Balancing family life and work is a priority for Amanda Gascoigne, and the Maitland-grown accounting mentor has made it her mission to help others do the same.
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This year, Ms Gascoigne is a finalist in two categories of the Australian Accounting Awards; Thought Leader of the Year and Mentor of the Year.
The achievements don't stop there; in April Ms Gascoigne was as named one of the top 50 women in accounting in the world.
For 18 years, Ms Gascoigne owned Gascoigne Consulting in Green Hills, which she originally started in her home.
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She made the switch into consulting and mentoring for other accounting practice leaders after seeing the way small solo accounting practice owners were being often forgotten by larger coaches and organisations.
Ms Gascoigne said she has a lot in common with small and solo accounting practice owners, who often start their own business looking for more control and a work-life balance.
"The reason I started my [first] business was I wanted to combine being a businesswoman and a mum, and there was no maternity leave policy where I was working at the time so I had to make a choice," she said.
"I know so many other people doing that as well, and family is very important so that's their way of combining the two, but I see so many practice owners getting really stuck."
Ms Gascoigne is also an advocate for women in leadership roles.
Although it's evened out now, she said the accounting field was very male dominated in the 90s when she started out.
"I think that we [men and women] want different things in life so it is actually breaking away from the norm, and I lead in that way, by showcasing what I've done, why I've done it and giving others permission to do the same and not follow the mold," she said.
"We want to have balance across both practice and life, and that's one of the things that I do champion."
Now a resident of Fingal Bay, Ms Gascoigne is a frequent visitor to Maitland, with her parents still living in Rathluba where she grew up, and most of her five siblings not far away.
Ms Gascoigne went to Maitland Girls High School and said she loved growing up here.
"I'm really grateful for the support I received while I was in practice for those years from so many Maitland business owners and other clients," she said.
"Maitland has definitely grown, but I think at the heart, the connections that you make are really important and you don't often get that in a lot of bigger places.
"That was one of the reasons I was able to build the business so well over the years because of the different connections I had through sporting associations, through school, through my parents, my brothers and sisters.
"The fabric of that still hasn't changed."
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