It may surprise you that the common denominator between these three things is Trent Sayers; a senior accountant in our Audit and Assurance team.
We have said previously that we think we break that mould here at Johnsons MME and that there’s a lot more to Accountant’s than numbers, (refer to our blog on The Many Faces of Danny Salmon).
Another example of an accountant breaking the mould is Trent Sayers. We recently asked Trent to share an insight into his life. Here’s what he told us:
The Track and field runner
I started playing all kinds of sports at a young age, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer etc. and quickly found I had a natural talent for running. I started winning national races, breaking records and was on a number of international competitions as a member of team Canada all over the world. Out of high school I attended the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, USA, on a track and field scholarship.
Competing in the NCAA was a great experience for me, and I had every opportunity to develop and succeed, but, ultimately I missed Canada and the Canadian track system and transferred to the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada where I finished up my business degree and track career.
The Bollywood actor
I was fortunate enough that my running career allowed me to get hired as a special skills extra in a Bollywood film. A Toronto based company had been contracted to make the running scenes look realistic. I flew to New Delhi, India, and ‘acted’ in the film Bhaag Bilkha Bhaag for a few weeks.
During that time I got to learn all kinds of things about the film making process. It was interesting to see the final product where CGI and other special effects were used to turn my running on an empty track in Delhi to the 1960 Rome Olympics, the main race the movie was based on.
The family man
Family to me means that they will always be there to provide support, comfort and laughter no matter the circumstances.
Because family is so important, I find it the most difficult part about being a traveller. My parents and two siblings are currently living east of Toronto, Canada, which has a 9-hour time difference to Albury Wodonga. Despite this, we keep in touch very frequently and although there are great distances between us, I never feel alone. I know that they are always there to count on and provide support.
The farmer?
My most recent adventure has been to try my hand as a hobby/lifestyle farmer. My partner and I are currently living on 39 acres just outside the town of Yackandandah, at an almost self-sustaining property. We have horses, cows, lambs, goats, chickens, and orchards with over 80 various fruit and nut trees.
In addition to our full-time jobs, we are kept very busy milking goats, hatching chickens, riding horses, fighting off pests, and maintaining the land. Despite the many challenges, we have both really enjoyed the ups, downs and lessons learned so far and look forward to growing our farm.
The Accountant and Auditor
I started as a graduate accountant in July 2014 at Collins Barrow Bow Valley (now Baker Tilly Rockies), located in the Canadian Rocky Mountain towns of Canmore and Banff. I went on and obtained my Canadian Chartered Accountant (CA) designation in 2017. I then moved back to Ontario and worked at the firm Lynch Rutherford Tozer, in Port Hope, for only 8 months before moving to Australia and starting at Johnsons MME in September 2019.
I have worked in business services, taxation, audit and more recently carbon audit. I like that as an accountant I can learn lots of different things across virtually all industries and that has kept things fresh and interesting for me. I have been fortunate that accounting is a very universal and transferable skill and it was relatively easy for me to become an Australian CA based on my previous qualifications.
