CSNZ Prizes for Waikato University Students

Each year CSNZ sponsors the Chartered Secretaries New Zealand Prize in Business Law awarded to two high-achieving students from Waikato University's Management School. This year the prizes went to Brad Sherman and Rebecca Weldon. The prizes were presented by CSNZ Chief Executive, Linda Noble, at the Dean's Prize Giving Awards Ceremony held on 6 May.

Congratulations to Brad and Rebecca for this outstanding achievement.

Brad Sherman

Tuesday 6 May was a spectacular day for Brad - not only did he receive one of two Chartered Secretaries of New Zealand Prizes in Business Law being offered, he also won the CPA Australia in Accounting Theory Prize, The PricewaterhouseCoopers Prize in Auditing, the Ian Beattie Prize in Taxation and was the proud recipient of the prestigious Dean's Medal for Bachelor of Business Analysis.

When asked about this amazing achievement Brad replied:

"Winning the awards involved a lot of hard work, and great support from my partner, friends and family. The Dean's Medal in particular is only awarded to students who maintain a Grade Point Average of 8 or above. Going forwards, I hope it means I will be successful in my future studies...I believe winning the Chartered Secretaries New Zealand Prize in Business Law shows that hard work pays off. On a practical level it means I have obtained a good understanding of business law through examination of statue and case law involving company law, mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, insolvency and intellectual property, all of which is extremely useful for a prospective accountant to know. On a personal level, winning prizes such as this makes me proud, as it shows that with a bit of hard work you can achieve anything – no matter where you come from."

Twenty-two year old Brad was born in the small Northland town of Dargaville and grew up at Baylys Beach, a small settlement on Northland's 'wild west coast' (about 15 minutes out of Dargaville). He moved to Hamilton to study accounting at Waikato University, enticed by the excellent reputation of the Waikato Management School.

Brad has completed a Bachelor of Business Analysis (BBA Fin) majoring in Accounting. He is currently completing a Commercial Law paper (ACCT321) in order to meet the necessary requirements set by NZICA before embarking on their Chartered Accountancy programme.

Brad works as a part-time Consultant at Deloitte's Hamilton office in the Private service line. His main duties involve the preparation of annual financial statements and income tax returns for personal trusts, charitable trusts and small businesses. He also works part-time at Waikato University as a management accounting tutor, tutoring two classes of around 20-25 third year management accounting students on a weekly basis.

It's not surprising that this focused young man already has the next few years mapped out, "My immediate plans involve studying towards becoming a Chartered Accountant, which I will hopefully become by the end of 2016," he says. " After a short break and perhaps some travel, I believe it would be extremely advantageous to then engage in study to become a Chartered Secretary. I would love to rise through the ranks at Deloitte, but I am open to the prospect of working for a large corporate."

We are sure this worthy young Prize recipient will excel in his chosen career and we wish him all the very best for the future.