You can learn a lot about Richard Austin FCA from his approach to sailing.

Sailing is a family hobby. Austin’s father got him into it, and his brother has raced around the world. 

“I’m not excessively competitive,” he says. But he notices how fast we are going relative to the other boats on the water that day. (His yacht, Fiddlestix, passed a few quite comfortably.)

The yacht is tidy, clean and well maintained. And he takes pleasure in the whole experience. From ensuring his two dogs, Cosmo and Minty, stay seaworthy (although the doggy lifejackets weren’t needed on a calm day) to making sure we take the right track and keep the sails trimmed to best advantage. 

“The thing about sailing is that the journey is part of the intention, as much as the destination. In a power boat, it is often all about the destination,” Austin says.

“I really enjoy planning trips. Working out where to go and how to get there.”

The new NZICA President takes his hobbies seriously. He has trained in coastal navigation and is not totally reliant on technology to get him to where he is going.

He has navigated the “easy” waters of the Marlborough Sounds and the more treacherous currents and whirlpools of French Pass. 

It is clear he loves the area.

“The native bush comes right down to the waterline. There are not many places in New Zealand where you can say that. If you are in a little bay overnight, you wake up to native birdsong,” he says with a smile.

As we sail past Allports Island, Austin recalls spending three days alone there as a young man – a survival test as part of an Outward Bound course. 

“It is a long time to be by yourself – you do a lot of thinking. I discovered I was comfortable doing things on my own – I guess a lot of people find that they aren’t.”

It’s a poignant comment coming from a recent widower. Austin’s wife Susan Selway was a victim of the 22 February Christchurch earthquake. 

Her memory is a presence throughout the interview. This is his first jaunt on the yacht since her unexpected death, and Austin is honest and open about the memories it holds for him.

“February last year was Susan’s birthday. We came here with friends, we had a bach and stayed here for three days. That was just before the earthquake.”

While he does not shy away from the topic, it is clear there is much more that he could say. 

“It’s the first time I have been out like this. I’m feeling good about being on the boat again.

“Although I lost Susan, I know she would have been proud of me. I am delighted to be able to undertake the role of President.”

If you told the young Richard Austin he would become President of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants he would have laughed at you.

Simply joining the profession was something of an afterthought.

“When I left school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I remember driving through an industrial suburb of Christchurch and wondering, who looks after all the businesses? They must need an accountant and someone to advise them – that could be just the job.”

He studied accountancy extramurally through Massey while working in the trustee industry. During that time he also got married and had children – his two sons from that first marriage are still resident in Christchurch – a route into accountancy he admits was more of a marathon than a sprint. 

“No matter how hard it got, the attitude I took was that if I found it tough then other people would be finding it tough. They are probably going to want to slacken off – so if I go a bit harder then I should pass.

“When I start something, I like to complete it. Well.”

He joined the Canterbury Westland branch committee in the mid-1990s and found he enjoyed the role. 

“I felt I could see what a lot of the frustrations from members were. I believe that if you are advocating change then it is incumbent on you to try to change, rather than just talk about it. I became branch chair then a councillor and was nominated on to the original Fit for the Future steering committee.”

Fit for the Future 3 (F4F3) is one of his priorities as President. The successful implementation of the organisational changes voted for by members in November will be critical for the Institute, he says.

“We must get the foundations embedded properly. That will be a huge determinant of the success of the programme.

“So far we have done a really good job in terms of the proposals. It was great to see democracy at work with the changes that were made after feedback from members. The organisation did listen.” 

Fit for the Future three will see Branch Committees transformed into Local Leadership Teams, a regional electoral college model introduced for councillor elections and a renewed focus on sectoral targeting of NZICA products and services (see nzica.com) for details).

Austin says that having the changes embedded and the implementation phase underway will be one of his personal key performance indicators for his year in the Presidency.

In this respect, he will be carrying on the work of his predecessors Ross Jackson FCA, who made consultation with members around F4F3 one of his priorities in 2011,  Dinu Harry FCA, who focussed strongly on embedding the governance structure that came out of F4F2 in 2010, and Linda Turner FCA who kicked the F4F review process off in 2009. 

“Each President is only there for one year, so there is only so much incremental change you can be part of,” Austin says.

As the Institute has changed, the role of the President has changed. Before the F4F2 governance review, the President was the leader of the membership and the voice of the members through Council, as well as chairing the Executive Committee.

“Prior to having a Board, the role of the President encompassed everything. Now, the role of Council and therefore the President is more defined.”

With an elected Board in place, the President plays an important role linking the “member voice” with Board, Council and with management, Austin says.

“All this interaction hopefully provides an outcome that is bigger than the sum of its parts.”

But other aspects of the role remain unchanged. Meeting new members, recognising the work of older members, awarding Fellowships – these are important functions for members and the organisation.

“It’s a very enjoyable part of the role. You get to meet real people who are the fabric of the Institute.”

The earthquake reinforced for him the importance of people, he says. 

