100 People Behind Bay Business - 2023
100 People Behind Bay Business profiles Bay businesses in an intelligent, insightful and inspiring way so readers can learn more about them, their expertise, experience, offering and their business.
100 People Behind Bay Business profiles Bay businesses in an intelligent, insightful and inspiring way so readers can learn more about them, their expertise, experience, offering and their business.
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ACCOUNTING & ADVISORY | PEOPLE<br />
INGHAM MORA<br />
introducing GRACY QIAN AND ALICE SCAPENS<br />
<strong>Bay</strong> of Plenty’s largest independent accounting practice, Ingham Mora, put forward two of their<br />
most exciting young associates as personalities for this year’s <strong>100</strong> <strong>People</strong>. Alice Scapens and Gracy<br />
Qian each have a wealth of experience and fascinating personal stories they are pleased to share.<br />
GRACY QIAN<br />
associate<br />
Ingham Mora associate Gracy Qian has overcome<br />
numerous challenges over the last 21 years<br />
through sheer determination and hard work.<br />
She travelled from China and lived alone<br />
in New Zealand from a young age, studying and<br />
graduating with first class honours, then building<br />
a successful professional accounting career<br />
here – it has been a journey marked by numerous<br />
achievements.<br />
“Having lived and studied in Christchurch after<br />
relocating from Beijing 21 years ago, by comparison<br />
I found Tauranga incredibly open and inviting,” she<br />
says. “I love working with business owners in the<br />
<strong>Bay</strong> of Plenty – they are warm and knowledgeable<br />
and many of them have become like family to me<br />
over the last 13 years.”<br />
Gracy joined Ingham Mora in August 2022 and<br />
says she is enjoying the team culture and getting<br />
to know her colleagues. “I am also really enjoying<br />
building relationships with the small medium<br />
enterprise (SME) owners. Many are ‘Mum and Dad’<br />
family business owner-operators, which means we<br />
can build more intimate working relationships than<br />
is usual in the corporate sector.”<br />
Gracy is a chartered accountant who holds a<br />
Bachelor of Commerce with first class honours.<br />
She joined Ingham Mora from a ‘big four’ accounting<br />
firm where she had worked her way up over 12<br />
years. She enjoys working with startup business<br />
owners, helping with business structure and<br />
strategy planning matters and adding value to their<br />
businesses.<br />
Most of her clients are family-owned businesses<br />
in retail, horticulture, trade, hospitality and<br />
property investment.<br />
Having been born in Beijing, she can speak<br />
fluent Mandarin. This enables her to translate<br />
and communicate technical and non-technical<br />
messages in Mandarin.<br />
When asked, “What have been your<br />
most significant professional and personal<br />
achievements?”, Gracy is philosophical: “My<br />
entire life has been a progression of significant<br />
achievements,” she says.<br />
“My greatest single achievement is becoming<br />
the person I am today.”<br />
And as far as future achievements may go,<br />
“Ultimately, I’d like to one day make partner at<br />
Ingham Mora. I’d like to help grow the business in<br />
a way that ensures the staff and the clients are<br />
happy,” she says.<br />
On the subject of future long-term personal<br />
8 | <strong>100</strong> – PEOPLE BEHIND BAY BUSINESS | <strong>2023</strong>
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