Speakers

#Bookkeepcon24 Speakers

Brendan Roberts, a seasoned entrepreneur and tech enthusiast brings a wealth of experience from his tenure in South African startups as well as 10 years in the UK telco and tech world. Over the past 15 years in New Zealand, he's immersed himself in tech and telco, executing his passion for innovation.

Initially at Vodafone NZ, then as co-founder of NZ startup 9Spokes, Brendan's diverse skill set spans channels, operations, GTM, and team building. As Founder and CEO of Aider, Brendan leads a small but dynamic team focused on bringing the latest AI to the accounting world, globally. Aider uses GenerativeAI to help accountants scale advisory services to their clients.

Outside work, Brendan is a family man, sports enthusiast, and a drummer for a cover band, "The Fridays". He also earns a title of BBQ geek through his longtime love for outdoor cooking.

https://www.aider.ai/

David Morrison is the Chief Executive at Thankyou Payroll. David has over 25 years of experience in technology and management roles across a wide range of sectors.  David prioritises kindness and generosity in his leadership style and is laser focused on shaping a healthy, well-being centred organisation culture in order to deliver sustainable business results. Apart from Thankyou Payroll, David is also a co-owner in Do Good Jobs, a social enterprise connecting purpose led jobs seekers with their dream role. 

In his spare time David is an avid ocean paddler of surf skis and can often be found in Wellington Harbour surfing waves while others stay comfy by the fire.

Thankyou Payroll

Julie has lived and breathed taxation for just shy of 40 years, starting with 13 years at IRD ending up a Senior Investigator. She jumped to the private sector in the early 1990’s eventually becoming a Tax Director in PwC. Then in 2007 left and became a Tax Consultant advising accounting practitioners on tax matters primarily for SMEs.

She has presented a number of tax courses for CCANZ in the regions and at the National Tax Conference. Over the last 10 years she, along with Carl Brandt has delivered the TaxTonic webinar series which focuses on the tax issues facing practitioners taking a hands on practical approach

https://taxtonic.co.nz/

Sian Wingate is a legal professional and founder of Tradie Terms®, a service specialising in terms of trade for trades, professional services and small businesses in New Zealand.

Through her service, Sian ensures that businesses have the legal protections they need via their terms & conditions. Technology solutions for quoting, invoicing and job management all offer features to pre-load terms & conditions. Knowing how and when to use these features can be the difference between a robust credit control process or none at all.

Alongside supplying the legal documentation, Tradie Terms® guides businesses on where to add the T&Cs inside their software, exactly what to insert into footer text in quotes & invoices and how to apply their terms to recover default interest, debt collection costs plus much more.

Sian has worked with ICNZB for more than 3 years helping trades to get set up and sorted with terms of trade. Partner discounts are available. Visit www.tradieterms.com and click here to view the range.

www.tradieterms.com

An ex-Bookkeeper, Practice Manager and Accountant, with 25+ years in the accounting industry.  

Simonne’s seen her fair share of industry legends "bleed out" with excessive empathy and burn out with excessive hours.   

Award winning certifications and coaching specifically for accountants, bookkeepers and their teams, that incorporate neurological, scientifically proven techniques for the busy.  Elevating communication, resilience and leadership.  To lead with calm, deliberate confidence; without sacrificing self or profit.  Sleep better, live better, lead better." 

Simonne works passionately, coaching and training other Directors to build their practice their way, without sacrificing profit or self. Training them and their leadership teams in ways that many mainstream providers neglect. 

Top 50 women in accounting 2023, author, international speaker, award-winning trainer & coach.; her work fueled by her passion of people.  With extensive studies in Neurology, Psychology, Behavioural Profiling, and NLP, Simonne’s expertise is centred in who it is we BE-come. 

https://coreleadershipinstitute.co.nz/

David Loves Payroll and Payroll People. He founded NZPPA in 2007 to gain recognition for the important work payroll professionals do and to get payroll seen as a profession in New Zealand. He has been told he is a walking encyclopaedia of anything to do with payroll, especially the Holidays Act. David started in payroll when money was put into little brown envelopes, so his career has progressed from processing pay to managing payroll to implementing payroll systems to now writing on payroll, auditing and fighting for payroll to be heard. He is fully involved in legislative changes that impact payroll.

https://www.nzppa.co.nz/

Lynda is a Chartered Accountant and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner with approximately 25 years’ experience in insolvency, forensic accounting, and investigation work gained in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

Having gained experience in industry, government departments, and chartered accountancy practices Lynda established the Rodgers Reidy South Island office in 2014.   

