Steven, Senior Accountant
I joined Accru Smith Chilcott in July 2008, after working many years for a major supermarket chain in New Zealand. Since I joined, the firm has provided me with great support and mentoring as well as 'tools' needed for my career growth. This support also enabled me to assist many clients with their concerns and issues while providing them with the best possible outcome.
One of my many highlights while working for Accru came in February 2009 when I was seconded to a large CPA firm in San Francisco, USA for 2 months. During what the Americans called the 'Tax Season', I was given the opportunity to work on many high profile clients where I gained knowledge in complex US tax rules and regulations. The experience has been invaluable and I have used the knowledge gained from the secondment to assist many of the firm's US clients.
I also work closely with the firm's other clients, providing them with NZ accounting and taxation advice and also budget and forecasting requirements.
Most recently, I was able to assist clients on the NZ Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate changes in October 2010. As this was the first GST rate change in NZ in over 20 years, many of the firm's clients were uncertain of their obligations. I was asked to present to a group of clients on the GST changes and through the presentation, we were able to 'iron out' many of the issues.
In February 2011, I will be attending Accru's 4th LEAP conference. It is a conference where Accru's staff meet and share knowledge. No doubt it will add to my other highlights.
