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Drew Pflaum: I’m here with Tanya. She joined us as a graduate. So I’m going to ask her some questions around her experience and why you might want to consider joining as a graduate yourself.

​Drew Pflaum: So, you started here as a graduate. You would have gone from university to working here, possibly with no experience in a professional firm. Tell us about that transition?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yeah, so I definitely, I did not have any professional experience in the accounting industry field of things. The first six months was, just like, hit me like a truck, I guess.

It was like, a big change. But, the good thing is that Munro’s is really supportive with their staff.

You know, you have people that have been here for longer, like the managers, the more senior graduates that help you with things. I can just go to someone’s office and ask for help. And that was completely expected of you, to go ask for help.

Like, the director, the manager is like, you know, if you have anything, come to grab us for help. It’s not, you’re not annoying anyone. You know, you’re not a burden on someone. It was very easy and you don’t feel bad asking people for help.

​Drew Pflaum: Okay, so you started, you got through that initial six months, you know, a year. Lots to learn there. What type of support do you get from a training perspective and doing your professional CA / CPA? Can you let graduates know about that?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yes, so, Munro’s provide assistance financially and also, as in, helping people with any questions they may have with their either CA or CPA programmes.

Completely up to the graduate, which programme they choose to, which path they choose to go down. I’ve definitely have graduates come up to me in, you know, the last couple of years since I’ve finished CA, asking what do you reckon, what do you think is better, CA / CPA? So definitely there’s a freedom in what you choose there. Both programmes are good as far as I can tell. And yeah, Munro’s fully subsidises the studies and also the professional annual memberships after. You can also, you also nominate someone from the firm to be your mentor with the CA programme anyways.

​Drew Pflaum: Tell us about working on client files, the type of work you do as a graduate, intermediate and senior.

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yeah, definitely a lot of exposure to different clients across different industries. From primary producers, to people operating a bus, a coach business, people in IT, engineers, pearl farmers,… there’s just, there’s so many to name.

It’s definitely eye opening to get experience and exposure to different clients and different industries. I think it’s really good for your professional development and your understanding of accounting and stuff.

You know, each client presents their own challenges and learning opportunities.

So that’s something I thoroughly enjoy and even though I’ve been here for five and a half years, you know, even when you go back to work on that client in the following year or whatever you still have the opportunity to learn new things even though it’s the same client. But yeah, it’s really good. It’s not, it’s never, a dull moment, I guess.

​Drew Pflaum: Can you talk to me about how you see people fitting in with our culture and how you would describe our culture to someone?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yeah, so I think Munro’s is a very easy going environment.

It’s not serious all the time. I mean, there’s a degree of seriousness dealing with clients and, you know, and stuff like that. But everyone’s very approachable. Very easygoing.

You can always go ask people for help, you know. You chat about social things when you can. And we have a lot of social events and stuff. The social committee is great at work.

There’s always something going on, especially with Christmas, which is my favorite time because there’s three different functions we can go to which is excellent Who doesn’t love it? So December is a great time for us.

But yeah, the culture at Munro’s is great. I particularly like the tight knit nature of our firm. I’ve always been someone that’s drawn to smaller to medium sized firms, you know, because you get a chance to interact with other people and you don’t feel like you’re just a cog in the machine, I guess.

​Drew Pflaum: So, we have flexibility in the way we work. Do you want to describe the flexibility in the policies and, I suppose, how you’ve taken advantage of some of those flexibilities?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yeah, so ever since COVID, we definitely have the opportunity to work from home like many other firms. So, everyone on our team have the chance, opportunity, to work from home if they want to.

I, there, was a time after COVID, once the borders opened, I took about a couple of weeks off and flew back to Thailand where my family, they live there. And I was able to work from home. So it was really great because, you know, I hadn’t seen my family for three years because of COVID. So I could work from home a couple of days a week, take a bit of annual leave and go on a holiday with them. So that, that was really good.

And you can work from home in Australia. Let’s say you’ve got a tradie coming over, which is always annoying. You can work from home and then everything’s all good. You know, you’ve got your Zoom meetings and all your technology that helps you with that.

​Drew Pflaum: I’d like you to explain to graduates what to expect. What they should expect as expectations on themselves. Going to have performance reviews, pay comes into it. What should they expect for their career?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: So I think, as a graduate, what I would have wanted to know was, how I would be assisted and helped through my professional career.

