The first week in November saw the start of the 2023 PKF New Zealand Emerging Leaders Conference. Set in the beautiful Queenstown at The Heritage Hotel, over 80 delegates from across New Zealand (with visitors from Australia and the USA) came together to learn, network and connect with each other. This was the first conference held since 2020 due to Covid lockdowns and was a fantastic opportunity for our Directors and Leaders to meet up in this stunning environment.
This year’s event started with our inaugural XeroDay. In conjunction with Xero team members, 45 of our staff who work extensively with Xero spent a day learning new tips and tricks about Xero and how they can further help their clients with this knowledge. The afternoon saw teams head out across central Queenstown on an Amazing Race Challenge. Six teams competed to see who would come out on top. The teams were then treated to a jet boat ride across Lake Wakatipu.
Day 2 of the conference saw the remainder of our teams arrive (as well as a lot of rain) and everyone joined together to hear from a fantastic selection of speakers. Some of the hightlights include:
- Bridget Snelling (Xero Country Manager): Ka mua, ka muri – Walking Backwards into the Future
- Susan Robertson (PKF Kendons): Tax Treatment of CryptoCurrency
- Sarah Colcord (Chooice): A business case study on Chooice – NZ largest facebook page
- Jess Stuart: Imposter Syndrome
That night we all gathered at Steamer Wharf to board The Earnslaw, the iconic century-old coal-fired steamship. We headed over to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a delicious buffet dinner. We also took along our own entertainment in the form of Te Radar. He regaled us with tales of his adventures starting out in his comedy career. Some highlights included a scorpion bite in a precarious place and his adventures in a war zone.
Friday morning saw a beautiful day dawn in Queenstown and the start of Day 3 of our conference. Our Emerging Leaders gathered together to work with Jennifer Young from Intentional Generations while our directors undertook our AGM. We then came back together for the remainder of the day. CAANZ shared a wealth of industry knowledge and their insights into where our profession is heading. Our final speaker, David Downs told his story about Finding the Silver Linings. This was an incredible tale of the difficulties life can throw at us and how we choose to approach these challenges can have an incredible impact on the outcomes.
We want to thank all our speakers for sharing their stories and our amazing sponsors who came along and supported our conference. Also a great big thank you to those who attended and participated. Looking forward to next year!
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