30
t r a c e y h o o k
Group Accountant, Tainui Group Holdings.
TO BE SUCCESSFUL
WE
SHOULD
ALWAYS
SEEK
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
Tracey Hook is the Group Accountant of TGH.
Like many Maaori women Tracey’s preference has been
to stand in the background and just get on with the job.
“I have always felt whakamaa (shy) about showcasing
myself or my achievements.”
However, Tracey is one of just a few Maaori women
who are fully qualified chartered accountants, with
Maaori representing less than 2% of the membership
at the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
(NZICA) and Maaori women less than 1%. She has
been an accountant for 16 years and worked for the
tribe since 2002. She is a member of the Audit and
Risk Committee for her iwi Ngaati Apa, and previously
was an executive member of Ngaa Kaitatau Maaori o
Aotearoa – the National Maori Accountants Network.
“During my career there have been many changes
of direction, roles and responsibilities.” She believes
to be successful we should always seek continuous
improvement of not only ourselves but also the work we
do, “become part of the solution and not the problem.”
Her advice to young Maaori is: “Consider accounting as a
profession. We do need more Maaori in our industry.”
A career highlight has been overseeing the production
of the Tainui Group Holdings annual report, which for
the past three years has been a finalist for best
corporate annual report at the NZICA Awards.
“I am very proud that TGH had produced
an annual report that rated alongside the
country’s best for the way we reported back
to our people and other key stakeholders.”
Another highlight was being selected for
the year-long Breakthrough Leaders
programme run by the Global Women’s
network. The course is designed for women
who are on the verge of breaking into senior
management, executive or governance
roles. “I have certainly become aware of
my leadership capabilities and this course
provides me with the confidence to
develop further.
“I was raised in a very humble environment
which has encouraged me to strive to succeed.
These are values that I hope to emulate with
my three children.” Tracey also enjoys keeping fit,
which maintains focus and energy levels.
