016, I had ticked a lot off my life to-do list – travelling, doing a photography course, attending yearly Scrapbook events, baking, and driving my partner’s race car on a dirt track in Nowra, winning second place in the amateur division, first go. I made him proud!

2018

Our dancing was taken to another level with the production of a one-hour show that (much like my career) combined a variety of other styles including Samba-Afro and hip-hop. We also travelled, feathers in hand, to Adelaide to perform at a yearly event held by our sister team. To help financially support this hobby, we also got involved in show teams and performed at countless weddings, birthdays and Christmas parties.

After Gloria Jean’s, I moved to a local family-owned group as their accountant. [My partner’s and my] established careers have allowed us to invest in property to financially support not only our hobbies, but our growing family. In 2018, it was time to pack away the feathers and glitter and start a family. Just before New Year’s Eve, we welcomed our first son into the world.

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