The people who make the Canny Group team are specialists across the Accounting, Advisory and Legal industries. We attribute our success to our clients but also to our team. They are committed to delivering exceptional quality while forming close partnerships with our clients.
Every week of every year since 1960 you can expect Canny Group to be a friendly team of professionals. Eager to use their expertise to help you succeed!
Stan commenced the practice in 1960 and in 2010 was awarded a medal from CPA Australia celebrating 50 years as a qualified CPA. Stan is also a well-known member of the Geelong community.
In 2017, Stan received Queen’s Birthday Honours. Stan was awarded with a Medal of the Order (OAM), for his service to the community through a range of roles.
Amanda joined the firm in 1980 as a bookkeeper and became Director in 2011. Amanda has a Bachelor of Commerce from Deakin University and is a qualified CPA. Amanda has a keen interest in helping women in business. Whether in their role as Director, Owner or Bookkeeper Amanda will be able to help women grow and manage their businesses. She has extensive experience working with small to medium business owners and specialises in cash flow management, business advisory, GST and tax planning.
In 2014 Amanda took part in the Leaders for Geelong program. At the beginning of 2019, Amanda was asked to join the Board of Encompass as the Chief Financial Officer. Encompass Community Services started out as one of the only nine funded Disability Employment services in Australia in 1985 and are proud to be customer services leaders in delivering NDIS supports.
When she’s away from the office, Amanda loves spending time in the garden at home. Amanda is often socialising with family and friends and playing Ninny to her young grandchildren.
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Krystine has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and has been an accountant since 1998. She is a qualified CPA and also made the Dean’s List at Deakin University.
Krys became a Director of Canny Group in 2011.
Like Amanda, she has a keen interest in small to medium business. Krys enjoys working with small to medium business owners to help them maximise cash flow, manage the compliance burden and complete Canny Group taxation planning. She also has significant experience with the Not-for-Profit sector, GST and management accounting.
Krys has a personal affinity for Geelong’s northern suburbs and the Not-for-Profit sector. This is evident in her community contribution as Treasurer on the Board of the Norlane Community Centre, which she has been involved with since 2013. In 2016, Krys received a Commonwealth Bank Not-for-Profit Treasurers’ Award which recognised her valued contributions and highlighted the appreciation of the entire Norlane Community Centre Board.
Additionally, Krys has been on the Board of Bethany since 2014 and was also asked to join the ATO Lodgement Advisory Committee in 2016.
In her down time, Krys enjoys hanging out with her husband and three divine children, going to the movies, keeping fit at the gym and dining out at a great restaurant.
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Kim Bradbury joined Canny Group in the role of Business Manager.
With a background in administration, Kim has spent a considerable amount of that time within the finance industry.
Kim has come to us full of energy and ready to keep Canny Group running like a well oiled machine. Kim places a high importance on unifying processes and creating procedures to maximise efficiency. She also makes no attempt to hide her love of a good spreadsheet.
Kim is a firm believer in maintaining client contact and delivering a holistic service that exceeds client expectation.
In the short time she has spent with us, Kim is already excited about implementing ideas and seeing their benefits. She has found the Canny Group team to be everything she wanted in a place she could cement herself in and looks forward to becoming a vital part of the firm.
After spending 14 years in the UK, Kim moved back to Australia in late 2016 with her family in tow. Her husband, Paul loved the Aussie lifestyle and their son, Ged wasted no time in learning to ride a bike and loves to go snorkelling.
Along with spreadsheets, Kim also has a passion for restoring old furniture and revealed 80% of her home is decorated with revamped furniture.
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Richard holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Law from Deakin University. In 2004, Richard was admitted to practice as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. He is also a member of the Law of Institute of Victoria.
Richard has an extensive knowledge of commercial law, particularly in the areas of advising on business structures and preparation of all commercial, property and business documentation, such as drawing commercial agreements, contracts of sale, leases and the formation of trusts.
Richard practices extensively in commercial litigation across all jurisdictions and is capable of managing a client’s needs from start to finish. He can direct clients in the management and strategy of their litigation in a bid to achieve the best case outcome.
Richard emphasises the importance of developing trusting relationships with clients. He enjoys the interaction and worldly perspective shared by each clients’ personal and professional dynamic situation and is rewarded by achieving the client’s legal objectives.
Richard is excited to be part of the growth of Canny Legal and he shares the vision of Canny Group providing clients with a holistic service.
Richard revels the chance to get outdoors on a camping and hiking mission. He is also enjoying family life with his wife and their young daughter, whether that's a weekend at the beach, playing handyman around the home, gardening or cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
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Stefan is the newest member to join Canny Legal after graduating from Deakin University with a Bachelor of Laws as well as a Bachelor of Commerce - BCom (Finance) in 2009.
