Rotorua Energy Events Centre will host the International Indigenous Business Summit 25-27 July. Photo / Supplied.
Rotorua Energy Events Centre will host the International Indigenous Business Summit 25-27 July. Photo / Supplied.
More indigenous youth are needed to secure the future of indigenous economies - locally and internationally - according to Rotorua leaders hosting the Global Indigenous Business Summit in Rotorua this week.
The summit, which was held in Papua New Guinea last year, is at the Energy Events Centre from July 25 to 27.
David Battin, the organiser and chairman of the Ngā Kaitatau Māori o Aotearoa board [National Māori Accountants Network], said bringing the summit to Aotearoa has been “quite a massive achievement”.
Battin said he was excited to support the next generation of Māori accountants because they were “unapologetically Māori” emphasising the positive effect kura kaupapa kids have had in pakihi Maōri or Māori business.
“The next generation is usually empowered from quite a young age, whereas the generation before had to carve a bit of a pathway differently.
“The next solution or way is to support them in terms of young people coming through, but also then, to get out of their way a little bit [and give them] the opportunity to be able to stretch.”
He said kura kaupapa kids are “confident in their Māoritanga and their reo - it’s almost like they don’t have to be afraid of it, so they start in a very strong position coming into this space – they don’t have to apologise,”
Indigenous accounting professionals from Aotearoa, Australia, and North America will attend the conference.
“There’s not a lot of other places that you can say this is wholeheartedly Māori first and finance and accounting second,” Battin said.
The president of Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand Tinashe Kamangira. Photo / Supplied
Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand president Tinashe Kamangira said the Māori economy is projected to grow to more than $100 billion by 2030.
“That requires a significant uplift in Māori accounting and finance professionals to guide outcomes that benefit whānau, iwi and Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole.
“There’s a similar situation in Australia, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses are growing, and strong accounting and business advisory skills are needed to take them to the next level.”
The accounting profession faces challenges when it comes to growing indigenous capability and learning from indigenous perspectives, “because they’re hugely underrepresented in our profession”.
“We need to cast our net wider, in terms of attracting ākonga or students, and meeting their aspirations. They can then apply an accounting and business advisory skillset in their organisations, communities, iwi, tribes and nations.
Glenn Hawkins, owner of GHA Chartered Accountants & Management Consultants says working in Māori business is a 'privilege'. Photo / Supplied
Fellow chartered accountant Glenn Hawkins has been involved with Māori business for more than 25 years.
He is the owner of GHA Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants, with offices in Rotorua, Tauranga, and Whanganui.
Hawkins said their team works with Māori clients, “which is a privilege” and only possible if the next generation was involved.
“Our economy is growing fast and we need more Māori coming through to help our businesses, our land trust and incorporations, our post-settlement entities, commercial enterprises, and even our NGOs to continue to progress.
“In particular, our business model is reasonably unique as ‘by Māori, for Māori, to Māori.”
