Caitie Copley

National accounting rising star makes the numbers talk.

Inspired by her ‘force of nature’ grandad, Flinders accounting graduate Caitie Copley (BCom(AdvLeadership) ’17) is a rising star of accounting. “Grandad was my best friend growing up and supported me in everything I did. He was such a force of nature! He was also an accountant, so I’d like to think I got my love of numbers from him,” said Caitie.

Graduating in 2017, Caitie now manages the internal finances and a portfolio of clients at Adelaide accounting firm Accodex Partners. After just two years with the company she has moved from Associate Accountant to Finance Manager, to her current position of Chief Financial Officer.

“As the CFO it is not just my job to process the numbers, but to make the numbers ‘talk’,” said Caitie. “An accurate Profit and Loss is all well and good, but numbers need commentary to really mean something.”

Caitie has also been appointed the Company Secretary on the Board of Directors at Accodex. “Not only did I become the youngest person on the Board of Directors, but also its first and only female,” said Caitie.

Caitie said she chose to study at Flinders because it was the only university to offer the Advanced Leadership extension to the Bachelor of Commerce degree. “I was part of the first cohort to be offered a place in the Advanced Leadership extension to the Bachelor of Commerce. The degree enabled me to attain strong leadership and work relevant skills which made me stand out from other graduates.”

A clear standout amongst her industry peers, Caitie won the 2018 Rising Star Award at the Australian Accounting Awards. The coveted national awards are presented annually by Accountants Daily, in partnership with Thomas Reuters Tax and Accounting. The award recognised Caitie’s fast-moving career progression, innovative mindset and ethos of ‘giving back’.

A firm believer in giving back to the community, Caitie implemented Accodex’s first Corporate Social Responsibility initiative - the Pledge 1% program. Accodex now offers 1% of its equity to a beneficiary, 1% of its product to the community and 1% of its employees’ time to volunteer for not-for-profits.

In the future Caitie hopes to become the Chief Financial Officer of the Adelaide Football Club. “I’m a massive Crows fan, so to be able to combine my love of numbers with my love for the Crows would be a dream come true.”