After 25 years of leading Giles & Liew Chartered Accountants, surrounded by an amazing and supportive team, it’s time to step down as Managing Director, and to appoint and congratulate none other than my daughter Kylie Liew to the role.
After 25 years of leading Giles & Liew Chartered Accountants, surrounded by an amazing and supportive team, it’s time to step down as Managing Director, and to appoint and congratulate none other than my daughter Kylie Liew to the role.
When I founded Giles & Liew in 1997, I did so out of a desire to go against the grain and prove that women could be both great mothers and successful business leaders. Back then, women leading Accounting practices was not standard practice. Clearly that clarity of purpose has shaped the business as it stands today, where I get to be both on a daily and concurrent basis, alongside my daughter.
What started as a business out of a home office, I built to a business spanning 4 offices, before consolidating into our current Botany and Pine Harbour locations. To date I’ve seen the firm through numerous software and technology implementations, a business partnership split, various office relocations, the establishment of a Board of Directors, process changes to support different working styles and changing client needs and the development of new service lines. We’ve created a diverse team of professionals and picked up a number of awards along the way. I am very proud of my team’s accomplishments over the years and am forever grateful for the support and dedication they have shown not only to me, but to the business and to clients.
As we have grown, our clients have grown, and the most fulfilling part of my role has always been to help guide and shape New Zealand businesses and to work with clients to achieve both their personal and business goals. Family businesses are unique and complex in their dynamics, structure and requirements. I have guided many business owners through their own succession journeys and as I have advised clients, the detail is in the planning. Understanding the changing business environment within which we are operating, the increasing demand from clients for services that go beyond purely Accounting and the growth that Kylie envisaged for Giles & Liew, plans were put in place some time ago to establish a Board of Directors that would bring together a range of expertise and specialties to lead the firm of the future.
Kylie’s vision of offering not only Accounting services but more robust Business Advisory services, together with Process Optimisation and Digital Transformation services to our clients was the catalyst for bringing on board Directors whose expertise allowed us to expand our current service offering. Our business model has been under constant renovation for the past few years as we have invested in the development of new services, processes and in our team of professionals to position us to be ready for the next phase of Giles & Liew. Scattered throughout that journey has been COVID and the uncertainty and challenges this pandemic has brought and continues to bring with it.
Kylie has been at my side at Giles & Liew since 2014, during which time she has demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to helping our clients to succeed. She brings a fresh and forward-thinking perspective across a variety of disciplines. I have every confidence that she will further the Giles & Liew legacy of innovative thinking, exceptional service, trusted business advice and tailored solutions. She will continue to keep Giles & Liew at the forefront of the Accounting and Business Advisory profession.
“Digital disruption has presented us with an opportunity to fundamentally change the future direction of the accounting industry by exploring innovative ways to achieve growth and create success. Giles & Liew has been on a mission to create a case study for our clients as to how to grow a successful business, how to take a traditional business model and transform it in order to appeal to changing client needs.
I am passionate about redefining the role of the Business Advisor, about providing clients with the solutions they need to excel in today’s ever-evolving business world and about leading the Giles & Liew team through the next phase of business growth. I look forward to continuing the strong relationships we have built with our clients and to furthering the legacy that Mum has built over the last 25 years.”
KYLIE LIEW
As I step away from the role of Managing Director, I take comfort in knowing that the right person to lead this next phase is my daughter. Not many mothers get the opportunity of seeing first-hand their son or daughter in their professional capacities. I have had the fortunate role of being able to guide and now watch Kylie as she leads the team we have worked so hard to create. There will be some interesting times ahead, instead of Kylie looking to me for guidance, I will now look to her. Needless to say, I will still be here to support not only Kylie, my fellow Directors, my loyal team, but also my valued clients.
I will continue to be part of the Giles & Liew Leadership Team and will continue supporting the Accounting and Business Advisory Team in my new capacity as Director. I am excited about what the future holds for the business, and I look forward to continued relationships with our clients and wider business network.
Subscribe to get tips on how to grow your small business