Luke Kemeys CA recalls that on the day he received his certification as a chartered accountant, the late Craig Norgate FCA told him he should use his skills to “help the community and give back”.

Kemeys is only 31 but in his brief career so far he has taken those words to heart.

After deciding that working in an Auckland accounting practice was “just not for me”, Kemeys has struck out, with business partner Phillip Smith, forming their own boutique firm, nextAdvisory.

When he is not helping clients “take their business to the next level” – through an advisory offering they’ve termed ’The Winning Formula’ – he is involved with a range of community-building activities.

On 19 November, nextAdvisory will host a Men’s Health breakfast fundraiser for International Men’s Day.

From scratch, he and Smith also built the schoolrebates.co.nz website, which helps NZ parents claim back their school donations from NZ Inland Revenue.

Just shy of NZ$1 million has been claimed back so far. The platform has been so successful that Inland Revenue is now incorporating the same feature into its own system.

“I needed to be out there using my CA skills to add some value,” Kemeys says. “There is a big opportunity for us to use what we have learned and make a real difference, and I’m totally focused on that.”

“I needed to be out there using my CA skills to add some value.”

The horse-racing enthusiast has also helped build a 15,000-member online community foundation – Boys Get Paid – which promotes the involvement of young people in racing. The organisation won an award from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing for its contribution to media, digital and content.

An active member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Auckland Member Committee, Kemeys regularly speaks about the profession at school and university career days and participates in Young CA event planning.

Kemeys was recently named the CA ANZ 2019 Young CA Regional Advocate, Auckland. He is one of 12 Young CA Regional Advocates, who are shortlisted for the 2019 President’s Prize, to be announced in late 2019. The prize recognises CA ANZ members under 35 who have made an outstanding commitment to the accounting profession and have used their skills in service of their local community.