From the NSW Chairman
New Members and Merit Awards
In March I was very pleased to congratulate new members and Chartered Accountants Program Merit award winners at the Certificate Presentation Ceremony. It is great to see the enthusiasm of new members and candidates currently undertaking the Program as they are the future of the Institute and our profession. As we all know becoming a Chartered Accountant is a major milestone and provides the foundation for an unlimited range of career directions.
NSW Council
NSW Council is your representative body, acting as a conduit between members, the Institute's Board and management. A point of focus for the Board, and Regional Councils, this year is regional Australia and how best we can support our members outside of the metropolitan areas. As advised previously the President, Andrew Arkell, will accompany NSW Councillors and representatives of the Victorian Council on a trip to Albury on Monday 7 April to meet with members and candidates in the region. We are pleased to have this opportunity of hearing first hand of your needs and concerns and to provide an update on the Institute and its various initiatives.
Government Relations
Another NSW initiative in 2007 was the establishment of the Joint Accounting Profession Panel, working with CPA Australia, National Institute of Accountants, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Taxation Institute of Australia, with the aim to lobby government at a state level on key issues. The Panel, with the support of the Institute’s New South Wales office, have recently successfully lobbied to the New South Wales Treasurer, Michael Costa to make changes to land tax and duty relief for unit trusts. The Treasurer has authorised the Commissioner of Taxation to make ‘Act of Grace Payments’ on case-by-case basis in respect of unit trusts and holders of units in those trusts that would have qualified for concessional treatment established by the Sate Revenue Legislation Amendment (Tax Concessions) Act 2006 No 97. This change is welcomed by the Institute and will benefit our New South Wales members.
Business Leader Awards
We would also like to congratulate the recent winners of the Business Leader Award, Wal King of Leytons and Outstanding Chartered Accountant in Business Award, Michael Ullmer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, National Australia Bank. Other winners on the night included Andrew Mohl, former Chief Executive Officer, AMP who won in the Banking and Finance sector and Owen Hegarty, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Oxiana, won the Mining and Resources sector.
Business Forum
Can I also remind members that the 2008 Business Forum will be held again at the AJC Convention Centre from Monday 12 -Thursday 15 May. Registrations are now open via the Institute's website.
Chris George FCA
NSW Chairman
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From the General Manager NSW
I would like this month to highlight some of the recent initiatives and events in NSW.
Careers Marketing
The newly expanded NSW Careers Marketing team has hit the ground running with March being our busiest month yet for schools and universities’ careers fairs, with open days in both the Sydney CBD and regional NSW. Over the past month the team has:- presented at ten schools
- participated in two high school career fairs
- participated in University of NSW, University of Technology, Macquarie University and University of Sydney Orientation weeks
- held academic meetings with University of Sydney, Macquarie University, University of Technology and Australian Catholic University
- organised 38 lecture visits to promote Employment Evening
- participated in the FMAA Corporate Cocktails
- visited three Universities in partnership with Macquarie Bank
- visited two Universities in partnership with the Big 4
- in the regions Chartered Accountants Speakers did three presentations at universities
- three presentations were made in Armidale to academics and students
- we also presented with one of the Big 4 in Armidale and Albury
- participated in an higher education conference
- participated in the Careers Marketing Advisory Panel meeting
- delivered two key events - the High Schools Careers Advisors Evening and Employment Evening.
My thanks to all the NSW Careers Marketing team for their outstanding efforts and in particular to their manager, Lacie Kreis, NSW Relationship Manager - Students and Educators, who has lead the team and worked so hard to make this happen.
High Schools Careers Advisors Evening
This year was the first time that the Institute has run a High Schools Careers Advisors Evening in NSW and the event, organised by Secondary Schools Relationship Consultant, Jessica Aldred, was well attended. Participants heard from a number of Chartered Accountants Program Candidates and young members about what it means to them to be a Chartered Accountant and what career opportunities it has already afforded them. This helped to paint a picture of the diversity of roles and industries open to Chartered Accountants. Our thanks to the Chartered Accountant speakers Andrew Every, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, James Mallon, Deloitte, Sherry Lal, WHK Horwath, Ranya Salem, Qantas, and Rod Chieng, Macquarie Group, who made themselves available to present at that event.
Employment Evening
Employment Evening organised by Tertiary Relationship Consultant, Fiona Battey, provided a fantastic opportunity for members to exhibit and meet hundreds of outstanding applicants who are interested in a graduate position. This year we had 36 exhibitors and over 640 hopeful students in attendance and was very successful event. I would encourage any practice or company wanting to attract staff to take advantage of the various Institute careers marketing events.