And I think that’s something Munro’s is really good at.

I always felt supported with the other members in the team, my manager, my director. They always offer their time to help me. So I think you can definitely expect to be assisted and helped. You’re not just going to be thrown out and thrown into the deep end and expect to, you know, figure it out for yourself.

You, we have our performance reviews every six months with the, with the director of your team. It’s (it’s) a two way conversation. They give you feedback on how you performed over the last six months. And then you, they ask you for your feedback about how you’re going how the team’s going, what the firm can improve on. So it’s not, it’s not a one way thing. You have the chance to give feedback and reflect on your own performance as well.

So, and then, yeah. With the performance you also get the review of your salary and wages, which is always great.

It’s very fair, very competitive. Yeah, nothing better to say, I guess.

​Drew Pflaum: You’ve had the opportunity to be here for several years now. Tell me about that. Your own career progression and what opportunities you’ve seen others take advantage of?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: So, definitely, reflecting back to the, when I started, especially the first six months, I’ve definitely learned a lot. But, the thing is there’s still so much more to learn.

Look at the jobs I’ve done and look at the jobs I’m doing now. I’m still learning a lot. There’s still, I still go to other people’s offices to ask for help and assistance. So that hasn’t changed, but I’ve definitely learned a lot more than how I started.

Sorry, I forgot the question.

​Drew Pflaum: About your career progression as well. You started as a graduate. What other opportunities have you had and seen?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yeah, so I started off as a graduate, and now I’m a manager for the team.

And, yeah, it’s, it’s been great, to become manager. I get more responsibilities, more opportunities to help with the younger graduates as well that’s come in. Even though I help them with their work, I also am able to learn through them, you know, reflect. Because they’re quite fresh in their career and, their professional career, you can learn through how they think and stuff, which makes me a better accountant as well. To be able to, kind of see other people’s point of views and reflect their thinking process and develop my own.

And I think one of the, one thing that will make someone great as an accountant is to be able to explain a concept to other people. You can have, understand things inside your head, but to be able to explain to other people and make them understand, I think that’s a mark of success.

​Drew Pflaum: Feel welcome to give any advice you can think of to the graduates who may be watching this. And particularly, help them understand whether or not Munro’s will be a good fit for them?

Tanya Kamonphuangphan: Yep, so, I mean I might be biased, but Munro’s is great.

I think one of the great things is you don’t have to do it overtime and it’s definitely not expected of you.

I know that other accounting firms you might have to do a lot of overtime and feel really burnt out and things, but Munro’s is excellent. With the balance of, there’s work life balance, social functions that makes you a bit excited to go into work and stuff’s always great.

I think one of the things that I really get out of Munro’s is the ability to learn. I know I’ve said that a lot before, but you just constantly learning every day. There’s a challenge. There’s problem solving in every day you come into work. So, if you really, if you want to develop your career and become a really good accountant / business advisor I think Munro’s would be a great workplace for you.

Coming soon.

Drew Pflaum: I’m sitting down here with Sanjay, who joined us as an experienced accountant, and actually has just become a manager. I’m just going to ask him some questions about his experience at Munro’s, which may benefit you, if you’re considering coming to work here at Munro’s.

​Drew Pflaum: So Sanjay, you came to us as an experienced accountant. Can you tell us about your decision of why you wanted to move somewhere else and why you ultimately chose Munro’s?

Sanjay Nair: Yeah, I guess,… I was at a point in my career where I felt a little bit stagnant, and I wanted a bit more growth and development, in the space.

So that’s where I started, looking elsewhere, looking out for different opportunities, different firms to work with. Yeah, so I initially had, went through a, recruiter. I had a (had a) few interviews with several different firms and also had offers from those firms.

I think I ended up landing on Munro’s just because, I guess, from the first… you know, the first impression I got from one of the partners and managers, which is Christine and Rama, was very welcoming and (and) friendly. And also in the (in the) interview, it wasn’t just about, you know, what your technical knowledge is about. They also wanted to know what your life is outside of work,… which I think was (was, was) important.

I guess also, ultimately the decision to come to Munro’s was also, compared to the other firms was great remuneration package. Alongside,… I guess promises of further career development. It seemed a pretty supportive culture to foster that growth.

