Five minutes with Reina Banno

Tell us about yourself

I’m Reina and I joined Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, New Zealand in 2016. I’m a Senior Manager in Audit and Assurance Services and I work with a wide variety of clients of all sizes across a range of industries and sectors, encompassing listed, private, and not-for-profit organisations. As I’m originally from Japan, I’m also involved with our specialist services, Team Japan, which provides total accounting, tax and business support for Japanese clients doing business and investing in New Zealand.

During my time at Baker Tilly, I gained international experience through secondments with Baker Tilly affiliates in Australia, USA and Canada. I’m a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Outside of work, what keeps you busy?

I volunteer with the New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association (‘RDA’) weekly, and I also volunteer my time as a Treasurer and Trustee. RDA provides horse-riding activities that increase the ability, strength and confidence of children with physical, intellectual, emotional and social challenges. It’s great to start the weekend off with a purpose, and no matter how difficult my week had been, when I see the riders' joy when they come to ride, I feel re-energised. I also grew up riding horses so I find it therapeutic to take care of the RDA horses.

What made you begin your career in accounting?

During this time, I realised that accounting is the backbone of any business and knowledge of finance will be valuable for my career.I interned at Oxfam New Zealand over a summer break, where I assisted with a variety of projects and one of the areas was in accounts and finance. During this time, I realised that accounting is the backbone of any business and knowledge of finance will be valuable for my career. I then pursued studies in accounting and sought a position in audit, as I wanted exposure to a variety of businesses and their operations. I enjoy working in audit as there is always thought-provoking and interesting work that keeps me challenged and motivated.

What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

That in early stages of my career, which company I work for is not important. What is important is the people I work with and the relationships I build. This advice resonated with me and when I was applying for a role out of university, I ensured that the firm culture was in line with what I wanted and that it was the right fit for me during interviews. This proved to be the best advice as I love the firm culture at Baker Tilly and I get to work with an exceptional group of people.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the global Baker Tilly network?

What I enjoy about Baker Tilly is the diverse nature of our clients that range in terms of industries, size, objectives and mission. One of the strengths of the Baker Tilly network is that it is member-driven, and is not dictated by the larger firms. Each member firm can work collaboratively with each other, and opportunities are unlimited. I have seen partnerships develop between the New Zealand firm and international network affiliates to strengthen our service offering tailored to specific clients. I have also experienced being part of a committee with members from other affiliates and the opportunity for sharing ideas have been valuable.

What is the biggest challenge facing SMEs over the next decade?

Technology. IT is constantly developing and changing, and it's allowing us to generate better quality data and information. By applying technological innovations and adapting new tools, we will be able to provide better advice and solutions to our clients. An advantage of working in our market is that it allows us to be practical and pragmatic in our approach and solutions, and we are not limited to being reliant on business processes and structures, which may be more prevalent at a larger company. We can therefore respond to improvements in technology quickly and can adapt our approach to best benefit our clients.

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Isabel Brens		Klaus Krammer