Stefan has a wealth of knowledge across all aspects of Estate and Succession Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Superannuation Complaints and Guardianship, Administration and Capacity issues.
Stefan will be working alongside our Principal Solicitor Richard Pinkstone and mentoring Katherine Taylor and Kayla Kennedy.
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Helen holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Helen specialises in Self-Managed Super Funds and has extensive knowledge in all facets of SMSF’s.
Helen enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, bushwalking, cooking and badminton.
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Samantha joined our team in April 2019, having been in the finance industry for 18 years and advising for the last 13. Sam has a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Financial Planning as well as a Diploma of Financial Services. Sam is also a qualified primary school teacher and taught around Australia as well as overseas for six years before changing careers.
Sam is an invaluable member of our community and it definitely shines through with the work that she does on various boards and committees around Geelong. For the past three years, Sam has been on the Sacred Heart College Scholarship Committee, 10 years as the Clairvaux Family Support Network Co-ordinator as well as the past two years as a Deakin University Tutorial Workshop Presenter in her specialised areas.
Sam loves meeting clients, listening to their stories and helping them achieve their goals. Sam admits that she loves the human element of her job more than anything. Sam strives to provide outstanding service to all clients, whether they be new or existing and her goal is to enhance and grow the Canny Advisory service arm within the Canny Group, working alongside Helen Yau.
Outside of the office you will find Sam raising three, healthy daughters. Sam also enjoys exercising regularly, reading a book or just relaxing by listening to some music.
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Jamie moved to Australia in 2009 and completed her Bachelor of Commerce in 2011 at Newcastle University after transferring from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Jamie became a Chartered Accountant and also obtained her Diploma of Financial Planning in 2016.
Jamie has had extensive experience with medium sized business and is well versed with corporate structures that provide the best tax outcomes. She enjoys collaborating with clients to achieve the best possible tax result on either a personal or business level to ultimately benefit them and their families. Jamie also has a good understanding of self managed super funds.
Jamie is looking forward to becoming an integral part of the Canny Group team while having the opportunity to continue working with more clients into the future.
When Jamie is at home she loves spending time with her gorgeous baby girl and partner. Jamie is an avid reader and a particular fan of the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. She is a self-professed nerd who also enjoys her cult classics.
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Gab graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Deakin University in 2009 and became a qualified Chartered Accountant in 2012. Gab has a back ground in all areas of taxation and accounting, self managed super funds and audits.
Gab is passionate in assisting clients with their taxation affairs and building trusting relationships.
In her time away from the office, Gab enjoys going out for good food and coffee, keeping fit and active and maintaining her count down to Summer calendar. During the Summer months you can find her at the beach.
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Danny hold a Bachelor of Commerce and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He specialises is small business, GST, Companies and Trusts.
Danny revels in the opportunity to work closely with clients to help them with their needs, not only in tax situations, but also helping them in making the correct business decisions.
In the future Danny would like to go into Forensic Accounting and hopefully be able to add this to the services offered at Canny Group.
This year, Danny took on the role as Treasurer of the Galaxy United Football Club.
In his spare time, Danny favours the outdoors riding motorbikes, spending time at the beach, camping and socialising with friends. He also enjoys being with his family, watching his talented kids play sport. Danny is a footy fanatic and devoted Richmond supporter. He often attends both local and AFL football games. Each year Danny looks forward to running the tipping challenge at Canny Group, even if he’s not always the one leading
the ladder.
Kim moved to Australia in 2006 and completed her Masters Degree in Accounting in 2008. Starting work as a Graduate Accountant in 2011, she then went on to complete her CPA in 2013.
Kim is passionate about building trusting relationships and working hard to getting the best results for our clients.
In the future, Kim would like to see herself become an integral part of the Canny team and would also love to learn more about Self-Managed Super Funds working alongside Helen.
Kim loves to travel with her family, especially down to the beach with her 2 year old son. She also revels in the opportunity to disconnect from technology and go camping.
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Graduating in June 2017 with his Accounting Degree, Sam was lucky to have the opportunity to work and gain experience whilst studying at a local accounting firm in Ballarat before joining our team in December 2018.
Sam admits that he knew he would never become an accountant to just "crunch numbers". Having such an outgoing personality and thoroughly enjoying engaging with clients, Sam hopes to foster long-term relationships with all clients he meets. Sam also thrives on the opportunity each and every day to assist clients in achieving their short, medium and long term financial and lifestyle goals.
