Lee Green 30 - Mike Levy reflection

With Lee Green turning 30 this year, we asked one of our longest serving staff members, Mike Levy, to reflect on his time at Lee Green and the experiences he has had as part of the team.

Mike first began at Lee Green after moving home from the UK in 1998. He moved on after a few years but returned in 2007 and has been with Team Lee Green ever since.

Mike has travelled extensively in his time at Lee Green, made evident in his current role as Director of our Northern Territory office and operations.  Says Mike of his travels “ I have been fortunate to have travelled to many parts of Australia through my work at Lee Green especially working with Aboriginal organisations throughout Australia.  A summary of the places visited for work include:

• Northern Territory
  • Uluru/Mutitjulu
  • Mt Liebig
  • Yuendumu
  • Lajamanu
  • Barunga
  • Ngukurr
  • Minyerri
  • The Tiwi Islands
  • Jabiru
  • South Goulburn Island
  • Groote Eylandt
  • Elcho Island
  • Yirrkala
  • Nhulunbuy
  • Gumbalanya
  • Darwin
  • Alice Springs
• South Australia
  • Ceduna
  • Coober Pedy
  • Port Augusta
  • Indulkna
  • Napirri
  • Victor Harbor
• Western Australia
  • Broome
  • Roebourne
  • Ringers Soak
  • Halls Creek
  • Kiwirrkurra
  • Wanarn
  • Perth
• New South Wales
  • Sydney
  • Deniliquin
• Victoria
  • Melbourne
  • Echuca
• Queensland
  • Cairns
  • Townsville

 

"I have also been fortunate to attend several Barunga and Garma Festivals along with a Ngukurr Festival representing Lee Green.  These are fantastic festivals to experience and have given me the opportunity to see excellent musical performers including iconic Indigenous acts such as Dan Sultan, Yothu Yindi, The Saltwater Band, Coloured Stone, The Lonely Boys, Mambali Band, Caiti Baker, Emily Wurrumura, Dr G, Neil Murray and many more.

"In addition to work travel, I was part of Lee Green’s 6-person Habitat for Humanity major project team that travelled to Battambang in Cambodia to be involved in building houses for Cambodian families.  This was an amazing experience for all involved and it was great to go back a year later with my wife to reunite with the families settled in their homes.”

 

As well as his contribution to our Habitat for Humanity build, Mike is on Lee Green’s Events and Charities Committee which identifies charitable opportunities in our community that we can get involved in.

“In 2010, together with three other staff members, we stretched our physical capabilities and completed the 50 odd km Trailblazer challenge from Adelaide Oval to the summit of Mt Lofty raising funds for the Operation Flinders charity.  Despite vowing to never do it again after completing it, I have since completed the challenge 2 more times.  Being involved in Lee Green’s Meals on Wheels roster is another highlight.”

 

Of professional development opportunities provided to him at Lee Green, Mike says, “Lee Green have supported me as I have undertaken a Bachelor of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander degree part time externally at the Charles Darwin University in Darwin.  After 5 and a half years, I’m now down to my last 2 subjects to finish the degree and have enjoyed and been extremely challenged undertaking studies in two Aboriginal languages in the Year of Indigenous languages.

“Together with experiences travelling throughout Australia and remote Aboriginal communities, these studies have assisted in working on developing Lee Green’s Reconciliation Action Plans.”

 

Mike has been a driving force behind the development of our Reconciliation Action Plan which is now at the Innovate RAP planning stage.  Read more on that here.

 

Finally, we asked Mike how times have changed since he began his accounting career and not surprisingly, we got a sports metaphor in response!

“Boof Lehmann was asked a similar question when he retired from cricket and his response was that when he began his career the players would get to the dressing room at the end of a day’s play and the beers would be on ice but as he finished his career at the end of the days play it would be the players that were on ice (in ice baths).  From an accounting perspective, when I started long lunches were common with clients and prospective clients but nowadays most meetings occur over a cup of coffee.”

 

While times sure are changing, Mike will always be a valued member of Team Lee Green.  Thanks for your contribution to Lee Green over the years Mike!

