Brett Slater, Partner

The casual exterior of our company’s leader can be misleading. Behind the informality is a powerful commitment to our clients’ success; something he pursues with serious – sometimes even daunting- determination.

Upon gaining his CA and entering the profession in the early 1980s, Brett realised that the stifling conformity his employers demanded wasn’t necessary to provide the best service to clients. By the early 1990s he’d had enough, and Slater & Company was his stake in the ground: “an unstuffy, professional service” as he describes it, where suit and tie are optional, but generating results for clients isn’t.

A Hamilton boy, born and bred, Brett has known many Slater & Company clients since childhood.

Sue Kenrick, HR Manager

Sue is the detail person behind Brett. She has a floating role within Slater & Company, taking on tax investigations, statutory compliance and other complex or difficult projects.

She is also responsible for HR and marketing. Sue gained her Bachelor of Management Studies and CA qualifications from Waikato University in the early ‘80s before launching her career with private and government organisations in Hamilton and Wellington. Sue is currently chair of the Finance Committee on the Board of Trustees of her children’s school.

The one job we don’t delegate to Sue is baking morning tea for the team. She is, by her own admission, not a fantastic cook.

Anne Bayley: Client Relationships

Anne is the link between Slater & Company accountants and our clients. Her job is to ensure that you gain the greatest possible advantage from your relationship with us. In order to do that, she has a deep understanding of the range of capabilities within Slater & Company and takes an equally deep interest in what matters to you.

Anne is one of our longest serving staff members. She joined Slater & Company after many years successfully taking care of clients in service, professional, and accountancy firms. We were lucky to get her, and we're now trying to negotiate a clause in her contract that says she has to stay with us forever.

Carolyn Black, Tax Administration Officer

Eleven years in the police force gave Carolyn deep insights into the challenges that families face in the modern world. Consequently, when Carolyn changed careers to accounting it was natural for her to specialise in Family Support.

Lest you get the wrong idea, though, let us stress Carolyn's highly competitive nature. She's a demon at the bridge table and loves nothing more than “ringing clients to tell them they're getting an unexpected refund from the IRD!” The long and short of it is, when it comes to managing your tax, Carolyn's a great person to have on your side.

Brad Feisst, IT Manager

Our resident IT guru, Brad is responsible for implementing software packages for Slater & Company and its clients, and training the users. We can report, from direct experience, this makes Brad one of the most patient people on the planet. One of Brad's greatest skills is making IT-speak understandable to the unwashed masses (again trust us – we speak from experience) and also interpreting the vague nonsense that spills from our mouths and extracting from it a clear understanding of what we're trying to achieve. Having mastered the arcane world of computer code, Brad is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Business degree.

Julia Tamihana, Accountant

Julia specialises in GST returns and backloading. She also prides herself on promptly replying to client queries. (We tried timing her once, but she finished before we could click the stopwatch twice. She's that fast.) Julia holds a Bachelor of Management Studies with a double major in Marketing and Communication, and is currently completing a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy.

Ashiana Praveen Kishore, Accountant

The vastly experienced Ashiana is a master of forensics, with a wonderful ability to reconcile the most intractable of GL accounts through a combination of detective work and sheer perseverance. Noted also for top quality management reporting skills, and spreadsheets that even the financially challenged can understand, Ashiana also boasts the command of two languages – English and Hindi. If you include accounting, that actually makes three languages.

Celia Li, Accountant

Another bilingual staff member, Celia speaks both English and Mandarin. A graduate of Waikato University, where she gained a Bachelor of Management Studies majoring in Accounting and Finance, Celia is also an avid dancer with a particular passion for those hot South American dances, the salsa and tango. She says this has taught her the value of teamwork, which would explain that famous saying “it takes two to salsa”.

Harsha Prasad, Accountant

A background in corporate banking, coupled with experience in running her own business, has provided Harsha with the ability to connect easily with clients from all backgrounds. Added to that is her extensive knowledge of management reporting which has given her the skills to undertake complex financial reporting. Proficient in three languages, Harsha holds a BComm, PG Diploma in Banking & Finance, a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies and is studying towards her ACA qualification.

Nicole Sherborn, Receptionist

Don't play poker with Nicole. Our calm, organised, welcoming receptionist is also a master at remaining calm in the face of whatever life – or her colleagues – throw at her. Regardless of the weather, the results of Saturday's test match, the mood of the person on the other side of her desk, or how the New Zealand dollar is faring against the greenback, Nicole displays an unvaryingly warm, friendly and helpful demeanour. We don't know how she does it – but we love her for it. And we sure as heck would never take her on at poker.

Natalie Stiles, Administration Assistant

Natalie's our right hand woman who regards herself as “an average kiwi girl”. If average kiwi girls throw themselves into full on white water rafting as a regular pastime, and regard getting tipped out into the rapids or hauling other “tippees” back into the raft as the epitome of fun, then yes – she's definitely an average kiwi girl. Personally, however, we're not buying it. Besides, we've seen the difference she makes to our business. Definitely not average.