In early 2018 Sam made the commitment to further his studies and undertake a postgraduate towards becoming a Chartered Accountant with the aim to knock it on he head by the end of this year. Sam focuses on putting much of his efforts into completing his CA as well as building a strong technical knowledge within the accounting field.
Sam admits that he is an absolute sports tragic, Sam will find any excuse to put off writing a Uni assignment with preference given to watching a day's play of Test Cricket. Sam happily admits that he is a one-eyed Essendon fan that wears his heart on his sleeve, when it's not AFL of cricket it's everything in between. Sam moved from Ballarat to being within 10 minutes of Torquay region and is very keen to make the most of summer, socialising with family and friends as well as regular sunset beach strolls.
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Sid completed his Bachelor of Commerce at Monash University after moving to Australia in 2007. He has spent several years working in the accounting industry and has also commenced studying for his CPA.
Sid enjoys the challenge in the technical aspect of accounting and further building on his knowledge in taxation and professional services, especially with SMEs. He also enjoys the ability to build relationships with clients, particularly when he is able to save them money. Sid is also QBO qualified.
Sid hopes to achieve his CPA in the next few years and solidify his expertise in tax and additional services.
Sid is a keen snowboarder and tries to hit the slops at least twice during the snow season. He is a fan of international sports including the NBA and Premier League. Sid also recently won a game of chess against his father, which he felt was quite an achievement.
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Lin holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting and is currently completing her CPA. With prior experience in the tax field, Lin is enjoying expanding her knowledge in the different areas of accounting.
Lin likes the personal interaction she has with clients and has achieved some great tax results for many of them. She enjoys the diversity and challenges her role presents.
Lin is looking forward to building on her outstanding tax result tally, helping as many clients as possible. She is also excited about achieving her CPA and has registered to be a member of the recently formed CPA Australia Geelong Branch Discussion Group.
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Ryan completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University in Warrnambool, majoring in accounting and finance earlier this year. During that time he worked as a junior accountant in a small accounting firm specialising in local businesses.
Ryan's goals are to work hard to gain his CPA qualification within the next few years whilst developing his accounting skills to aid clients and build on trusting relationships, eventually becoming an expert in taxation for small to medium businesses.
Moving down from Warrnambool to work with us, we're excited to have Ryan as part of our growing accounting team. Stepping out of the office, you can often find Ryan travelling, hiking in Australia as well as heading down to the beach with friends.
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Nikki joined our team as a bookkeeper in July 2019. Nikki has over 30 years' experience in the accounting industry and for the past five years had been self-employed until taking up a newly appointed bookkeeping position with us.
Nikki is passionate about getting to know our clients and easily admits that meeting our wonderful clients, has been her favourite part of the role this far (as well as enjoying our new building and the spacious layout).
Professionally her goal is to offer the best bookkeeping service possible to all of our clients and while at home her main focus is to survive the teenage years with her three children.
Out of the office you can find Nikki going on family camping trips and running around the St Mary's Sporting Club in Geelong. Nikki is heavily involved in the Junior Netball whether that be as the club netball umpire co-ordinator or the junior committee representative.
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Michelle joined our team as a bookkeeper in July 2019. Michelle previously has her own bookkeeping business for 10 years and being a Mum was able to do it on a part time basis allowing her to spend extra time watching her son Baden grow.
Michelle is excited to bring her knowledge and past experience within the accounting world to our team and to pass onto our clients as she starts to work closely with them and to build trusting relationships.
Away from the office you'll find Michelle watching the footy or sneaking in watching the basketball along with catching up with friends and walking her dog. The one thing Michelle has on her bucket list and hasn't ticked off yet is going to the Cat Cafe in Melbourne.
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Edwina brings a great energy to the Canny Group team. Her willingness to go the extra mile to help with getting tasks completed is just one of her many strengths.
Edwina has a natural creative flare which brings an element of fun to the services Canny Group provides, her aim is to inspire both team members and clients to achieve their professional and personal goals.
When Edwina isn’t at the office, you will most likely find her laughing while chasing after her young and energetic little boys.
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Kayla is a relative newcomer to the legal industry but has successfully graduated with her Bachelor of Laws in 2019. Kayla has an interest in several areas including taxation, contracts and intellectual property(IP). Kayla would eventually like to specialise in the area of personal injury.
Kayla sees herself and her career firmly in Geelong. She enjoys the culture that comes with working in smaller firms and the personable relationships she establishes not only with clients but also her colleagues.
Kayla loves travelling and plans to visit various destinations around the world over the coming years. Her favourite destination so far is Paris. Paris certainly lived up to its reputation as the city of love by getting engaged to long time beau, Rhys.
