Approaching his first Ulton anniversary in January 2024, Andy Lavens, the Bundaberg Manager, has seamlessly integrated into the team.
“The staff retention here is incredible, I could be here for 10 years and I’d still be the new guy,” he laughed.
Over the past year, Andy has been settling into his role at Ulton — embracing ‘the Ulton way’, sinking his teeth into work, and getting to know our team members and clients.
He’s also been preparing to take on many clients from long-term Business Services Manager, Peter Bunch, who has just recently celebrated his well-earned retirement following his tenure of 27 years.
Some people might find such a transition to be a nerve-wracking experience. But Andy has never been one to shy away from a challenge.
In fact, Andy’s capacity to joyfully embrace change and seek new experiences has been a defining factor of his life — and it’s what’s led him to a journey characterised by wonderful twists and turns.
Andy spent much of his childhood in Indonesia and Malaysia, where his father worked as a civil engineer and his mother worked as a teacher.
At age 12, Andy moved back to Australia with his family, where he lived in Sydney’s Northern Beaches before settling down in Lennox Head in the NSW Northern Rivers, where he saw his teenage years through.
Following his school years, Andy started out in teaching following in the footsteps of his mother but soon after realised that it wasn’t for him, so he made the leap over to accounting, where he worked in Brisbane CBD. But that wasn’t where his journey ended — in fact, it was just getting started.
“At the ripe age of 23, I decided that accounting was a bit slow for me,” Andy said.
It was a chat with an old friend (and current Ulton client) in Fortitude Valley one night, where an exciting new idea began to take root in Andy’s mind.
“[At that time] my friend was working as a police officer in the Valley. Hearing about what he did, I just thought, ‘Why not? I’ll go give that a go,” Andy said.
It was as simple as that. Andy joined the Queensland Police Service and before long, he was moving all over Queensland with his work: A year in Surfers’ Paradise, five in Mount Isa, and then over to Gympie.
Over these years, he had stints in Birdsville, Bedourie, Boulia and into the Gulf Capentaria where he interacted with a diverse range of interesting people.
For Andy, naming the best part of the job comes easy.
“The people. I really enjoyed the people,” Andy said.
“It’s all about the relationships you build.”
“If you talk to people properly, most people will be pretty accommodating. And with good people around you, you can always find a way to have a laugh at the end of the day,” he said.
Andy made his return to accounting about 16 years ago. It was a transition he agrees was the right one, but not without its challenges.
“Let’s just say my new coworkers were very different from my previous ones,” he laughed.
Since moving back to accountancy, Andy’s unique journey has continued — and his enjoyment of the adventure is plain to see.
Following his return to accountancy, Andy worked in Toowoomba for 10 years, followed by a tenure back in Brisbane with RSM Australia and then as a Director at PKF Brisbane, before finally joining the Ulton Bundaberg team in January 2023.
Drawn to Bundaberg for his wife Nic’s career as a nurse, Andy embraced his relocation with an open mind.
“I try to come with an attitude of give it a crack and see where it takes you,” said Andy.
“The only way to know if something’s going to work is to try it,” he said.
While Andy’s pursuit to seek new experiences is enduring, how this has come to life has changed over the years — especially with kids Will (13), Katy (12), and James (8) at home.
Family time is a fun time for the Lavens family.
“Having kids definitely gives you a different perspective, the decision to move to Bundy wasn’t made lightly as the kids are all getting on in school” Andy said.
But on the flip side, Andy admits that it’s his youngsters who are expanding his horizons and opening his eyes to new experiences. TikTok and the latest PS5 games are just the tip of the iceberg.
“I learn all these new things every day,” Andy said with a laugh.
“One of the best things about the surf around here is that it’s not terribly big if anything at all”, he laughed, “so it’s been really good to get the kids out and teach them how to surf. "
“Seeing them get the confidence to stand up on the board… it’s great,” he added.
As Andy approaches his first anniversary at Ulton, it's clear that his journey is far from over; it's just another exciting bend in a road that promises many more adventures ahead.