Biography: 
 
Bill Palmer is General Manager of Standards and Public Affairs at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Bill is responsible for Professional Standards, Technical Standards, Tax Counsel, Professional Conduct, Quality Review, Special Interest Groups and
Government Affairs.

Prior to joining the Institute, Bill was a partner for 24 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

Biography:  
 
Sue commenced with Fell & Starkey (now Ernst & Young) Chartered Accountants in 1974 and worked as an auditor for three years. She became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1977.

She then spent 10 years in Ernst & Whinney’s business services division with five of these years as a manager, providing accounting and taxation services to a wide range of medium sized businesses.

In 1987 she joined Boyd Tuckwell Lush (now Boyd Partners Limited) as a taxation specialist and has provided consulting services in all areas of taxation and superannuation, specialising in corporate tax, corporate restructuring and superannuation planning using privately administered superannuation funds.

In recent years Sue, who is the Chairman of Boyd Partners Limited, has focused on family business advising and capital raising, as well as taxation, and regards herself as a generalist with specialist skills. She has a strong interest in facilitating the buying and selling of businesses and enhancement of shareholder value.

Her client base consists largely of medium sized businesses (turnovers between $10m and $100m) in the manufacturing, transport, service, retail and wholesale industries, to which she provides a broad range of taxation, management and financial advice.

Sue has written The ABC of GST (published by Information Australia) which was listed in Business Review Weekly Top 10 Business Titles in April 2000 and The ABC of BAS. She has had articles published in various publications on taxation, family business and preparation of businesses for sale and frequently gives presentations of these topics for various organisations.

Biography: 
 
Mr Noroozi is a qualified engineer and lawyer and has approximately 15 years experience in Australian and International taxation. He has worked at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Ernst & Young as well as major law practices including Minter Ellison and Linklaters. 

For the past 4.5 years, Mr Noroozi has been the Tax Counsel at the Institute.  He has responsibility for the continuing development of the Institute's taxation policy and is actively involved in lobbying the Government on tax issues. He also plays an active role in communicating important changes in the tax system to the Institute’s 46,000 members as well as ensuring that the ICAA is effectively participating in consultative forums influencing the Australian tax system. 
 

Biography:  
 
Andrew Stringer was appointed to the position of Head of Audit for the division of Standards and Public Affairs at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia in September 2006. He has over 30 years of experience in auditing, having worked for Deloitte in South Africa, before transferring to Canada and then Australia. He established his own company to consult in the areas of auditing and use of technologies in auditing, and over a ten year period provided services to the NSW Auditor-General’s Office and Audit New Zealand, as well as various internal audit groups.

Most recently he was the National Director, Audit Services for Horwath Australia for five years before joining the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

Andrew is a member of the Canadian and South African Institutes of Chartered Accountants, as well as the Institute of Internal Auditors in Australia.

Biography:  
 
Kerry Hicks was appointed as the Head of Reporting for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia in 2007. With more than 20 years of experience in the accounting profession, Kerry provides strong leadership, technical competence and support in the area of reporting for the Institute.

Prior to her current role, Kerry was the Executive Director of the Technical Consulting Group with Ernst & Young. Kerry has developed expertise in the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) both in Australia and internationally, and more recently has focused on providing technical accounting support to small and medium sized entities.

Kerry is a results orientated strategic thinker who is focused on raising the profile of the Institute on financial and non-financial reporting issues. She plays a vital role in enabling the Institute to provide expert advice to assist members in dealing with the new regulatory environment.

Biography:  
 
Sheena Frenkel is the General Manger of the Chartered Accountants Program & Admissions division at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Sheena is responsible for maintaining the Institute’s leadership position in education for the accounting profession and setting standards for Institute membership.

After some 14 years in senior executive development with the Australian Graduate School of Management, Sheena has a successful track record in working with leading Australian and multinational organisations. Her expertise is in postgraduate and post experience learning and development solutions aligned to the strategic goals of business.

Areas of research and special interest include: careers in accounting; graduate competencies and recruitment trends; development and mentoring strategies; the accounting skills shortage and migration trends.

Biography:  
 
Rebbecca Stewart is the General Manager for Brand & Communications at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. She is responsible for the Institute’s website, brand campaign, Charter magazine, member communications and media activity.

