Kate brings 18 years of audit experience to The School Office. She started her career with Ernst & Young, working with large and complex clients before making the move to New Zealand.

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In New Zealand, she spent almost six years in a local audit firm, working across a wide range of commercial and not-for-profit organisations, including schools. During that time, she gained practical, hands-on experience and a strong understanding of how different entities operate. After nearly six years in audit locally, Kate decided to switch sides wanting to be closer to the action and feel more helpful in a practical way.

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Kate is an Associate Member of CPA Australia and genuinely enjoys helping people feel confident about their numbers. She’s a natural planner, loves things organised, and gets real satisfaction from turning complexity into clear, manageable steps. If there’s a way to make life easier, she will usually find it.

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Outside of work, Kate is a proud mum to two kids (10 and 12).

Steve is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years’ experience as a financial statement auditor, working with schools and commercial entities.

Before accounting, Steve’s career looked very different. He started out working on farms and driving trucks, eventually completing his BBS by correspondence while working full-time as a fuel tanker driver. After the initial shock of Accounting 101 (having never done it before), he went on to finish his degree, land a role in audit, and become CA qualified — proof that career paths don’t have to be straight to be successful.

Steve brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to problem solving. He enjoys helping people understand the “why” behind the numbers, preferring to teach and support rather than simply do it for them. He’s known for keeping things straightforward, realistic, and occasionally delivering advice with a side of humour.

In his spare time, he can be found running the Papamoa hills training for his next off-road marathon (because flat ground would be too easy), or tinkering with his classic Mini, which may or may not require the same patience as accounting and audit.

Dan is a Chartered Accountant (since 2011) with more than 15 years of experience in school-specific accounting.​

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He spent eight years as an auditor at KPMG and BDO, where he rose to the position of Audit Manager and successfully managed hundreds of school audits.   His diverse background includes contract financial accounting roles with notable entities Zespri and Comvita, as well as New Zealand Cricket / International Cricket Council (working as Finance Manager for the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022). He has also held Trustee positions with not-for-profits related to community/regional sport and disability support.

 

Passionate about empowering schools to reach their financial potential, Dan is dedicated to sharing his broad knowledge for their success. His understanding of financial systems and processes has helped The School Office develop a best-in-industry suite of tools, flowing outwards from our exclusive use of Xero as our accounting platform.

 

When Dan became Director / Owner of The School Office, Glenis, who founded TSO, entrusted him with her baby. Now Dan gets to do the same with Steve & Kate and step back a little to spend more time with his darling girls. He still looks forward to being a part of the TSO journey for as long as Steve & Kate will have him.

Denise has over 40 years of administration, office management, payroll and accounting experience and has been part of The School Office team since the beginning (over 10 years).

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She spent 10 years as an Executive Officer at a large high school, so she really does know what goes on in a school and how schools operate.

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She is a certified Xero advisor and our problem solver in many areas and assists our family of schools with any issues that arise.

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Denise established and modified the Xero workpapers we use for our school accounts preparation and reviews the Kiwipark template annually to create our master version.

Karina is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in accounting, auditing, and administration across successful small to medium-sized chartered accounting firms. She brings a practical, detail-focused approach and a strong understanding of financial reporting, compliance, and business processes.

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After completing her tertiary studies, Karina began her career in Tauranga as part of an audit team, working with a diverse range of organisations including companies, charitable trusts, schools, incorporated societies, and real estate agencies. She later moved to Auckland, where she spent thirteen years with a CBD accounting firm, building broad expertise in accounting, taxation, and both internal and external financial reporting.

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In 2020, Karina returned to the Bay of Plenty and joined The School Office, where she enjoys being part of a dynamic and supportive team.

Shanla has over 35 years of experience across a wide range of administration and accounting roles.

For more than 20 years, she has worked closely with schools providing dedicated administration and accounting support.  9 years ago, she joined the team at The School Office as a Client Manager and finds her role both enjoyable and rewarding.

Based in Whangarei, Shanla supports the majority of our Northland schools and values the strong relationships she has built with her clients over the years.  Outside of work, she enjoys exploring the beautiful local beaches with her dog and spending quality time with her family.

Sandy brings 13 years of administration and accounting experience including 6 years in the accounts department of a Rotorua high school.

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Amongst the varied roles Sandy performs for The School Office, is advising and educating School's in setting up the Xero Partner Apps -  HubDoc and ApprovalMax. She works closely with the ApprovalMax team who often use The School Office as benchmarks.

 

These Xero Partner Apps are all designed to create efficiencies in a school's finance department.

Ann, originally from Wellington, has moved back to the district, arriving in Masterton early 2025, after making Taupo her home for over 30 years. With 44 years of accounting experience, she has dedicated 34 of those years to working within school finance.

Before joining The School Office, Ann served as an Executive Officer at a primary school. As such, she has had extensive experience with EdPay, having utilised the Ministry of Education payroll system since its inception in 2012 and becoming an MOE Novopay adviser, along with the HERO student management system and all manner of quirky school office systems and procedures.

Based in Hamilton, Waikato, she provides administrative support to The School Office team, drawing on her background in office management (Payroll, HR, Accounts Payable and Receivable), and health and safety management.  She enjoys helping businesses stay organised, efficient, and compliant while supporting the people behind the work.

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Outside of work, Tayla enjoys golf and diving, and most of her spare time is spent with her newborn pēpi.  Tayla has found that becoming a mum has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life, and she is loving every bit of the journey.