Article written by Viv Posselt from Cambridge News
Geoff Hurst’s core values of integrity, flexibility and innovation align perfectly with those at the heart of Cambridge’s award-winning firm, Accounted4, which makes his appointment as their fourth director one of both personal and professional validation.
Geoff steps into the role officially on April 1, some eight years after he joined the firm, and three since he became an associate.
“The next few years will be about establishing myself in the role, growing the client base. I’ve always been interested in having a range of client types, and Accounted4 provides that and a lot more besides.”
He is more than up for the challenge, and the benefits are likely to be mutual.
Geoff has a Bachelors degree in Economics and Finance from Waikato University, and a Graduate Diploma in Accounting. After university, he worked for several years as an investigator at IRD, firstly at the Hamilton office then in Wellington. It was that role which enabled him to develop his extensive tax knowledge.
“I never really planned to be an accountant, but while at IRD I was given the opportunity to study towards my Chartered Accountancy qualification,” he explained. “Once I completed it, my wife and I moved back to the Waikato when our eldest daughter was just six months old. That was a decision driven primarily by family and lifestyle.”
He found the work here quite different to begin with, but readily admits how much he now enjoys being in public practice with a clientele that balances a diverse range of commercial and rural clients.
Over the past few years Geoff has added a suite of technical and accounting system skills to his tax knowledge. More recently, he has found himself drawn to the field of business development and business coaching … he enjoys the interaction with clients and derives immense satisfaction from helping improve their business model.
Some of that has been inspired by working through the worst of the Covid pandemic. Innovation and flexibility became key attributes as staff adapted to working from home and clients navigated the frequently choppy waters of pandemic-related challenges.
“It’s been a huge learning curve for us all, but everyone has been very resilient,” he said. “They’ve all demonstrated their ability to change when required.”
Right from the start, Geoff was attracted to the Accounted4 culture as much as he was to its solid reputation. The company is socially interactive and embraces community sponsorship and involvement, while family and sport take a high priority in Geoff’s life. He is an active member of the Cambridge Racquets Club and is currently trying to get back into playing hockey with his team, United Matamata Sports, following recent injury.
He has even found a way to meld his passion for sport with work. Athletes are among Geoff’s clients, and over the years he has run seminars for High Performance Sport NZ to help them with tax obligations and financial planning. “The seminars are something we do on a complimentary basis, part of our community involvement.”
“You need to have a good work-life balance. The good thing about this town, and this firm, is that we have that while losing none of the professionalism.”
