Women in accounting: The case of PNG

Sam Kiak Tubangliu Certified Practising Accountants (SKT) based in Port Moresby, PNG prides itself on being an equal opportunities employer. 60% of their staff are female, complimented by an all-female management team. 

In this podcast, Emma interviews Managing Partner, Arthur Sam, and Audit Manager, Vanolla Sarry, about how SKT embraces inclusion in the workplace and what are the specific challenges facing female accountants in PNG. 

SKT is a national accounting firm founded by Arthur Sam, Jacob Kiak and John Tubangliu, offering accounting, auditing, taxation and business advisory services in Papua New Guinea. They are BLP approved business advisors and can be contacted via the BLP Portal. 

Host: Emma Crawford-Falekaono

Emma has over 15 years’ experience in chartered accountancy and commercial environments globally. She started her career in accounting before taking time out to deploy as a Military Police Officer to Southern Afghanistan.  In 2014, she made the move into the tech industry and is now a Business Consultant for Business Link Pacific, delivering professional development and skills training courses to growing businesses in the Pacific region. 

Credits:

Recorded, mixed & edited by Dave Rhodes of Dave Rhodes Productions.

Music credit: Alex Khaskin

Business Link Pacific is a private sector programme supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade and DT Global. The core team is based in Auckland, New Zealand and supported by in-country partners in Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Cook Islands. 

For more information visit the Business Link Pacific Portal: https://businesslinkpacific.com/ 

Chapters

• 0:00 Guest Introduction
• 1:20 Tell us about SKT - what does the firm do?
• 4:08 Tell us about the reasons behind investing in the development of female staff?
• 5:15 Have you got any advice on how other businesses can drive this type of inclusion in the workplace?
• 7:41 Do you think female-led SMEs are a growing market for business advisory services?
• 9:13 Can you tell us about your work with BLP so far?
• 11:57 What does your future working relationship with BLP look like?
• 12:55 Vanolla, can you tell us about your role at SKT?
• 13:43 What made you gravitate towards the audit side of accounting?
• 14:09 As a woman in the accounting/audit industry in PNG, do you/did you come across any challenges?
• 15:08 What advice do you have for women who are looking to become audit managers in PNG?
• 15:50 How do you manage your work/life balance?
• 16:21 What's the best way for people to contact SKT?
• 18:08 Final thoughts