Rebbecca has more than 15 years experience in communications working in Asia, England and Australia in fields such as corporate communications, public relations and journalism. She has worked for and with organisations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, AIG (American International Group) and Citibank.

Rebbecca holds a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in journalism.

Biography: 
 
Hugh is an experienced financial services senior manager, who has expertise in training, compliance and business development functions.
Prior to joining the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia in 2005 Hugh was National Training Manager, Financial Planning and Advice at Westpac Banking Corporation, where he has been employed for the past 18 years.

During his career with Westpac, he successfully held numerous key roles in the financial services arena, including posts as Head of Adviser and Planner Development NSW, Head of Business Development NSW and most recently as National Training Manager, Financial Planning and Advice. 

Biography: 
 
Michael Nazzari was appointed as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia Victorian and Tasmanian General Manager in 1994.

Michael is particularly interested in ensuring members’ views are heard by their representatives and where possible translated into positive action or policy.

He is also keen to ensure that members see value for their membership in local services as well as through national policies and campaigns.

Prior to his current role Michael was the Victorian Manager of the Securities Institute and is the only Australian member of the American Society of Association Executives qualified to certified association executive status.
Michael is a former city of South Melbourne councilor and is married with three children.

Biography: 
 
Mark spent the first 13 years of his career in the advertising and marketing profession before moving to the Securities Institute of Australia (SIA) as Manager.

Having been with the SIA for six years he moved to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia in April 2000.
Mark is the Institutes General Manager for South Australia and Northern Territory and is part of the senior management team.

Mark has a Bachelor of Business with a major in marketing and a Diploma in Direct Marketing.

Biography: 
 
Simon Grant is a Chartered Accountant and has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia since 1987. He was appointed General Manger for the Institute’s Queensland branch in November 2002 and is responsible for all issues affecting the
region’s members.

Simon previously worked at Deloitte’s Brisbane office for seven years as a Corporate Finance Director primarily involved in capital raising and due diligence to both private and public sector transactions. His practical experience gives Simon a real understanding of the needs of Chartered Accountants working in the profession.

He has also worked for seven years with a niche retail bank as head of credit and is very familiar with the role and issues of Chartered Accountants in business.

Simon was educated in Brisbane and lives in the city with his wife and three children.

Biography: 
 
Con Abbott is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and was appointed as the Institutes Western Australian General Manager in July 2000.

Con specialises in attracting talent to the Chartered Accounting profession through the Institute’s careers marketing programs along with lobbying government in areas where the interests of Chartered Accountants and future members are impacted.

State taxes, education and removing impediments to doing business in Western Australia have been areas of focus for the Institute under Con’s stewardship.
His major professional interests include corporate governance, education, consumer protection, state taxes and the public sector, in particular financial administration and governance by PS agencies.

Con is a passionate Western Australian and he and wife Judy have three children.

Biography: 
 
Lisette Cochineas has enjoyed more than 12 years of experience in business development and general management and has expertise in event management, marketing and relationship management.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants appointed Lisette in October 2005. Prior to her appointment she worked for global organisations including the International Institute of Research where, as the National General Manager for Australia, she increased company profits through the strategic growth of business and product development, marketing initiatives and improved customer satisfaction.

Lisette also held the position of Business Development Manager for Smart Internet Technology CRC and was responsible for developing commercialisation strategies for new technologies and identifying and managing the licensing of intellectual property and patenting processes.

Lisette holds a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management and Psychology (University of Sydney), a Master of Commerce (University of Sydney), a Professional Certificate in Commercialisation (Melbourne University Private) and.a Master of Research (Macquarie University).

Biography: 
 
Renee Le Grande joined the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia in 2005 and was appointed as the Institute of Chartered Accountants General Manager for Australian Capital Territory in 2007.

Prior to her current role, Renee was a General Manager for Media Monitors for five years. In addition, Renee worked at The Canberra Times for over 15 years in several senior management roles including marketing, circulation and advertising.

Renee is dedicated to ensuring the Australian Capital Territory members’ needs are met and represented appropriately. With a strong Government background she continues to administer and maintain relationships with Federal Departments, Ministers and corporate clients.

Although she has traveled overseas and lived in other parts of the world, Renee has spent the majority of her time living and working in Canberra, therefore giving her a strong grasp of the Canberra market.
Renee is a member of the Australian Business Ltd, Chamber of Commerce and Australian Institute of Management and media entertainment and arts alliance.