Accountancy/ Finance – Kaikaute Pūtea

“Ko taku whakapae, mā te whānau, e ora ai ngā tipuranga. Sometimes, my why is just to remind us of how awesome we are as Māori. I believe Māori whānau are the navigators to a better world. If you enable whānau to be well, they will teach wellness to every generation that comes after.”

–  Grace Allen, Chartered Accountant, Kaiwhakahaere

 

About this career

Accountancy is an important career. Accountants are trusted advisors, assisting people and businesses, community organisations and individuals with their accounting needs – such as preparing financial statements, forecasts and reports. They also advise to people on such areas as business viability, planning and strategy. While the world of accountancy is changing with technology, people and relationships are still vital to the world of business.

 

Personal qualities you need

  • Eye for detail
  • Excellent communication and organising skills
  • Trustworthy, high integrity, responsible
  • Great with numbers (numeracy), analysis and interpretation
  • Great with problem solving
  • Ability to learn new things such as new software and programmes
 
Career Pathway

Find out more about how to become a chartered Accountant: https://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/finance-and-property/finance/accountant/

 

Our Whānau Career Story

Grace Allen, Chartered Accountant, Kaiwhakahaere | Business owner

Where do I work and what do I do?

Ka pupuri I te whāriki aroha mō ngā whānau Māori, hei whakamāhorahora I te hikoi I te ao pākihi me te ao Māori.  

I run my own business as a Māori consultant. In my mahi I share how combining tools like financial literacy and business knowledge are useful in the hands of whānau to create the future we want to see.

What was my career pathway to get where I am / and what led me to this?

I tipu mai au I taku pā, ā, mārakerake ana te kite i ngā hua o te tikanga Māori. He tauira anō o taua āhuatanga, ko Hato Hōhepa. Nā rātou katoa I whakakā te hiahia ki te whai I ngā mātauranga o te pākihi, ka tū au hei kaihāpai mō te whakawhanake I te ōhanga Māori.  

My education started at Ōmahu marae, where I saw people come together seamlessly to look after each other. To this day, I don’t know any organisation that can move as quickly and work as effectively together as a marae. Money wasn’t talked about except when it came to paying the bills and only then, because there wasn’t enough. I saw so many talents around my community that weren’t pursued because people didn’t want to deal with the paperwork and hassle of finances. I liked numbers so I decided learning the rules of the financial game would be the skill I could contribute to our people.

Timeline from study to current mahi:

  • St Joseph’s Māori Girls College taught me to be a capable wahine Māori and enabled me to afford going to the University of Auckland (UoA) as a recipient of a scholarship.
  • 3 years studying at the UoA to get a Bachelor of Commerce set me up to start in global corporate businesses like PwC and EY.
  • The first 3 years of working I studied part-time to become a Chartered Accountant (CA).
  • Once qualified, I worked 4 more years while studying Te Reo through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Working as a Māori accountant in big corporate firms I learned about government mahi, private business, Iwi management, Māori land trusts etc. After 7 years I decided it was time to start my own business so I could focus what I have learned into supporting Māori whānau to achieve their goals.

“My why” for doing this job and making a difference for Māori

Ko taku whakapae, mā te whānau, e ora ai ngā tipuranga.

Sometimes, my why is just to remind us of how awesome we are as Māori. I believe Māori whānau are the navigators to a better world. If you enable whānau to be well, they will teach wellness to every generation that comes after.

Our kōrero tukuiho shows us so and I’ve seen in my own whānau, how much can change in one generation – both good and bad. In honouring the many people who have supported me to be where I am now, I started my own business to support others to share their talents and ideas – because the world needs us to be who we are, to be Māori.

Our whakapapa reminds us of our strengths and adaptability, which will serve us well through a time of pandemics, climate and social change. I love how it was described by Witi Ihimaera (Ihimaera, Hulme, & Leue, 1994):

“Aotearoa was the last of the islands to be populated by these intrepid voyagers. This makes the Māori, the people of New Zealand, the youngest of the Polynesians. They have all the boldness of their ancestor Maui, and all the magic of the pōtiki, the youngest. They are the magic mokopuna, the bold grandchildren, of Polynesia.”

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