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Her journey with Ulton started back in 1996 when she joined Ulton’s accounting department.
After spending a few months with Ulton, a new opportunity came knocking. One of Ulton’s clients at the time, a local sawmill, found themselves in need of an in-house financial officer and Debbie fit the bill to a tee. She spent the next 13 years running the saw mill’s finances, up until 2010, when it closed down.
The same year, she made her return to Ulton. This time, stepping into the role of an auditor.
Quickly, she fell in love with it.
“I didn’t ever plan to be working on the audit side of accounting. I guess I just fell into it...But I’m so glad I did,” she said.
For Debbie, it’s the problem solving aspect of auditing that fuels her fire.
“It’s such a diversified job. Working in audit, you learn so much. You have to know a lot about everything – the audit standards, the accounting standards, the tax side of things – everything,” she said.
“On top of that, every client and every project is so different. You learn so much about the ins-and-outs of businesses from all sorts of industries.”
“I have one client who is a timber wholesaler in Brisbane. I’ve gone into the depths of learning about and understanding their timber stock system, it has been many hours combing through reports and spending time on the ground, inspecting these impossibly big pallets of timber. I did have the advantage of working in the sawmill for 13 years” said Debbie.
One of the key differences between audit and other financial specialisations is that clients aren’t engaging audit services because they want to, they are engaging these services because they need to.
“In audit, you must stay independent. This means that unfortunately, you can’t build those ongoing relationships with clients. You can’t be their close friend but you can build professional relationships.”
But in Debbie’s eyes, the complete independence and impartiality of auditing only makes the work that much more fulfilling.
“Some of the best moments are when clients express their appreciation for you. Not because they are just being nice or because they like you, but because they appreciate you as a professional.”
“I find that so rewarding,” said Debbie.
Unsurprisingly, Debbie’s passion is a source of inspiration for the other members of Bundaberg’s audit team.
Trainee auditor, Ronan Boylan, is one of the many people who's been inspired by the energy Debbie brings to her work every day.
“She’s such a hard worker. She’s always helping other people out and she never gives up on anything. It’s really motivating to look up to,” said Ronan.
“I know how much she enjoys audit. She’s said to me before that if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, it’s going to feel a lot more difficult,” he said.
“Since Debbie’s passed that on, I’ve really taken it on board and I see what she means. I really like this job a lot and I’ve seen how that’s reflected in the work I do. She’s right, I’m getting things done quicker and better because I’m enjoying it,” Ronan said.
The impact Debbie’s had on those around her is plain to see.
“In our team, Debbie is the egg in the cake. She’s the structure – the ingredient that brings us all together. Without the egg, there’s no cake,” said Ronan.
For someone as professionally driven as Debbie, downtime isn’t something she comes by very often.
But in the moments she does have spare, her favourite way to spend time is with family.
A proud grandmother to two grandsons and one granddaughter, at the time of writing, Debbie was excitedly preparing for the first birthday of her granddaughter, Kenzie.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Debbie was tasked with the biggest responsibility of all – making a birthday cake fit for a mermaid.
Most people would find such a feat intimidating, but not Debbie.
“I’m the go-to birthday cake baker in my family. There’s been all sorts of themes over the years – Marvel, Power Rangers, the whole lot,” she said.
From the kitchen to the timber yard, accountancy to auditing, Debbie’s courage to embrace the unfamiliar is what makes her such an integral part of Ulton.
As Ronan said, “She gives us the confidence to do the work and do it well”.
