Now Tom Offen has been promoted to partner/director of Moore Markhams after nearly a decade working in the Dunedin office of the audit, accounting, tax and business advisory services firm.
Mr Offen, who is in his 30s, was brought up in Dunedin but, throughout his secondary school years was uncertain what he wanted to do as a career.
He dabbled in the trades, completing a carpentry pre-trades course, and worked for a few builders, but realised that a construction career was not for him. However, the foray did give him valuable insight into the trades.
A business course at polytechnic piqued his interest and that was where he first encountered accounting, having never studied the topic at school. He found he “gelled” with its practicality and consequently embarked on an accounting degree.
In 2016, he got an intern position at Moore Markhams and it gave him a taste of what a career would be like while he was still studying and also reinforced what he enjoyed about accounting. That was about using expertise and ability to benefit everyday people in business.
The internship led to a job offer. He enjoyed the broad range of clients at the firm, from commercial property and trades to healthcare and high net worth individuals.
The great thing about the size of Dunedin was it enabled him to get a taste of it all, rather than having to specialise in one particular area, and he also enjoyed the down-to-earth culture of the firm.
While the last couple of years in the business sector had been tough, and a lot of that was to do with the labour shortage, the future was looking positive. The key for Dunedin was retaining quality young talent in the city, he believed.
Mr Offen and his wife have two young children, aged 2 and 4, and a third expected this month.
The city was a great place to bring up children, he said.