She has accepted insolvency and forensic accounting appointments from banks, finance companies, the Court and several Government departments. In addition, Lynda has also worked with many directors and shareholders of distressed companies. 

Lynda enjoys giving back to the profession, working alongside accountants, bookkeepers and advisers to assist their clients to navigate solvency issues.  She is a former board member of RITANZ (Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association of New Zealand), and NZCFI (New Zealand Credit and Finance Institute) and is currently a member of the NZICA Practice Review Advisory Group. 

https://www.nzppa.co.nz/

Ross Brown is a seasoned expert in the field of IT operations and cybersecurity. With a career spanning both large and small organisations in the UK and New Zealand, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. As a passionate advocate for secure digital practices, he is committed to making online safety everyone’s business. 

BNZ

With more than a decade of experience in networking, business advisory and business finance, Sarah specialises in helping business owners turn their enterprises into shining beacons of growth and profitability. 

Sarah is an accredited business mentor, banking and finance mentor and Published Author.  

Originally from England Sarah and her family came to New Zealand in 2006, living on a rural lifestyle block and thoroughly embracing the life. 

She has spent decades guiding small and large businesses through their journey and working with teams to get results. Her recent role as GM of a manufacturing company takes her away from finance and into her skill set of management. 

Leaine Jones, founder of Smart Books and Jones Business Solutions, has come a long way in the bookkeeping industry. When Leaine first started her journey over 15 years ago, bookkeeping was not yet recognised as a profession in New Zealand. Leaine has helped move the needle to change that.

A few years in with her bookkeeping business she realised that there was a need for practical advice, ongoing education, and a community of like-minded bookkeepers. Joining the NZ Bookkeepers Association (ICNZB) shortly after it was formed in 2010 provided Leaine with the professional development opportunities she needed as well as forming lifetime friendships and partnerships with her bookkeeping peers.

Through this association she began to share her knowledge and experience with a group of bookkeepers who turned to her for guidance and support. Smart Books resulted in 2021. Leaine now regularly provides relevant and practical content with her bookkeeping courses and membership to a growing number of motivated NZ bookkeepers.

With a rich background in office management, accounting, software implementations, and systems analysis, Leaine brings a diverse skillset to the world of bookkeeping. Her approach is driven by curiosity and empathy. Leaine is genuinely interested in understanding her clients' and peers’ passions and challenges, allowing her to provide tailored solutions and support.

Leaine's philosophy is all about best practice. She teaches her students and members not only how to perform tasks to a high standard, but also the reasons behind them and how to check their own work. It's about making conscious decisions, identifying red flags, knowing where to look for potential issues – all while behaving professionally.

Leaine Jones is a true pathfinder in the bookkeeping industry. Through her dedication, passion, and unwavering support, she has transformed the lives of countless bookkeepers and small business owners in New Zealand. Her commitment to providing practical and personalised guidance sets her apart and solidifies her position as a trusted mentor and leader in her field.

https://smartbookscourses.com/

Vicki Campbell is the Partnership Manager at Thankyou Payroll. She excels in building relationships and connecting professionals within the industry. Vicki uses her keen ability to listen and is genuinely interested in understanding partner and user behaviours related to payroll. This enables Vicki to focus on enhancing user experience through simplifying workflows and resourcing partners.  

Additionally, Vicki's frequent interactions with users make her a vital contributor to the Product Development roadmap.

Outside the world of numbers and strategy she is a connoisseur of coffee, an outdoor explorer, mountain biker and a mum to a family of go-getting boys.

Thankyou Payroll

https://www.myob.com/nz

Sarah Davies teaches people how to turn their knowledge into a profitable business.  

Being an expert at what you do & running a successful business are two different things. She teaches people who sell their time everything they need to know to be the CEO of their business & continually generate leads, clients and revenue, through her International training program Beyond the Hourly Rate®. 

 https://sweetspotbusinesscoaching.co.nz/