Career Ready NZ: Practical Insights for CPA & CIMA Members

Relocating to New Zealand is exciting, but building your career in a new market can be challenging. Many internationally qualified accountants arrive with excellent experience and professional qualifications, yet struggle to understand what New Zealand employers are really looking for.

Supported by CPA Australia's Migrant Committee, join specialist accounting and finance recruiters Kelly Lloyd and Rachel Cattanach from Cultivate Recruitment for a session designed to help you better navigate the New Zealand employment market.

Together with experienced CPA/CIMA members who have successfully built their own careers in New Zealand, we'll explore the practical steps that can help you become more market-ready and stand out to employers.

Topics will include:

Understanding the New Zealand accounting and finance market
Translating international experience into local relevance
What hiring managers are really looking for
CV and LinkedIn tips that make a difference
Interview expectations and common pitfalls
Building local credibility and professional networks
Understanding Kiwi workplace culture
Practical advice from finance professionals who have successfully made the transition themselves

Whether you're actively looking for your first New Zealand role or wanting to better position yourself for your next opportunity, you'll leave with practical strategies, local insights and greater confidence in your job search.

If you need help registering, contact nz.events@cpaaustralia.com.au or call 0800 571 001 (NZ) or +64 9870 7716. We look forward to welcoming you.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the key features, trends and expectations of the New Zealand accounting and finance employment market.
Apply practical techniques to strengthen their CV and LinkedIn profile to improve visibility and job prospects.

In collaboration with:

Imported from South Africa, localised through hard work and dedication now proudly a Citizen of New Zealand Annelize join us to share her personal and professional transformation journey for a night of challenging self-reflection, light humour and immense reflection offered from global experience and global cultures.

Across her 20 year career in finance she will share some observations from industries she has worked in like fleet at scale & FMCG and how her observations, learnings and reflections could help other members in their current or future journeys.

Prasanna Samarakoon is a strategic finance leader with over 15 years of international experience across New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, and the Pacific, spanning FMCG, manufacturing, logistics, media, education, and financial services.

He began his career with Big Four firms Ernst & Young and PwC, building a strong foundation in audit, advisory, and financial governance before progressing into senior commercial finance and FP&A leadership roles across organisations including Fonterra, Sanford, DGL Group, Sky TV, the University of the South Pacific, and Alexander Group.

Prasanna specialises in FP&A, strategic finance, reporting transformation, and data-driven decision support, with a proven track record of partnering with CEOs, CFOs, and executive teams to drive performance, optimise capital allocation, and enable faster, insight-led decision-making. He has led large-scale finance transformation initiatives including data warehouse and Power BI implementations, ERP optimisation, automation, and governance uplift programmes, helping organisations transition from fragmented reporting environments to trusted, real-time business insights.

Throughout his career, he has played key roles in IPO readiness, capital raising, M&A, and enterprise-wide performance improvement initiatives, combining commercial acumen with strong technical and governance expertise.

Prasanna is a Fellow CPA Australia member, Fellow of CIMA (FCMA, CGMA), and currently serves on the CIMA Australasia Committee representing New Zealand.