Did you always aspire to be in the job position you currently hold?

No - when I left high school I wanted to work in marketing. However, that changed when EY offered me an internship with their audit and assurance team.

What have you done since leaving CTHS?

I studied a Bachelor of Business at UTS, initially majoring in marketing. I was introduced to EY through a student event and, before I knew it, I had changed my major to accounting and was completing a summer vacation internship. I returned to EY as a graduate and joined the Consumer Products division. My graduate class was large and I made a number of great friends through the program.

Over the next few years I worked full time as an auditor while completing my postgraduate diploma in chartered accounting ('CA'). I was admitted as a full member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand in 2017, alongside many of my EY peers. It was helpful to share the stresses of balancing work and study with such a great group of people.

As an auditor I worked with a number of interesting clients across the consumer products and healthcare industries. My favorite clients included one of Australia's online fashion powerhouses and a major international fashion label. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work on a number of mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings. I also did my fair share of hours supervising inventory stocktakes and still own a pair of steel-capped boots!

Towards the back end of my time with EY I had picked up a number of clients in the Retirement Living industry. I had a special interest in this field as a result of helping my beloved grandfather transition into retirement living and aged care. In 2019 I took up an opportunity to join one of Australia's largest retirement village operators, Aveo Group, as the Group Financial Reporting Manager. This was my first commercial role and really cemented my passion for the Retirement Living industry. During my tenure with Aveo the business was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management and I started to take a special interest in asset valuations.

Earlier this year I was recruited into my current role with Stockland. In this role I oversee the Planning, Reporting & Analysis functions of the Retirement Living business. My team brings together insights, drives analysis and delivers expertise across all the financial functions of our business unit. My role is quite varied and project-based; last week I was travelling around the country to value our assets and this week I'm writing a technical accounting paper for the Board's review. That's the great thing about a role like Reporting & Analysis: there's a wide range of stakeholders and multiple ways in which you can add value to the business.

Describe your average work day....

My team currently works half of the week in our CBD office and the other half from home. I start my work day drinking a cup of coffee and clearing my email backlog. I will then have a chat to my team about their projects and update our project management board, which is where we allocate tasks and priorities. Typically, my day will be filled with attending meetings, reviewing my team's analysis, and preparing reports. On office days I like to squeeze in an exercise class at Stockland's Wellness Centre too.

Please share some words of wisdom for today's students…

Be open to opportunities as they arise and keep a curious mind!