And yeah, so that’s (that’s, that’s) what I felt from the first interview I had with them.

​Drew Pflaum: So, then you’ve joined Munro’s and you’ve had the opportunity to work in a couple of different teams. You spoke about career development and your skills and the support. Can you tell us about that and how that’s actually eventuated compared to your initial impressions from the interview?

Sanjay Nair: Yeah, I guess so. So, when I first joined, you know, they definitely give you the harder tasks to see what you can handle. See where your level is at. And… you either, rise, you can rise to the challenge, but if you are finding it difficult or having difficulties, it’s a pretty open door policy here.

So, you know, with certain complex tasks or clients, you can easily go in and walk into one of the partner’s offices and ask them a few questions and they’re willing and able to help you right there and then. So, I found that pretty good.

​Drew Pflaum: So, you’ve had the opportunity to work with various team members, various clients, join in on meetings. Tell us about those experiences and how they’ve, you’ve enjoyed them or not enjoyed them if that happens to be the case, and how you think that’s contributed to your career progression?

Sanjay Nair: Yeah, I think, joining in on some of the initial consults. So for potential new clients that are seeking an accountant. I found those very valuable to go into that meeting with one of the senior accountants or directors here at Munro’s just to see how they operate and as like a business advisor and as a tax accountant. The type of advice that they give those clients is definitely something I’ve learned from, and been able to use in (in) my everyday work as well.

And then I guess the other team, like the team members here, like everyone’s willing to help each other. Like I said, it’s an open door policy. If you, if you’re stuck on something, on an accounting program that somebody else has got a bit more experience on, you just, you know, either pick up the phone or go to their office and have a chat about it and, their happy to help you out. ​

Drew Pflaum: So Sanjay, there’s going to be people who are experienced accountants like yourself, who are looking for other firms. Who are the type of people, who should, you would recommend to seek to join Munro’s? And who would be the people who you’d say wouldn’t be a good fit?

Sanjay Nair: I consider,… the people that, you know, would fit Munro’s well is someone with the right attitude. That willing to throw yourself in the deep end, to be able to learn and progress.

Because, yes, you’re thrown into the deep end, but you also have support around you when you do, when you do need to call out for help. But, you know, if you don’t have that right attitude, or if you don’t take feedback on in a constructive manner, then you’re not really gonna benefit from Munro’s as much.

You might not, yeah, you might think your way is better, or you don’t take that feedback on, and that might cause, cause problems, between, within the firm or between team members.

​Drew Pflaum: You’ve got a lot of flexibility here. I gather that’s been quite important for you as a new father?

Sanjay Nair: Yeah, definitely, definitely.

Drew Pflaum: Tell everyone who’s looking at Munro’s about our flexibility. And how it benefits yourself and other colleagues. And how we all work together within that flexibility?

Sanjay Nair: Yeah, yeah, I think, ever since COVID a lot of firms have done the working from home but haven’t really continued that on post-COVID.

I guess, here Munro’s we found a really good hybrid working environment where you talk to your managing partner and, organise,… something in place where you work from home a few days a week or you come in, you work from home a few days a week and also you come into the office, as well.

And also with (with) your your working hours, it’s quite flexible. You know, you might have some, some sort of sports training or gym routine that you do in the morning. And you’d want to come in at 9:30, but then work till 6 PM, or vice versa, where you come in a bit earlier and then you leave at 4 PM.

So that’s, I found that pretty good.

And I know from some other colleagues, if they had to,… make a trip back to go see family overseas. And it’s an extended trip. Munro’s has been pretty good with letting them work remotely from overseas. In (in, in) certain circumstances where they, they’re not really going there for a holiday they’re just going back to see family.

And then, you know, you don’t want to take your leave, so you just work remotely and you’ve just got to communicate that with your managing partner and then, and go from there. ​

Drew Pflaum: So, Sanjay, really just the last question. Someone’s just generally looking at Munro’s, you must have some thoughts about the firm generally and how you’d promote Munro’s? So, just tell us about the firm and tell us about anything you like about it.

Sanjay Nair: Yeah, I guess for if it’s, you know, clients looking at it, you’re looking at really high quality advice.

If you’re looking to join the firm, you’re looking at a tight knit group of people.

