Sessions

I’m Andrew and I’m obsessed with the potential of the accounting industry..

The days of just doing the books and filing tax returns are gone. I affectionately refer to this kind of work as ‘keeping our clients out of jail’. Whilst it’s important work, it’s the bare minimum. And I know the accounting industry is capable of so much more than that.

Accountants of today (and tomorrow) need to be more and do more.

After all, keeping our clients out of jail is the bare minimum. The real magic happens in business problem solving, leveraging technology to streamline operations, and connecting on a human level to help our clients kick goals with both feet.

As the founder of Illumin8, I lead a team of accounting, bookkeeping, and business advisory specialists who share my passion for helping small business owners do more of what they love.

At Illumin8, I’m not limited by the traditions of the old world of accounting. Instead, I always push the boundaries, ask lots of questions and when I listen to the answers, I’m not afraid to challenge what I hear. It’s the only way I can make the difference I want to make.

The result of my approach is that my team is empowered to make decisions and to support their clients. They’ve got the freedom to think for themselves. That’s a big reason why we’ve won multiple accounting industry awards and why I was named as Australia’s accounting industry Thought Leader of the Year back in 2018.

Elinor Kasapidis is the Senior Manager Tax Policy for CPA Australia. Elinor is responsible for the development of policy, research and advocacy on issues related to tax policy, legislation and administration in Australia and internationally. She leads the CPA Australia Taxation Centre of Excellence and represents CPA Australia on a variety of tax-related forums and groups. Elinor held a range of executive roles at the ATO prior to joining CPA Australia.

Mark helps people SIMPLIFY the SHIFT to HEALTH, HAPPINESS and HIGH PERFORMANCE through a fascinating blend of EASTERN WISDOM and WESTERN SCIENCE.

A former AFL Footballer and best-selling author of ‘Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health, Mark understands the challenges facing business people today – stress, sleep difficulties, fatigue, changing demands, remote work, balancing home life & mental health issues.

With his unique mix of cutting-edge Western health-science, age-old Eastern medicine insights (Ayurveda), plus the secrets of the world’s longest-living people and highest performing business people, Mark’s sessions help people deal with these challenges. He also helps people look after their most precious resource – themselves – and recapture their NATURAL HIGH state of high energy, low stress, life balance and work success.

He does all this with simple, down-to-earth solutions anyone can do. (His tips don’t take any more time out of people’s busy days and most actually save considerable time.) Regular comments include, “truly life-changing” “the most commonsense view on health I’ve ever heard” “finally something that makes sense and inspires me to actually make changes”.

With Mark, you won’t hear anything about calories, fats or heart rates. You will however learn about the world’s oldest health science, the coming consciousness revolution and why good relationships, having fun and a sense of community or team are far more important for our health than having a six-pack, drinking green smoothies or activating our bloody almonds!

“Mark will change the way you think about wellness and quite possibly your life.”

Robert S. Conlee - CEO Neways International - Utah USA

“Mark mumbles, never ate his broccoli and isn’t as funny as he thinks he is. But he’s a lovely boy and I think you will like him.”

Mark’s mum

Tyson Cobb is a senior marketing and brand strategist to the accounting industry, as well as a podcaster, speaker and trainer. He has consulted for businesses across several different industries over a 14-year career in brand and marketing and has spent the last 6 years providing strategy and marketing support for accountants and professional services firms.

For several years Tyson watched on as accountants received cookie-cutter brands and misleading marketing advice that would often lead to poor marketing performance and underwhelming brands that had minimal chance of differentiating them in a saturated market. Tyson saw a need to provide tailored, honest and ethical marketing advice to an industry with untried potential and opportunity.

Along with his team at Practice + Pixels, Tyson wants to create excitement in the accounting industry. Excitement for marketing, for unique brands and immersive digital experiences. They want to change the way accountants look at and approach marketing and branding so, together, they can create unique digital experiences to accelerate their growth through marketing.

Judy is Principal Solicitor at Judy Sullivan Consulting Pty Ltd. From 2013-2020 she was Partner (Tax) at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sydney. This followed seven years as Partner (Tax) at King & Wood Mallesons Sydney. Prior to this she held various roles including Senior Associate (Tax) with Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Principal (Tax) Ernst & Young. She is currently a Member of the Revenue Law Committee and the Charities and Not-for-Profit Committee of the Law Council of Australia. She is also a Member of the ATO Not-for-Profit Stewardship Group and the Advisory Committee for the Board of Taxation. Judy holds a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (ANU) and a Master of Laws, University of Sydney. She was appointed to the Board in October 2020.

Sylvia is an Assistant Commissioner for the Individuals and Intermediaries Engagement and Support Branch. Sylvia has responsibility for the ATO’s relationship with the tax profession, including engagement, consultation, stewardship group, speaking events and the Practitioner Lodgment Program. Sylvia also leads the Schools and Culturally and Linguistic Diverse Community education programmes, Tax Help and TaxTime support services, content and products for individual taxpayers.

With over 20 years’ experience in the ATO, Sylvia has specialist knowledge and skill in user centred design, design facilitation, project management and policy and new measures design and development.

A regular host on Tax Professionals Live Conversations streams, Sylvia is currently studying her Master’s Degree in Business Administration.