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Katherine is another team member joining Canny Legal and currently holds the role of Law Clerk but is looking to graduate with her Bachelor of Laws later this year. Katherine has a keen interest in history and already holds a Bachelor of Criminology majoring in History.
Since commencing work in the legal industry, Katherine has found her forte in conveyancing. She also enjoys estates and all aspects of business law. When working with clients, Katherine aims to be able to help them with the direction of their future growth and to build on that next step to getting them there.
Katherine is looking forward to establishing herself in the legal industry while creating a reputation that reflects the successes she has achieved for each and every client.
During her downtime, you can find Katherine walking her dog at the beach or reading vintage fictional novels. She has a thing for perusing market places looking for old books, particularly the suspense of those without covers. Katherine already admitted to a general interest in history but loves the style of writing these books have.
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Steve has joined the Canny Group team as a Financial Advisor. He is a qualified CFP with credentials including a Bachelor of Commerce and more recently a Masters in Financial Planning.
Steve has great expertise in the pre and post retirement life stage. From assisting clients with in-depth financial modeling through to the area of Aged Care; this includes educating clients on how to minimise costs and maximise entitlements.
Steve is able to provide advice in additional areas of Self-Managed Super Funds and wealth creation throughout various life stages. Steve likes having the ability to really make a difference to a clients life, particularly with pre-retirees.
Steve has been doing pro-bono work for the Cancer Council for the last five years and is also Treasurer of the Lara Football Club.
With so many achievements, Steve does have one admission; he is addicted to playing golf, although he also admitted that he is absolutely terrible at it, nevertheless he just can't seem to stop trying.
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Kristal has completed Certificates III and IV in Financial Services - Accounting and an Advanced Diploma in Accounting.
Kristal assists Helen Yau in her role within the Self Managed Superannuation Fund area.
Kristal loves spending time with her stunning young daughter and also makes time for gardening and training her dogs for competitions. When it’s time to relax, you will find Kristal curled up with a good book or sewing a new creation.
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Niamah joined our team in June 2018. With seven years background working as an administration assistant for a pest control company, Niamah has already made a huge impact to our administration team.
Taking on a new administration position working along side our Business Manager, Niamah admits that she enjoys the constant learning and development that is involved with her role, she has a goal to continually learn, improve and help Kim by implementing new ideas and seeing their benefits.
When she's not in the office, Niamah will be listening to music, preferably live music or you can find her at the footy as she is a massive Essendon fan. As well as spending quality time with family and friends.
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At the end of June 2019, we welcomed Madeline to our team. Madeline joined our growing legal team, she has a strong focus on clients having worked in a family business up until last year.
Madeline brings with her an enthusiasm for learning and admits that it is still very early into her new role and it's a bit hard to tell what her favourite part of the role is thus far. However, she isn't shy to admit that she is loving getting to know our other team members, particularly the legal team and gaining an insight into their specialty areas of Law.
As a very passionate runner, Madeline has completed a couple of half marathons in the last few years so it is no surprise that outside of the office you can find her training to complete her first full marathon in the near future. If she isn’t running, spending time with her partner of three years, Brodee or taking their dog Autumn for a walk you can find per sewing and working on fashion design which she likes to showcase in the spring racing carnival fashions on the field competition.
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Erin has a substantial background in the legal industry, particularly in the areas of conveyancing and running of the trust account. She is very knowledgeable and the skills Erin has developed make her extremely efficient and organised.
Erin takes on challenges within her role well, she is persistent and is always looking to get the best result for Canny Group clients. Guiding and leading clients through the processes of buying and selling property, especially first home buyers is her most favourable part.
At home, Erin and her partner adore spending time with their cheeky children and entertaining family and friends.
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Jenny has been a long standing member of the Canny Group team, achieving 15 years of service in 2018.
Jenny enjoys talking to clients and if there are any issues she’s more than happy to help resolve them if she can or find the right person who can. Jenny also appreciates the positive feedback she gets for a job well done, particularly when it’s from a client we have been able to assist in a major way.
Jenny is really a Jill of all trades around the office and her organisational skills have been the backbone in our ongoing efforts to become a paperless office. In fact her ultimate goal is to finish scanning all of our old files into our computer system, some of which date back to 2000.
Jenny enjoys travelling, cooking and reading.
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Lynne's favourite part of her role with the Canny Group is meeting and talking to our clients, half of which she knows. Lynne always goes the extra mile to ensure our clients needs are being met and revels in the moments we have been able to make a difference in a client’s life.
Lynne looks forward to the future with Canny Group, in particular as we develop and grow Canny Legal. Lynne has a natural willingness to assist clients, paired with her experience and we can assure our clients have a friendly face are well looked after from.
Lynne enjoys spending quality time with her family, camping and going on holidays.
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