You’re looking at the directors and partners willing to provide that support to the younger staff to bring them up through the ranks as well.

I also feel like, every six months there’s a pay and performance review. And usually when you go and give your feedback to your boss and say, oh, I’ve been enjoying these tasks, or I haven’t been enjoying these tasks so much, or I want exposure to certain other things, and learn certain other things, Munro’s really takes it on board to action that over the next six months until your next pay review.

So, let’s say if you’re wanting to learn a bit more about the SMSF space, they’ll take that on board and give you more Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) clients, send you on trainings, and certain things like that.

And also, I guess, the social aspect of Munro’s is (is) pretty good. Every, every month, you know, they make it a point to, you know, get the whole firm together to go out.

Drew Pflaum: I’m sitting here now with Rama, one of the great Munro’s managers here. He initially came to us as an experienced accountant, so I’m going to ask him some questions about his experience here at Munro’s. Away we go.

​Drew Pflaum: So Rama, you came to us as an experienced accountant.

Rama Yudhistira: Yep, yep, yep.

Drew Pflaum: Tell us about that journey and why you ultimately chose to work at Munro’s?

Rama Yudhistira: Yeah, so I started my career at a small accounting firm, I would say. And I think back then, I think it’s very difficult to get into the industry. It’s just one of those situations that I was in.

But, so I got the job then. And then after three and a half years, and I’ve completed my CPA, got to the point where, I needed to (I needed to) learn more and like, you know, develop my career and take it in a different direction. So I, started to look for other job opportunities.

I’ll (I’ll, I’ll, I’ll) be honest, I think at the time I was initially hoping to get like, you know, into a Big 4, something like that. Cause I thought that was just like a nice, it’s one of those things, right? But I don’t know. What I want to do that’s like, it’s like the classic thing, like try and work for a Big 4 and stuff, right?

I think, long story short, I didn’t quite get into any interviews for the Big 4. I did get two interviews for other big size firms and I got offers, but, they weren’t quite what I was looking for.

So, anyway, I went to SEEK. I saw the Munro’s job ad. So I went to the website.

That’s it. I thought the website was interesting, actually. I saw, because I came from Indonesia. This is true story (true story) right. I came to the website and I saw Christine there, who’s the Indonesian director. And I was like, that’s interesting. And then I saw the profiles of the managers at the time. I like the fact that, like, it was multicultural and some good mix of males and females at the time.

So I thought that was pretty good.

I clicked on the profiles further. And I saw that most of the people there have been at Munro’s forever, which I thought was a good sign. So I was like, oh, whatever. I’ll give it a shot. I’ll apply. The rest is history, yeah.

​Drew Pflaum: You started here at Munro’s and you’ve been here for many years now. How do you feel around how we’ve supported your career development in the mentoring, et cetera?

Rama Yudhistira: Yeah, so it’s very good, like, initially I started as an intermediate accountant and then a senior accountant, right.

The mentor that I had was very big on developing the advisory skills and the technical side of things.

Like (like) the training that I got from my previous firm was good, I would say, but I think for certain technical tax aspects, it wasn’t at such a high level. So, then when I joined Munro’s, the mentor that I had was a very big on the technical tax side of things, which is actually very, very good for my development.

So that’s, good.

And then, yeah, so then after that, the opportunity came there for me to become manager and yeah, so my career just progressed further from there.

​Drew Pflaum: At the time you’ve had the mentorship with the technical side of things, you become exceptional at doing the accounting work. As you step into a manager’s role, there’s more client responsibilities, team mentoring, go to do meetings, consultations. Tell us about some of those experiences.

Rama Yudhistira: Yeah, so it’s been very good. Like, that’s actually interesting. You know, I actually never really saw myself as a manager. And then, you know, end up – a manager position came along – I was just like, I remember thinking, hmm, is it too soon? Like, I never really saw myself in that role, actually.

Actually, true story. I remember like, when the Big 4 and some of those firms interview you, they get you to complete like assessments online, like personality quizzes and stuff like that. I think… I think the answer was I wasn’t a natural leader. So, I’m like, which is fine; I was like, yeah, there’s no worries. That’s why, like, I remember thinking, like, I wasn’t really…. I’m not sure whether I was suitable for that kind of manager position anyway, so that’s fine.