Mid tier Tax Partners lunch
On Friday 28 March, Tess Everingham, Relationship Manager - Mid Tier Firms, held a Mid Tier Tax Partners lunch. This is the second time we have run this event and it is an opportunity for Tax Partners to receive an update on the Institute's activities from Ali Noroozi, Tax Counsel. The event was well attended by key partners and good questions stimulated discussion.
Swimming Carnival
The Institute's annual swimming carnival, held on Thursday 6 March at North Sydney pool, was an enjoyable and exciting evening, with members competing in a variety of individual and relay races. Following the friendly rivalry in the pool, swimmers headed off to the Vibe Hotel to relax and socialise with their teams for the presentation function. Trophies and prizes were awarded and the full results can be viewed on the Institute’s website. I would also like to thank members Dominic Speranza and Bryan Mortensen for their assistance and support for this event each year, which is greatly appreciated.
Training and Development
The first of this year’s two Public Practice Conferences was held in Sydney on Monday 10 - Wednesday 12 March with 141 members attending over the three days. A very interesting plenary session was presented by Macquarie Group’ senior economist, Brian Redican, examining the outlook for domestic and international economies and investment markets. Other informative sessions covered updates on tax issues for practitioners and small business, AIRFS, skills shortage and succession planning, retirement investing and superannuation, practice management issues and many others. The next Conference is scheduled for Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 June 2008.
Newcastle Convention
Attendance at the Convention exceeded 200 this year and provided members in the Newcastle region with a local opportunity to obtain updates on issues relevant to their practices and firms. I would also like to thank Justin Doyle, the Newcastle Regional Country Chair, for opening Convention on behalf of the Institute.
Regional Country Chairs’ meeting
The annual face-to-face meeting of the Institute’s Regional Country Chairs group was held in Sydney in March enabling your representatives to discuss in detail issues affecting members in regional NSW. I would like to take this opportunity of introducing your local representative:
- North Coast - Tony Bazzana, Wappetts
- Shoalhaven - Mark Crowther, Tait Miller McIntyre Pty Ltd
- Newcastle - Justin Doyle, Prosperity Advisers
- Riverina - Stuart Heine, RSM Bird Cameron
- Central West - Brett Herbert, Herbert Accounting Services
- Illawarra - Ciorstan Smark, University of Wollongong
- Mid North Coast - Rod Smith, NorthCorp Accountants
- North West - Mark Smith, Smith Sharpe & Abbott
- Albury/Wodonga - Jon Williams, Worsley Partners
I would also like to thank the regional Chairs for their ongoing support and assistance in acting as members’ conduit with the Institute and helping out with various events, particularly regional careers marketing activities.
Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia St Patrick’s Day Harbour Cruise
I was delighted to have the opportunity in March of joining the members of the Irish Institute residing in Australia on a recent harbour cruise. The event was held to provide their local members with an opportunity to network and to meet with the Irish Institute’s President, Vincent Sheridan, who was visiting Australia.
Lisette Cochineas
General Manager NSW
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Leighton Holdings’ Wal King named 2008 Business Leader Awards winner
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia together with Perpetual, named Wal King, Chief Executive Officer of Leighton Holdings Limited, the winner of the 2008 Chartered Accountants Business Leader Award. Mr King received Australia’s highest accolade in business at the ninth Business Leader Awards held at Luna Park in Sydney on Friday, 14 March hosted by Ali Moore and attended by many of Australia’s senior business executives.
This year’s Business Leader Awards was the most hotly contested yet, with more than 170 nominees vying for the title. The nominees represented the wealth of business talent in Australia and were judged on their ability to demonstrate visionary leadership, exhibit best practice, show innovation and take risks, foster positive employee relations and contribution to the community.
Mr King has headed Leighton, Australia’s largest project development and contracting group, for more than 21 years. In that time he has overseen a transformation in Leighton, from a mid-tier contractor, with a market capitalisation of $100 million, to one of the leading contractors in the Asia/Pacific region.
Receiving the award, Mr King said he was honoured to be chosen as the 2008 business leader, particularly from such an impressive field of nominees.
"It is a great pleasure to receive this award which reflects the successes we have achieved as a team at the Leighton over many years. But we aren’t going to rest on our laurels”, said Mr King. “Ultimately in business, you grow or you die. So we are continuing to pursue a number of strategic initiatives that will allow the Leighton to keep growing and for shareholders to be rewarded.”
The Outstanding Chartered Accountant in Business Award winner was awarded to Michael Ullmer FCA, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, National Australia Bank.
Other winners on the night included Andrew Mohl, former Chief Executive Officer, AMP who won in the Banking and Finance sector and Owen Hegarty, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Oxiana, won the Mining and Resources sector.
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Key announcements from the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA)
Summary of the key announcements from the GAA New York Board meeting in February.
