Celebrating 11 years with our bookkeeping family at ICNZB’s annual Bookkeepcon21

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Last week, we were delighted to attend the Institute of Certified New Zealand Bookkeepers (ICNZB) annual Bookkeepcon, celebrating 11 years with our bookkeeping family in the North Island’s stunning Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe, Rotorua.

It was fantastic to see over 230 attendees at this year’s conference as New Zealand’s bookkeeping profession continues to evolve into a thriving, supportive community. The theme for this year was ‘We’re Taking Care of Business’, aimed at recognising the significant contribution bookkeepers have provided to businesses dealing with the challenges arising from the pandemic.

Xero’s LX Business Partner, Phil Crothers kicked things off during our Founding Sponsor address by talking about the cost of wellbeing in the workplace. This highlighted the return on investment from approaches aimed at supporting better mental wellbeing at work. Phil revealed that investing in organisational wellbeing initiatives can have up to a 12:1 return on investment. Read more about this topic in The Next Level guide.

Our Xero team were excited to be a part of the weekend and pulled out all stops to create a fabulous stand with a conference care pack from our small business customer Camden Co. We enjoyed our photo competition with a fantastic prize of a trip away (including accommodation) anywhere in New Zealand up to the value of NZD $2,000. Thank you to everyone who took part. Congratulations to our winner – Karen Clunie from Certified Bookkeeping Ltd – we look forward to seeing photos from your trip.

Inland Revenue continues to support industry transformation

We appreciated hearing from Naomi Ferguson, Commissioner of Inland Revenue (IR), who shared business updates whilst also acknowledging the valuable role New Zealand bookkeepers play in supporting small businesses.

Naomi also discussed the benefits of becoming a bookkeeping agent with IR, particularly considering the impact of COVID-19 over the past year. Naomi explained that having a relationship with IR allows for more transparency and streamlines communication, providing bookkeepers with overall better support and efficiency.

High calibre of ICNZB Excellence Awards entries

This year’s entries for the ICNZB Excellence Awards were of an incredibly high calibre. The finalists highlighted the important role bookkeepers play across a range of business environments in Aotearoa from large corporate entities, to SMEs and not-for-profit organisations.

The impact of COVID-19 was clearly evident as bookkeepers have shown themselves to be adaptable and delivering support to their clients. The 2021 Excellence Awards were the perfect opportunity to recognise how bookkeepers are caring for and delivering significant and positive impact to their clients.

A huge congratulations to the 2021 Excellence Awards winners:

Service to Bookkeeping Award

Stephanie Crawford from Business Headspace Ltd

Bookkeeping Trainer of the Year – Gayle Buchanan Memorial Trophy

Leaine Jones from Jones Business Solutions Ltd

Bookkeeper in a Small Practice

Jessica Millar from Accountable Bookkeeping Ltd

Emerging Bookkeeper of the Year

Carly Coxon from Lyttelsoft Ltd

Certified Bookkeeper of the Year

Haley Wilson from My Two Cents Accounting

Bookkeeping Business of the Year

My Two Cents Accounting

Lastly, I was honoured to receive Life Membership alongside Di Crawford-Errington, Julie Russell and Lisa Martin. The passion and energy they have given to our bookkeepers in New Zealand has shaped how our profession has evolved and grown into a community recognised by IR with Bookkeeper Agent Status. Our mantra has been to ensure no bookkeeper is working alone in silo and I believe we have achieved this.

I am now looking forward to Bookkeepcon22 in ?tautahi, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre on 29-30 July 2022.