Ella Tappin

Ella Tappin has always had a passion for maths and accounting, and now she’s well on track to fulfilling her ambition of becoming a Chartered Accountant.

As a senior auditor at Staples Rodway New Zealand, her job involves assisting with the financial statement audits of clients, usually in a team of three to five people. She enjoys being exposed to so many different industries and the work varies enormously, she says.

“It’s an incredible learning opportunity working with such a wide range of organisations. I’m really interested in business management and have a keen interest in adding value for my clients,” says Ella, who was Dux at Matamata College.

She graduated from Waikato with a Bachelor of Management Studies degree with First Class Honours, majoring in Accounting, and received an award for being Waikato's top accounting student in 2013.

Ella says her BMS(Hons) degree helped to develop the soft skills that are integral to her job, such as confidence in public speaking, and networking with other business professionals.

She gained a lot of valuable experience while interning at PwC over two consecutive summers, and she was offered a graduate position as an auditor right after finishing university.

Ella is particularly proud of her team winning the Waikato Management School Case Competition in June 2011 with their business strategy for Telecom. She was also given the opportunity to co-author two articles on accounting, both of which were published in academic journals.

“My advice to other students would be to make the most of your student experience and get involved with things.”