IFAC attendance
International Federation of Accountants President Fermin Del Valle, Deputy President Bob Bunting, and Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball attended part of the GAA meeting to discuss items of mutual interest such as the importance of their standard setting function and their activities over the coming year. The IFAC leadership team has a standing invitation to join the GAA Board at future meetings.
Accounting for sustainability
The GAA and its constituent member institutes are now formally members of the Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability forum from which a report of the same name has been produced. The Accounting for Sustainability forum is made up of businesses, investors, public sector organisations, accounting firms, and other relevant stakeholders.
It is envisaged that the forum will meet annually with the next meeting in December 2008 being a conference-type event with a keynote speech from the Prince.
The forum is co-ordinated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and includes all members of the GAA together with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
Mutual recognition
The Institute has completed work to confirm our mutual recognition of seven institutes' (all except AICPA) qualifying programs reciprocity with the Chartered Accountants Program.
Background
The Global Accounting Alliance has been formed by the world’s premier accounting bodies to promote quality professional services, support the global membership, share information and collaborate on international accounting issues. The GAA represents 700,000 members worldwide making the qualification one of the most widely accepted accounting designations. The Institute is the only Australian accounting body within the alliance that includes professional accounting organisations from America, Canada, Hong Kong, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand and South Africa.
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Key announcements from the International Innovation Network
The International Innovation Network (IIN) held its bi-annual conference in Amsterdam in February to establish the vision, mission and key objectives for the next three years.
IIN Chairman, Jan Pasmooij, from Royal NIVRA highlighted that the network has proved to be a valuable vehicle to facilitate networking and information sharing between its members.
"The IIN has evolved from a focus in its early days on products and services to an international network providing members with outstanding opportunities for knowledge exchange, sharing strategies and building relationships," said the Chairman.
Stimulated by learnings from participation with the IIN, the Institute carried out an internal restructure and created a Membership Marketing division earlier this year, with a focus on providing value to members at every stage of their careers. This was based on the effective member support model used by fellow IIN member American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
The conference covered key industry issues for accounting bodies such as:- How to meet the needs of female members
- Best practice in delivering online Training and Development, and the
- Research results from the IIN public practice and business surveys.
It was resolved that the main purpose of the IIN is to continue to focus on information sharing, research and networking between the 16 member institutes in areas of relevance to members. The key areas of relevance cited were attracting students to the profession, providing valuable products and services to members, and branding.
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News from the Knowledge Centre
Welcome to the latest news update from the Knowledge Centre; where members will find information on the LexisNexis free trials program, a retirement and estate planning resource, the book sale, new titles and a list of relevant Australian articles.
LexisNexis update
Many LexisNexis products are now available to members and candidates via the website as part of a free trials program, which is updated monthly. The Knowledge Centre are keen to get your feedback on these products. Click here to access the LexisNexis free trials program
The latest edition of the Retirement and Estate Planning Bulletin is now available. This bulletin provides expert analysis of retirement and estate planning issues in areas including superannuation, wills and probate, testamentary trusts, and business succession. Click here to access the LexisNexis Retirement and Estate Planning Bulletin
Book sale
The Knowledge Centre had a large delivery of new books in February, which meant it was time to remove previous editions. These items are in great condition, have fantastic content, and are now available for purchase by members. To find out which books are available for sale this month visit website
New books in the Knowledge Centre
The latest book titles added to the Knowledge Centre's collection are listed below. Brief reviews of these items can be found in the Knowledge Centre area on the Institute's website. New books include:- Anti-Money Laundering Handbook
- Killer CVs and hidden approaches: give yourself an unfair advantage in the job market
- Linkage Inc's best practices for succession planning: case studies, research, models, tools
Click here to access the book summaries
Australian Articles
Follow the link below to access articles from around Australia on a wide range of general interest, accounting and business topics. The Institute’s copyright licence precludes us from supplying these articles electronically, however print copies can be ordered from the Knowledge Centre. Summaries on these articles can be found in the Knowledge Centre area of the Institute's website. Selected articles include: - Inside their heads (self-managed superannuation funds)
- Integrating superannuation strategies and estate planning
- Foreign tax credits and overseas investment: more reform necessary?
- Harmonised breach reporting for superannuation trustees
- Deadlines then fines (carbon management)
- Product design emerges as key (superannuation fund product offerings)
- Avoiding thumbs down (executive remuneration packages and shareholder opinion)
- What women want (women in executive positions)
Click here to access the article summaries
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Business Forum 2008 is almost here – register now
The Institute’s annual premiere event, Chartered Accountants Business Forum is set to tour around the country and will be hosted at the AJC Convention Centre, Randwick Racecourse in Sydney from Monday 12 – Thursday 15 May.
This is an opportunity for members to join the business industry as they gather to hear the latest updates, review current issues and plan for the future.
