Melissa Wallace

Representing the levels and forms of aroha that can be found throughout our lives across our many communities. We acknowledge the wide range of obstacles and the journey it takes to overcoming everything that stands in our way to expressing aroha within.

Ko wai koe? What are your strengths/weakness?

Ko Melissa Wallace tōku ingoa. 

Nō Ngāti Kahungunu me Ngāti Rangi ahau. Kei Whangārei ahau e noho ana. 

I’m a chartered accountant with a company called We Mana Accounting. One of the great things about my role is that the rest of the team works in Tāmaki, and I get to work up here in Whangārei from home. 

Obviously numbers are a strength, but a big part of accounting is being able to bring a bit of order to the situation, a bit of calm. I like to think one of my strengths is bringing people along for the journey as well. It’s not about me; it’s about uplifting people’s knowledge as well. 

One of my weaknesses is probably the same as a lot of people—boundaries. Just always wanting to go that little bit extra for people. But yeah, it’s something that I’m working on. 

Seeking guidance from our kaitiaki Hiwa-i-te-rangi, we take a journey through our different aspirations, goals and dreams. This tohu acknowledges hard work, wisdom, the reach of ones goals and the desire that comes from this mahi.

What were/are your career aspirations leading into your chosen career path?

I’ve actually had a couple of different careers. What led me to accounting was that I wanted to move home with my hubby to be closer to his mum, who was sick. 

I knew that coming home could be a little bit limiting in terms of career opportunities, so I chose something with a broad foundation that could go in a number of different directions. That was one of the main things for me coming home. 

I also wanted something that was kind to my family because my previous career involved a lot of travel. I wanted to be able to stay home with the kids and do something that took advantage of my natural strength, which is being comfortable with numbers. 

With adventure comes challenges as well as obstacles to overcome. We stand proud as we overcome these obstacles. This tohu draws inspiration from the Niho Taniwha and Aramoana patterns. We acknowledge reaching our destination and preparing ourselves for the many new adventures ahead.

How wīwī wāwā has your career adventure been?​ 

When I left school, I joined the Army and spent 11 years there, and it was awesome. I recommend it to most people who can fit into the army way of life. There was heaps of travel, good mates, all of that kind of stuff.  

But when I started having a family, I realised it wasn’t quite the right place for bringing up kids, hence the move to accounting. There was a little period of time where I was trying to figure out what was next. 

While in the Defence Force, I was a logistician, so we would move people around the world and around New Zealand. I did some practical courses on stevedoring and forklifts and that kind of stuff.  

But in terms of university-level study, it was management. In the army, you have a lot of people to manage, and you grow into those roles, so you have the opportunity to do the theory side to balance it all out. There are also opportunities to do defence-related degrees if you want to go down the officer route. There’s heaps of opportunities as long as it relates to your particular role. 

These patterns represent bravery and being strong in the face of adversity. We strive to be persistent and positively challenge anything that threatens to alter, restrict, and put a barrier in the way of our desired pathway.

What was your defining moment?  What words of wisdom or change in heart, changed your stars?

I think for a little while there, accounting didn’t quite match my values. It was very number-oriented. And it’s good money, good money as an accountant. 

It was bringing in the money, but it just wasn’t working for me.  

My defining moment was when I joined a small kaupapa Māori organisation up north. It felt like the first time I was actually helping people, our people. That made me change direction away from the more corporate stuff to more grassroots work, helping people and businesses on an individual basis. 

I’ve seen so many cool people moving, not just within New Zealand but also returning home up north. They’re bringing some amazing skill sets with them. 

Here we are drawing inspiration from the Pūhoro pattern.  The pūhoro is used here to represent the strength, speed and agility needed to move forward and accomplish ones goals.

What future actions/recommendations do you have for those who want to be in a career like yours?​

I’m just guessing, but when young people are looking at all of their options, accounting, I know, is not very sexy. It doesn’t seem like the most helpful career when you’re talking about helping people. But don’t underestimate the need out there for people with this particular skill set. 

Every day I meet people that are amazing at their businesses; they’re hardworking, they’ve got the vision, the leadership. But often, they don’t have the confidence with numbers. It must be a self-limiting thing for themselves. That’s where we come in to kind of awhi them to make what they’re doing flourish.  

So, yeah, I just wouldn’t underestimate that – just how some people who you think are amazing have a lack of confidence with numbers.  

Also, you can help people. The skills that you provide actually make a difference to people in their businesses and livelihoods. So, our rangatahi should just take those things into consideration looking at different career options, it’s definitely a good career for a good foundation. 

Success, best mentioned in the whakatauki “Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū!” Feel the fear and do it anyway!

What are some the failures/challenges in your life that have helped with your chosen career path? What are some memorable wins for your chosen path?​ 

I think it was just the value set and the types of roles that I was in. That was the challenge.  

What worked was taking the risk to step away from that. That opened up the opportunity to work with organisations that were a better fit for me as a person. So I just went out on my own and connected with like-minded people. I’m still on that pathway, and I’m really glad I was able to take that bit of a risk. 

My goal is to add value to their organisations so they can succeed at what they’re trying to achieve. 

I was working through a budget with a client, and at the end of it, she said, “Oh wow, that’s like our ancient languages.” She explained that sometimes elders say something, and there’s this big, long story behind it, but you have no idea what it means until you learn the story behind it. She said it’s exactly the same.  

If I had just shown the big page of numbers up front, she would have been cross-eyed. But because we went through each one and built that story up from the bottom, she completely understood the budget.  

I thought that was a pretty cool way to think about it. The language is the numbers, but the story is still the same.