WK has another chartered accountant on the team, with manager Hamish Macdonald recently completing the required study and testing for the qualification.
Hamish says the four-module process has made for a long 20 months, and he’s pleased to be able to add CA to his list of qualifications.
“It’s another string to your bow and for the client it basically means that you know you’re working with a qualified chartered accountant as opposed to someone who isn’t fully qualified.”
All members of Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand maintain a high level of skill, knowledge and competence as a result of ongoing training and learning requirements.
In order to complete the qualification, accountants must first complete a three year degree, an internal workplace logbook, and then the four-module course covering taxation, financial accounting and reporting, management accounting and applied finance, and auditing.
The course generally takes two and a half years, however Hamish completed it in 20 months.
“It was about 15 hours’ a week of study, so basically it has been an hour and a half per night plus coming in on the weekends and doing more study,” Hamish says.
“The hardest part was during the [Kaikoura] earthquake, I happened to be doing one of my papers during that time, so I was sitting in our old building by myself and feeling the tremors.”
Whereas in large city firms there is often study groups set up for those pursuing their chartered accountancy qualification, Hamish spent much of his time studying alone.
“It just shows that hard work can pay off,” he says.
Having the support of the directors and the wider WK team has been instrumental, as well as that of his family, he adds.
“They’re are great people, and very flexible as well; very supportive of study, it’s a big commitment and they understand that you’re taking on quite a lot,” Hamish says.
“And my partner Stacey has been very supportive, especially with looking after our son Ollie for a lot of the time.”
Now that this module of study is complete for Hamish, he’s looking forward to being able to use his enhanced skills to help clients with their business needs, and to having a bit more free time.
“It will be good to get my life back and I can start refereeing rugby again, and spending more time with my family.”