With a powerful, practical and flexible schedule delegates can also create tailored packages by selecting from over 100 sessions, earning more than 20 qualifying hours.
Sessions available range from business management, financial planning and leadership to accounting, SMEs and professional development programs just to name a few.
A special feature this year will be the option of scheduling a free one-on-one session with the Institute’s local business manager at Business Forum. This consultation will provide delegates with the opportunity to develop a customised training plan for their team covering personal development, technical or general business skills.
Register or find out more information about Business Forum 2008 today. Regional delegate discounts are available.
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Lost members - can you assist?
In our efforts to ensure we maintain up to date records for all members, the Institute is seeking members' assistance in identifying current information for the following 'lost' NSW members, or members whose last known address was overseas. If you have knowledge of any of these members, can you please contact the Chartered Accountants Service Centre by phone on 1300 137 322 or email: service@charteredaccountants.com.au.
Mr Robert Arthur Forge FCA - NSW
Miss Thelma Shirley Henderson CA - NSW
Mr Peter Kenneth Banks FCA - NSW
Mr Paul Edward Middleton FCA - NSW
Mr Donald Keith Hill CA - NSW
Mr Kenneth Aitken CA - NSW
Miss Jennifer Gai Ritchie CA - NSW
Mr Vaughan Michael Lindfield CA - NSW
Mr Slobodan Vujcic CA - NSW
Miss Ellisa Kerswell CA - NSW
Mr John Thomas Zammit CA - NSW
Miss Sarah Jane Gillingham CA - NSW
Mr Joshua Robert May CA - NSW
Miss Kate Pike CA - NSW
Mr Le Quang Nghi CA - NSW
Mr Jeremy Steven Goodman CA - NSW
Mr Timothy Newberry CA - NSW
Mr Russell John Briant CA - NSW
Mr Peter Ronald Bentley Hemery CA - Overseas
Mr James Alexander Hutchinson CA - Overseas
Mr Tommy Chun Bing Lui CA - Overseas
Mr Victor Hok Wan Choi CA - Overseas
Ms Christine Jodie Vickery CA - Overseas
Mr Neil Price CA - Overseas
Mrs Andira Cook CA - Overseas
Mr Luke Christopher Targett CA - Overseas
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2008 NSW council contact details
Chris George FCA (NSW Chairman)
Christopher.George@au.ey.com
Jason Phillips CA (NSW Vice Chairman)
jason.phillips@challenger.com.au
Andrew Archer CA
aarcher@gtnsw.com.au
Georgina Gaussen CA
georginagaussen@qantas.com.au
Bruce Gleeson CA
bgleeson@jonespartners.net.au
Ian Rodrigues FCA
ian@bishopcollins.com.au
Lee White FCA
Lee.White@asic.gov.au
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NSW April 2008 Issue 3
In this issue
From the chairman, NSW council
More >
From the general manager NSW
More >
Business Leader winners
More >
Key announcements from GAA
More >
Key announcements from IIN
More >
News from the Knowledge Centre
More >
Business Forum 2008
More >
Lost members - can you assist?
More >
NSW Council contact details
More >
Tennis tournament alert
More >
NSW Discussion groups
More >
Chartered Accountants advisory group
More >
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Editor
Margaret Brewer 02 9290 5662
Email: Margaret Brewer
NSW website
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81st Annual Tennis Tournament
The Institute's 81st Tennis Tournament will be held at Tennis Cove, Eastern Valley Way on Monday, 6 May 2008. Note your diaries. Further details will be available soon on the Institute's website.
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NSW members' discussion groups
Discussion groups are one of the best ways to improve your skills and to learn from your peers - and let them learn from you. Groups of like-minded colleagues are excellent forums for sharing and gaining knowledge on matters of mutual interest. They are also a great way to build your professional network and an economical way of accruing CPE hours.
If you are interested in finding out about various discussion groups in the city or suburbs, please visit the Institute's discussion group web page for relevant contact details.
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Chartered Accountants Advisory Group: counselling support for Chartered Accountants
Facing unfamiliar or challenging professional circumstances, uncertain about a career decision, or under pressure to act unethically?
The Institute's Chartered Accountants Advisory Group (CAAG) is a free confidential resource to help members experiencing these problems. It is made up of highly experienced and specially trained senior Chartered Accountants from the local region.
To contact a CAAG counsellor for guidance, contact Lisette Cochineas on 02 9290 5537 or via email to Lisette Cochineas or visit the Institute's website for further information.
(The Chartered Accountants Advisory Group counsellors will not address technical matters nor personal issues)
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The official e-newsletter of the New South Wales region of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
Level 2, 33 Erskine Street
GPO Box 3921
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Ph: 1300 137 322
Email: Service
ABN 50 084 642 571 |
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Considering a career as a Chartered Accountant? Looking for the next step in your professional life?
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