Something old, something new; Celebrating 100 years

Wellington College students demonstrating their clever text marketing venture with Linda Turner on the far left, and Lianne Dalziel second from left.

It was a blending of old and new at Parliament late last term as MPs, secondary school students and business people gathered to celebrate 100 years since an Act of parliament established the NZ Society of Accountants (now known as the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants) in 1908, changing the face of business in NZ forever.

Representatives of three Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) companies from three Wellington high schools were on hand to explain their business projects to the crowd, giving the audience a snapshot of the future of NZ business.

Their adventurous business ventures included Samuel Marsden College’s ad$um company, which takes the hassle out of applying for IRD tax rebates for under 18-year-olds in part-time work; St Mary’s College’s GIY (grow it yourself) Veges company which encourages young children (through their parents) to get involved in growing vegetables, aided by special starter packs; and Wellington College’s Schmall TXT, a text marketing business offering subscribers discounts and special deals via text messages.

YES is run by the Enterprise NZ Trust, which is sponsored by the Institute.

“It is encouraging to see that almost 100 years after accountancy was introduced as part of the Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1911, the Institute still believes in the importance of educating the next generation and has teamed up with Enterprise NZ Trust, along with other key sponsors, to encourage and mentor NZ’s future business leaders in such a manner,” said the minister of commerce, Lianne Dalziel.