Inaugural NZ Bookkeepers Association Conference a success

Organisers of the inaugural NZ Bookkeepers Association Conference, held recently in Auckland, are pleased with the response and turnout it received.

Leeyan Stephens, Auckland Regional Director of the NZBAI said about a third of the Associations members from around the country attended, as well as members of the executive and non-members.

The Association was founded by President Melanie Morris after she experienced a rather harrowing experience in her own bookkeeping career. This experience made her aware there was a need for a professional Association that would provide standards, education and support to bookkeepers and accounts personnel throughout New Zealand.

Ms Stephens said Bookkeepers are now able to take a test through the Association to gain certification as a bookkeeper.

“In the past bookkeepers were not always respected, which was due to people doing their own accounts and thinking they could then set themselves up as bookkeepers for other people. “

“What they didn’t realise, they may have been doing their own accounts but their accountants were then tidying up their mistakes, certification means there is now a certain standard available.”

Several guest speakers at the conference gave interesting presentations to attendees; among these was Viv Brownrigg of The Accountants’ RePublic, who spoke of the importance of working well with accountants and gave tips on how to set up good foundations to achieve that.

Paula Renwick from POD spoke on the importance of employment relations and good recruitment processes when faced with a growing business and the need to expand and employ people.

Paul Caldwell of Kinetics looked at the three aspects of a happy and safe computer. He spoke of online threats and backups being available no matter what, which resonates closely with bookkeepers, as the Association was formed in Christchurch just before the first earthquake hit. He talked about considering how the system going down will also affect the client.

AON New Zealand’s Associate Director Reece Johns spoke of the importance of insurance for bookkeepers, something Ms Stephens said obviously from the reaction of attendees many had not thought about.

Other speakers included Greg Sheehan of RightWay and Jonathon Clifford from Inland Revenue.  A pre-recorded message of support from Rod Drury of XERO the Founding Sponsor of NZBAI, kicked off the day.

The Association also held its third Annual General Meeting during the conference and elected their Executive, welcoming four new members to the team.

Ms Stephens said people’s attitudes are changing when it comes to managing their accounts and there has been an increased uptake of accounting software.

“People are looking at their accounts earlier in their business life and are aware they need to be monitoring their margins. There is a growth in business in general and the tide is turning.”

With more bookkeepers joining the Association, organisers expect to see a growth in numbers at next year’s conference.

Photo back row (L to R) Leeyan Stephens, Gayle Buchanan, Michele Clemens, John McDonald. Front row: (L to R) Diane Crawford-Errington, Melanie Morris,, Vivien Cowey, Julie Russell.