Transforming Northland Accounting
A Journey of Growth and Digital Transformation
Northland Accounting and Altitude Advisors is a Chartered Accountancy firm providing accounting and business advice to businesses throughout the region.
The business has two brands that cover the Whangarei and Kaipara areas.
Come with us an explore the transformative journey of Northland Accounting as Corinne Smith, a Chartered Accountant, shares her story of overcoming challenges and achieving success.
Northland Accounting team in their Wellsford office
In just three short years, Corinne has grown her Wellsford-based Chartered Accountancy firm from a business she started on her kitchen table to one with an office in Wellsford, employing nine staff and servicing over 1,000 clients.
"Our vision is that “we make a difference”. It's not just financial work that we do for people. We want to do it in a very timely, stress-free way for our clients”.
Corinne works with her Whangārei clients at The Orchard Business and Events Hub.
Her journey to business ownership began when she suddenly found herself as a solo Mum with four young children. She was previously a company accountant with a large organisation, but she needed to find something that would give her more flexibility to work around the children. She began offering accounting services from her kitchen table on weekends and continued this for around two years.
The turning point in her business journey came when she connected with David Templeton, one of our Business Growth Advisors here at Northland Inc.
“So he potentially saw a bit of talent and me, I think, and he suggested that I applied for the Icehouse Leadership Development Programme. I fortunate to get a scholarship but I still had to fund 50% of the cost which was a big investment for me. I remember my Mum saying to me at the time “Just keep going and don’t look back!” so I did.”
The Icehouse program provided Corinne with newfound confidence and knowledge, prompting her to leave her salaried job and establish Northland Accounting.
David Templeton, Northland Inc Growth Advisor
"My take on DT (David Templeton) is he has the 'secret sauce.' He can see clearly what that person needs and how to connect them into something that they need. He's got a secret spice of identifying talent and providing a pathway or a connection to the next step." - Corinne Smith, Northland Accounting
In 2020, Corinne started coming up to The Orchard Business and Event Hub regularly, to base herself here for meetings with her Whangārei clients.
She says apart from the nice building and all the facilities she needed, one of the big draw cards is the events which are regularly hosted here. They help her add value to her clients by being able to promote the opportunities to them. “But first and foremost, it’s the business people up here and those connections that you make, I just see them as my colleagues and friends. We all work together and we really are here to support each other. You can tap anyone on their shoulder to ask a question. So, for me it's a pretty special place and a big incubator of Northland businesses”.
An ongoing advocate for embracing technology, Corinne has recently led the firm through a large transformation project to digitise their operations. The project has resulted in many increased efficiencies for the company and also contributed to the business being recognised as a finalist in the Digital Adaptation category at the Northland Business Awards in 2023.
Corinne's commitment to creating a positive workplace culture in her own business, supporting her team, and making a difference in clients' lives has obviously set Northland Accounting on a path towards continued success. As they face new challenges and pursue future projects, Corinne remains dedicated to inspiring and supporting others on their entrepreneurial journey and we are excited to work alongside her as the business grows.
View Northland Accounting Website