1. Make the most of your investments
DEPPRO will help you and your clients achieve maximum tax benefits from investment
property. Our team of industry experts provide ATO compliant reports tailored to
commercial or residential investment property – no matter its size or age.
EXCLUSIVE: Get better value with DEPPRO
Now Deppro and RP Data have joined forces to bring you even better value –
exclusively for CPA Australia members.
You will receive
- Topline depreciation reports
- And for each full depreciation report ordered, members will receive credit to access
two exclusive DEPPRO RP Data reports on the properties of their choice and be a step
ahead for your next property purchase.
DEPPRO makes
depreciation easy
Find out more visit deppro.com.au/cpa todayFind out more visit deppro.com.au/cpa today
Deppro is a partner of the CPA Australia Member Benefits Program.
For more information please visit cpaaustralia.com.au/benefits
R_MBDEPPRO_tpH_0615 2015-09-02T16:57:51+10:00
72 ITB April 201672 ITB April 2016
WORK SMART MY BOSS AND ME
STORY BELINDA PARKES
PHOTO GRAHAM JEPSON
MY BOSS AND ME
with Connie. We were speaking about what the
next thing was for me and she said “come and
do consulting with me”. I accepted her offer and
ended up at what became the origins of OneVue,
a provider of services to the super and
investment sectors.
I became more involved in commercial roles
until 2013 when we were listing the business
and Connie asked me to be CFO. I wasn’t sure
I wanted the role. There was so much to learn
and re-learn but I am glad I said yes, because
it was such a satisfying career move.
One of the most significant things Connie
taught me was to trust my business instincts.
She sees things in people and in business
before most people do. She saw that I’d work
well in that role even though I was apprehensive.
Connie has also impressed on me the subtly
of the value of diversity. It is a difficult thing and
Connie Mckeage and Brett Marsh have worked
together to grow a business that now employs
200 and has annual revenue of A$25 million.
CONNIE MCKEAGE
CEO, OneVue
The first thing that struck me about Brett was
that he was ethical. I was consulting for
PricewaterhouseCoopers and was brought into
AMP to do a review of the organisation. I was
there to reduce costs and he was there to tell me
what the numbers were doing. I was impressed
by how he was able to accurately give me the
numbers without coming across as a traitor
within the organisation.
Brett is also a very calming person. Even in
tough positions, when there are people
shouting, he maintains calm.
When my husband and I purchased the
business, it had been under a lot of pressure.
There were unhappy clients and it wasn’t
delivering. By then, Brett had been doing some
consulting with me and I asked him to join the
business because I trusted him. I think trust is
grossly underestimated in business.
Brett is someone who it takes time to get
to know. He is not overly effervescent and
sometimes his calm can be confused with
complacency, but he isn’t complacent at all.
We are similar in that we see some things as
right and some things as wrong and you can’t
excuse something that is categorically wrong.
Even if it puts the business at risk in the short
term, you can’t compromise on the messages
you give to people as a whole.
But we are different in every other way. I am
high energy, he is calm. He is technical and
numerical, I am strategic. Our personalities
are different, our skill bases are different
... but our value-based core is the same.
Brett and I have a very good symbiotic
relationship. We argue about the right things;
it is never taken personally. I trust him,
especially when it comes to numbers and
very technical issues, and he appreciates the
diversity I bring to his life. I push him and I ask
the tough questions.
People love to work with Brett, but I surround
him with people who love to drive, because he
performs best with people who say “come and
make a decision”. The more you drive him, the
better he performs. We have to have thinkers
and we have to have action-oriented people and
Brett is a thinker. He wants more information,
whereas as soon as I feel comfortable, I make
a call. If it is the wrong call, I back myself – and
others on my team – to make it right. Brett wants
to make absolutely sure he isn’t going to get it
wrong in the first place.
Brett is part of the original team and never
ever did we doubt that we were both committed
to each other, the rest of the team and the
company first.
We have both made sacrifices for the company,
but he has probably made more. He has four
children. Imagine leaving St.George to work
for a company that a lot of people didn’t think
would survive when, at the time, he had three
children under four! He followed his heart
and I think at times even his wife doubted it.
It was a big risk for him to take. n
What Connie would change about Brett:
“I wish he would make quicker decisions.He is a thinker
and waits for information.It drives me insane.”
a very fragile thing to value and maintain
genuine diversity, but Connie is acutely aware
and very inclusive. There is never any doubt,
however, about who is the boss. She knows
where she wants to go but is happy to listen, too.
She is very engaging with staff and she trusts
people with information, because she wants
them to share the vision of the business,
not just go through the motions of their job.
She talks to people on all levels and knows
everyone’s name. Many people find her a very
inspirational leader.
We have known each other for a long time
now so I guess you could say we are friends,
but Connie has always said that no matter
how good a friendship is, if it isn’t working
in the business, we may have to part ways.
The CEO has to do the right thing by the
business. It’s a good boundary to have in place.
BRETT MARSH CPA
Head of product and
transactions, OneVue
I met Connie in 1998 when I was working for
AMP. I had not long moved into the role of
financial manager for product and marketing
and we had called in some consultants to
help us do a wholesale strategic review.
Connie Mckeage was one of the consultants
and, fatefully, we were teamed together.
Connie was bright, energetic, highly strategic
and experienced. I was very much a rookie.
We had to interview every senior manager and
come up with recommendations. I had been in
graduate-type jobs before then so it was quite
a challenge for me. We worked together almost
every day for three months and I experienced
a lot of growth in that time.
We enjoyed working together and stayed in
contact. I moved from AMP to St.George, where
I spent four years before a telling conversation
What Brett would change about Connie:
“Connie can be very focused and determined when
getting something done, but when she’s in that mode,
she can be incredibly impatient – I’d get her to
turn the dial down a bit.”
When Connie Mckeage took
a gamble on a struggling
business, she needed
a numbers man she could
trust. She found a father
of four who was also willing
to take a chance.
Two views,
one purpose
My Boss And Me.indd All Pages 30/03/2016 6:37:45 PM