“NZICA does not have a lot of fixed assets. Our biggest assets are people.”

Austin says one of the challenges for NZICA is that the membership comes in “batches of one”.

“And there are 33,000 members. They all see the Institute as an amorphous mass. Our challenge is to recognise that the members are individuals and ensure that they perceive they are getting value from membership of the organisation.”

The President is also the “face” of the Institute to the world. 

“That’s a key part of the role. It is important that people see the President, the Board and the chief executive in alignment of vision, see a focus on quality, and that they gain an understanding of the role the Institute has to play in the New Zealand economy. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to that.

“Another aspect, and one of the big priorities, is the collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Having a strong relationship with my Australian counterpart is important in supporting the Chair and CE in their work.”

A second priority for Austin is strengthening the communication between the membership and the Institute. Council will play a greater, and key, role in this, he says.

“I’d like the councillors to be able to look back at 2012 and say that it was a really good year because we had strong leadership and good communication. I have said that at the first Council meeting I want feedback on how much and what sort of information councillors want from me. 

“I want to introduce into Council a session on the issues that are affecting members. What is happening in the public sector, in the corporate sector and in public practice That will be an agenda item to help deliver relevance to the member base.  It will help councillors be more connected to the membership and provide a forum to discuss issues in a constructive way. We need to understand the key issues, and address them.

“People can accept decisions, even if they don’t like them, if they have had the opportunity to contribute and consensus is achieved.”

As President, you face both inward and outward, he says.

“It presents some really good opportunities. When I’m facing the Institute, a part of that is the staff – and remembering that everyone is there for the membership. 

A third priority is to ensure NZICA contributes to New Zealand’s economic strength in a difficult time for the world economy.

“This is going to be a difficult, challenging year. Our members have a responsibility and opportunity to get their clients through it, and make the difficult decisions.”

And NZICA in turn has a role in supporting members to support their clients “even if just through CPD”, Austin says. 

“The Institute needs to be aware and responsive. It needs to know what the issues are and to ensure support and training is available. A lot of clients will look to their CA for advice as things tighten up.”

When it comes to advising clients, Austin takes a member’s perspective as easily as that of President.

As a director of financial advisers Strategic Wealth Management Group he will be on the front lines of the economic recovery.

“The risks of investing are higher and returns are harder to gain. You really have to be focussed on understanding the risks and how to manage them. Then finding ways to make positive returns.”

Austin comes to the role having spent a large part of his career in the trustee industry, during which he realised he had an interest in investing.

“I was also the CEO of the Canterbury Community Trust which was a large shareholder in Trustbank NZ. Following the sale to Westpac we had $400m in cash which I managed personally for a year while we established our investment strategy.

“My biggest influences while Chief Investment Officer at Gould Holdings were George Gould and Kevin Arscott. We managed a lot of private equity investments. Buying, selling, merging… That was a fantastic learning experience. 

“Through that period I also had a number of private clients who I provided investment advice to. I realised that providing a high-level professional service was a good business opportunity, and that’s the way it played out.”

He takes a client-focussed approach at Strategic Wealth Management, working closely with business partner Steve Mander.

“We are developing a very strong company with high quality clients – I try to have a strong relationship with them all so they tend to hear from me a lot.  The role is not only about looking after clients but also about keeping up with the markets, interest rate movements, equity market movements, economic trends… every day you need to be keeping abreast, reading. On top of that, you have your clients.”

Adding the responsibilities of the NZICA President to that busy working life could be potentially problematic. But a year as Vice President has taught Austin key lessons.

“You have to pace yourself. It is important to choose carefully which events you attend if you are to get the maximum benefit from your time. And I know that members are very interested in meeting the President, particularly the new members. It’s important to remember the dignity of the office.

“The other bit is trying to get good at delegation. The role of councillors is part of that.”

On a personal level, he wants to really enjoy the role.

“If you enjoy something then you give it a lot of energy and hopefully do well.

“Another personal goal is to ensure there is a balance in my life. The role is a demanding one, particularly when you add it to your day-to-day work life.

“I’ve always been involved in sport at some level and I want to keep doing that. The challenge is to find the time to get out and do it. Everyone talks about getting fit – I’d like to actually do it.”

He hopes to continue to do a bit of masters rowing, and has bought a road bike, which he talks about in the same vein as sailing.

“It’s not about racing. It’s about some long roads and good scenery and enjoying being out there.”

With NZICA increasingly focused on strategic issues – “trying to be more proactive than reactive,” Austin says – he reiterates that the success of the President in aligning the Institute with member needs, and in embedding the Fit For the Future programme, will be the remain his key performance indicators. 

“There are differing views among members. But the Institute has to change with the times if it is to stay relevant. My job is to make sure that the change is appropriate, understood by members, and accepted by members.

“At NZICA, everyone I have dealt with has a mandate to do their best for members. Having said that, I think you have more high calibre staff on board now than ever before. I can’t speak highly enough of the staff at both national and branch level. My role is to face both ways, and keep those groups working together.”