And then I was like, as I became manager, I just liked being able to see from a, see lots of things from a different perspective, from a managerial perspective. And I actually have come to enjoy mentoring staff and taking their careers to a different level and teaching what people taught me before and stuff like that, passing on the knowledge to the next generation. That’s been very rewarding in its own right.

And I mean the client responsibilities are very good. When you come manager, I think, you come to see things in different perspective and you probably relate to the client a lot better because the relationship is there with the clients. So you are willing to go even further, take the extra mile for the client; not that I didn’t do good work when I was a senior accountant, but it’s just a different level altogether… because when you step into the position of responsibility, you do have to deliver, and that’s actually been very good and rewarding.

​Drew Pflaum: I’d like to ask you, Rama, who should join Munro’s and who should not join Munro’s?

Rama Yudhistira: Who should join Munro’s? Yeah, that’s a good question. So, I guess I like the fact that Munro’s, we’re very (we’re very) serious, we’re professional, but we’re quite relaxed.

So, and, everyone gets along well with everybody.

And, we’ve got lots of social events throughout the year.

We’re a very close knit group and, obviously like the seniors and the managers are very happy to pass on their knowledge to the juniors to the next generation.

So people who should (people who should) join Munro’s are the ones that really want to take their careers to the whole next level. That’s what I would say.

In terms of who should not join Munro’s, well that depends.

I mean, so yeah, so at Munro’s we value work life balance a lot. And, well I mean I guess if you’re really want to work long hours, I guess probably (you probably) you might not want to join Munro’s, I guess.

​

Drew Pflaum: Considering performance reviews, how do you think people, well, what do you think people should think about when they’re coming to work at Munro’s? What is the expectation from their performance review? And the remuneration expectations as well?

Rama Yudhistira: Yeah, so depends on obviously their position, right? And how many years of experience they’ve got.

When you’re starting out as a graduate and, you know, as managers we’re quite reasonable with our expectations. We do want you to do well and we’re willing to give you the support that you need so that you can do well. And, naturally what we would expect as managers is that you’ll continue to reassess your own position over 6-12 months, that kind of stuff.

And it’s always about, when it comes to you, let’s say you’re a graduate or intermediate, when you come to your own performance reviews you should think about asking the right questions to your manager. Like what you should be able to do to improve and what you have done well? So that you can continue to improve on those aspects.

Expectations, yeah, so of course we do expect people to be productive, but it’s not just a matter of productive for productive sake. It’s also about like how well you get along with others, how well of a team player you are, and how high the quality of your work is, and how well you’ve developed your skill set and your knowledge over the years.

So it’s all encompassing. It’s not one or the other. That’s what people should think about when they come for their performance reviews.

And not just for the performance reviews, right? It’s just like continuous cycle of improvement throughout the year. It’s not just like, oh, it’s my performance reviews coming up in two weeks time, so I should switch it to another level of gear and start becoming serious. That’s not the case, you know, so it should always be continued. Continous improvement cycle.

And then,…. remuneration. So, yeah, in terms of remuneration, if they can be honest to themselves and they know that they’ve done well, they definitely deserve top market remuneration.

But, they have to be honest with themselves. If they think that, you know, they could do things a lot better then, you know, obviously, as a firm we do like to pay people well, but then, you know, you can’t really expect top market remuneration if you’re not a top market talent yourself, for example.

Right. So … so yeah, that’s (that’s) really about it, really. It’s a two way street, really.

Drew Pflaum: Thanks for sharing that, Rama. I just have one more question for you, which is generally, do you have any advice for people who are looking at submitting an application and working out Munro’s?

Rama Yudhistira: Advice, hey, yes, good question, that is.

Probably depends on, what type of (what type of) position they’re looking for. I suppose, well what we like, I’ll tell you what we like to see, right.

We like to see an all-rounder.

And it’s because what I found is that good grades that’s good, but you know we want you to be able to do lots of things as well. We want to be (we want you to be) sociable and we want you to be able to have a work life balance and show that to us.

What I find is that you should have good attitude. I think that’s the number one key factor in terms of becoming a successful accountant, I would say.

So, when it comes to submitting an application to Munro’s, you should be able to demonstrate that you’ve got good attitude and you’re humble and you’re willing to be a team player.

That’s probably the most important thing. Yeah.