I originally joined the ANAO as part of the graduate program, after completing my degrees in business (major in accounting) and law in Queensland. I was attracted to working at the ANAO as I thought auditing would be a good base for my future career. I progressed through the ranks to the Audit Manager level. After just over 7 years with the ANAO I decided to move to the Department of Finance and Administration (as it was then called) to work in one of the Agency Advice Units in Budget Group. After a while at Finance, I returned to the ANAO to take up an Executive Director position with the Assurance Audit Services Group (AASG). Since that time I have progressed to become the Group Executive Director of AASG. In this role I am responsible for oversight of the group that delivers financial statements audits for all Australian Government entities and am a member of the ANAO’s Executive Board of Management. I also still have audit responsibilities for a number of clients and I enjoy working with these interesting and complex government entities with the aim of improving public sector performance and supporting accountability and transparency in the Australian Government sector.

Some of the things I enjoy the most about working at the ANAO are the variety of entities and people I get to deal with on a daily basis. No two days are ever the same. It is great working in an environment where everyone around you is also a professional. The ANAO's strong focus on the ongoing development and support of our staff is a major positive for me. Throughout my time at the ANAO, I have developed and used a variety of skills, both in technical areas and other areas such as staff development, client management, negotiation skills and presentation skills. The ANAO's core values (respect, integrity and excellence) align with my own values, so I think this is one of the main reasons I enjoy working at the ANAO.

During my time with the ANAO, I have been fortunate to go on a few overseas trips for work. The first involved a six week secondment to Audit New Zealand (New Zealand's audit office), where I worked on a variety of audits of New Zealand public sector entities. I have also attended and made a presentation to an international public sector auditing seminar in Prague, and visited the United Kingdom National Audit Office to discuss their approach to auditing and resource management. I also attended, and presented at, a roundtable in Brasilia that was arranged by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Brazilian Court of Audit (known as the TCU), to assist the TCU in a review of their approach to financial statements auditing, particularly at the whole of government level. My most recent overseas trip was to the Board of Audit in Indonesia, to share our approach to maintaining quality in our financial statements audits with that office and to in turn learn from the Indonesian office’s experiences in this area.

I enjoy being able to contribute to the ANAO, and the broader Australian Government, through my work, and I enjoy working with a friendly, supportive and professional group of people.