It was once again our pleasure to host our Annual Christmas function on the last working day of December with many of our valued clients. 

We feature below a few highlights from our event as we reflected on our collective efforts.  With over 100 in attendance, it was a fantastic evening with the highlight as always being our GHA scholarships presentation.

We are proud to play our small part in the ongoing success of our clients.  During the evening, GHA Partner, Glenn Hawkins spoke about the strength of the Māori economy and the aspirations of many of GHA’s clients as they seek out new and exciting investment opportunities in a time of unprecedented growth.   

According to Glenn, the number one issue facing Maori business is “talent”.  He talked about the need to grow a pipeline of talent that meets the needs of our organisations, and individuals that can work effortlessly in a Māori business setting.  He quoted the numbers:

“In the accounting profession, where there are 32,000 New Zealand members, just 860 are Māori. “

Other highlights included an announcement of our expansion of GHA into Tauranga which will provide a source of great new talent for the firm and will also meet the demand from potential clients in the Tauranga Moana rohe.  This move will open up opportunities for accountants and consultants that live in Tauranga to work in a kaupapa Māori  environment devoted solely to Māori businesses. 

Glenn and Mere presented the annual scholarships, noting the recipients continue to grow the talent pool of amazing Māori that GHA are investing in now and who will ultimately provide benefits to GHA clients in the years to come.  Glenn said it was clear looking through the applications, that they have already excelled in their studies and demonstrated they have made a significant commitment to te aō Māori. 

The partners presented $15,000 in scholarships to six of the ten outstanding applicants.  Each candidate received  a $2,500 scholarship towards their studies in 2019.  This annual investment remains a source of great pride for the entire GHA whānau.