 

Keep an eye on our social media accounts for more staff reflections over the coming weeks.

Russell Bedford 2019 Asia Pacific Annual Conference

 By Ben Spiers, Associate Director

 

The Russell Bedford 2019 Asia Pacific Annual Conference (APAC) was held in Chennai, India on 11^th & 12^th July.  Hosted by Indian firm Sharp and Tannan, the Conference was attended by over 30 delegates from 12 countries, including Tom Green and Ben Spiers from Lee Green. This was Lee Green’s second attendance at the APAC and provided a great opportunity to further build on relationships forged from the prior year as well as meet new delegates from first time attendees/firms.

 

The technical sessions held provided opportunity for us to compare notes on how our accounting firms are run and develop more of an understanding into the different expectations across different cultures. We also had the opportunity to discuss the future of our profession, which gave us additional insight into the things we need to be considering over the next 3-5 years.

 

Some of the other technical sessions covered apply to all business regardless of industry and size;

• Bridging the generation gap – With an aging population in Australia we see this translating to people working longer and workplaces often have a similarly aging demographic. It’s important to have a diverse mix of staff in order to bring fresh ideas and energy to your business. The ability to pass on technical knowledge and practices down through generations enables owners and older staff to focus on working on their business rather than in the business. Communication is important across generations to ensure expectation levels, particularly around work life balance and work ethic, are maintained appropriately.

• Maintaining a healthy workplace – the introduction of technology often allows us to be able to work anywhere and at any time. Whilst this can be positive, it often translates into work encroaching on family time. It’s important for employers to be aware of the amount of work done by employees and be reasonable with expectations. Technology can allow us to perform more work more easily but can just as easily result in overloading staff and increased stress levels. Employers should look to encourage fitness and healthy eating, team building and communication and have appropriate mental health awareness to ensure work-life balance is maintained.

• Delivering real efficiency – this is an ever-changing topic as technology enables us to do tasks quicker, easier and with more accuracy. Businesses should always be on the lookout for tools to boost efficiency as it can provide value across the board. Technology can often provide the ability to take on extra work without increasing staffing or can allow business owners to minimise the amount of administrative work being done. The result of this can be increased profitability and better work life balance, both of which are desirable but should be considered as part of an overarching strategic plan for the business.

• Employee performance and key performance indicators (KPIs) – This topic covered several things but ultimately once a business has set their KPIs, the most important thing is regular communication with employees regarding performance. The frequency of meetings will be dictated by the size of your business but should be quarterly at least to ensure that expectations are regularly met.

 

On the final night of the conference all the delegates attended a dinner which included traditional Southern Indian entertainment and of course beautiful food. Whilst the trip was short, we did manage to sneak in a bit of sight-seeing, visiting the Taj Mahal prior to the conference and catching up with colleagues in Singapore on the way back.

 

It was an exciting trip to a part of the world which culturally is quite different to Australia, but where the people are genuinely welcoming. It was also a great opportunity to develop working relationships with other likeminded people in firms overseas. The attendance at the Asia Pacific Conference by delegates from Amsterdam and Milan, who have Indian based clients, really reinforces that business is global and it is exciting to be a part of a network that facilitates these cross-border relationships. We have certainly seen an increase in inbound and outbound trade and investment opportunities across our client base and in those instances, it is essential to have advisors with local knowledge. It gives us great comfort to know that our clients can expect the same level of service as we would provide when dealing with other Russell Bedford member firms.       

APAC attendees

Ben presenting at the APAC

Ben and Tom with Viswanathan Vaidyanathan (Vish) of host firm Sharp & Tannan

Beautiful setting for dinner on the final night

Dinner entertainment

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore 

Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

RAP Committee Report

by Angela Wright

Lee Green’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) journey has progressed to planning the Innovate RAP stage.  In true Lee Green style, the committee have been studiously working on drafting the RAP with actionable goals and real results at the forefront of our minds.  Committee members are embracing the challenges presented and continue to gain a deeper understanding of the national reconciliation movement.

Read more ...