Young Chartered Accountant Of The Year

Wintec Graduate Named Young Chartered Accountant Of The Year

The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants has named Hamiltonian Leonard Gardner as New Zealand’s Young Chartered Accountant of the Year.

Leonard was one of six finalists for this prestigious award which is sponsored by NZICA, American Express, ASB, Crombie Lockwood, Peugeot and Hudson.

Leonard began his career in 1995 as a trainee accountant at KPMG, while studying part-time at Wintec (Waikato Institute of Technology).

“This allowed me to gain a practical ‘hands-on’ education,” he said.

Leonard graduated from Wintec with a New Zealand Diploma in Business in 1998 and with a Bachelor of Business degree in 2000. He was admitted to the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2002. The following year Leonard furthered his ‘hands-on’ education by purchasing a Wendys Supa Sundaes franchise “to get a taste of being involved in business”.

Leonard is now commercial manager and a director and shareholder of Foster Construction Group, Hamilton, a company he joined in 2003. His role with the group is diverse covering areas from financial management and systems review to marketing, human resource management, and legal issues management.

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