From graduate to Director before thirty.
Elise Edwards spent nine years learning the craft, then rewrote what a young accountant's career could look like - earning a partner's chair while most of her peers were still finding theirs.
made Director
senior manager
advisory & wealth
of the Year
In 2007, Elise walked into Crowe Horwath - one of Bathurst's largest firms, now part of Findex - as a graduate with a Bachelor of Business freshly in hand. Nothing about the title said “future director.” The work did.
She moved fast, and she moved deliberately. Between 2010 and 2013 she completed the CA Program, qualifying as both a Chartered Accountant and a Registered Tax Agent. But qualifications were only ever the entry fee. What set Elise apart was the appetite for responsibility - and the results that followed it.
By the time she left in 2016, she had gone from graduate to senior manager, leading a large team and a diverse client portfolio at one of the region's biggest firms.
Nine years. Graduate to senior management. In an industry where that climb often takes far longer, Elise made it look like the natural order of things - and the biggest leap was still ahead of her.
A career measured in leaps, not steps.
The milestones that turned a graduate hire into a firm director.
Graduate accountant
Joins one of Bathurst's largest accounting firms straight out of university, taking on professional accounting, tax and advisory work for small business and private clients.
Chartered Accountant & Registered Tax Agent
Completes the CA Program while working full-time, earning the credentials that would underpin a decade of advisory work.
Young Professional of the Year
Recognised across the region for a career already moving at a rare pace - and for the standard of advice she was delivering to clients.
Regional recognitionSenior manager, then a leap sideways
After rising from graduate to senior manager over nine years - leading a large team and a diverse client portfolio - Elise leaves Bathurst's largest firm, takes a short career break to travel, and joins Accumen as an Associate, working closely with the directors on advisory and technical matters.
Director
Just a year after joining, Elise is appointed a Director of the firm - a partner's seat, secured before the age of thirty.
Director under 30Director & technical lead
Advises a diverse client base on tax, structuring, asset protection and wealth - with a particular affinity for health-sector professionals — and leads internal technical and tax review across the firm.
Making director is the destination most accountants spend a full career working toward. Elise reached it in November 2017 - barely a year after joining Accumen, and still before she turned thirty.
What she brings to the table.
Industry specialties
“Confidence comes from action. Trust your skills and don’t wait for permission to lead. Surround yourself with people who inspire and challenge you and learn from their experiences.”