ACCOUNTANT | HANNAH SIMCOCK

STRATEGY, GROWTH AND GOALS NO TWO DAYS ARETHE SAME

writer SARAH BERESFORD // photographer ALAN STEVENS

“People don’t realise that there are so many different avenues that you can pursue as an accountant,” says HANNAH SIMCOCK. As a senior accountant at KPMG NZ, she loves the variety that her job offers. “Some people like to go to work and know that every day is going to be the same, but that’s not me,” she says. “I love the fact that no two days are the same – the variety is huge. I could be doing monthly accounts, annual compliance, or dealing with GST and other taxes, or doing lots of work involving client contact, going on secondments and networking with people like bankers and lawyers. It is certainly not always a desk-bound job.” Hannah studied accounting at high school for three years, but after leaving school she initially started training as an anaesthetic technician. “I always had a passion to work in the health arena but after a year working I realised it wasn’t for me, so I started to do some research into what else I could do.” This led Hannah to enrol in a Bachelor of Business Analysis at the University of Waikato, graduating with a major in accounting. “I worked for Waikato Occupational Health in a casual administration role while I was studying and they offered me the role of finance officer once I’d graduated. I did this for a year and it was a great stepping stone for me.” Hannah has been with KPMG for three-and-a-half years and in that time has thrived on the challenges of a varied role and opportunities to keep learning. She completed the Chartered Accountants Program to obtain an accredited and internationally recognised postgraduate qualification – the Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting (GradDipCA), alongside mentored practical experience to become a Chartered Accountant. Hannah is about to take on a new role at KPMG, one which she put her hand up for. “It’s strategy rather than compliance based. I did some strategy papers at uni and it was an area that really stood out for me. I always thought it was something I’d like to do.” Her new role as a strategic consultant is very client focused and will encompass client workshops, strategy and performance monitoring, and helping clients on their growth journeys. Hannah says KPMG fully supports its staff to take advantage of opportunities to keep learning. “I can’t rave enough about the company culture and the mentors I have worked with so far.” She sees a willingness to learn and good communication skills as being vital in moving forward professionally and is looking forward to the challenges of her new role. It will be a step in the right direction for her career development. “I’d like to work my way up to being a partner or CEO one day. It’s good to have big goals.”

i’D LIKE TO WORK MY WAY UP TO BEING A PARTNER OR CEO ONE DAY. iT’S good to HAVE BIG GOALS.

HANNAH SIMCOCK

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS ANZ

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KEY FACTS

■ HANNAH SIMCOCK CURRENTLY WORKS AS A SENIOR ACCOUNTANT AT

KPMG NZ BUT SHE IS SHORTLY MOVING INTO A ROLE AT THE COMPANY

AS A STRATEGIC CONSULTANT. ■ SHE HAS A BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ANALYSIS MAJORING IN ACCOUNTING

FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO. ■ HANNAH COMPLETED THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS PROGRAM AND HAS

A GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN CHARTERED ACCOUNTING. For more information on careers in accounting, visit

www.youunlimitedanz.com