Management accounting conference - speakers

Ray Gunston FCPA 
Chief Financial Officer

Ray Gunston joined the Tatts Group as Chief Financial Officer in 2000. As well as financial management, he is responsible for functions including human resources, property, procurement, financing, corporate strategy and planning, financial reporting and investor relations. He has corporate and financial services experience in the public and private sectors, specialising in finance, taxation and accounting. His previous roles include Director – Resources, Westpac Banking Corporation; Director, Westpac Risk Advisory Services; General Manager – Strategic Projects, Aluminium Smelters of Victoria; General Manager, – Finance and Administration, Aluminium Smelters of Victoria and Associate Director – Management Consulting, Price Waterhouse.

Anne La Fontaine FCPA
South Pacific Finance Director, Hewlett Packard

Anne La Fontaine is responsible for the finance team at Hewlett Packard (HP), oversees administration teams and is steward of HP Australia and New Zealand’s assets. Anne was previously Financial Planning and Reporting Director, HP Asia Pacific and managed compliance and reporting for 14 countries. Planning and reporting areas included revenue accounting, Sarbanes Oxley and global functions. Previous senior management roles include Asia-Pacific Controller for HP Leasing and Director and Company Secretary for HP entities within the South Pacific. Anne has experience as Payroll Manager, Project Manager and Accounting Transaction Manager.

Vasundara Srenivas CPA  
Chief Financial Officer, Boeing Defence Australia 

Vasundara Srenivas leads financial, contractual and business management operations for Boeing Australia, and sets the strategic direction and management framework for contracts and pricing, taxation, and financial planning and analysis. Vasundara has a broad background in finance and experience as a leader in strategic financial management and profitability maximisation. She is committed to cross-functional relationship-building and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a double Masters qualification in Commerce and Business Administration. She is also a qualified cost accountant

Todd Perkins CPA
Finance Manager and Controller – Upstream Australia, Shell Development Australia

Todd Perkins joined the Shell Group in 1993 and has held several finance roles in the upstream and downstream sectors in Australia, Papua New Guinea, the United Kingdom and Oman. Todd is responsible for the financial reporting of statutory accounts and group results, annual business planning cycles and budgeting, compliance, governance risk and assurance activities, treasury and joint venture reporting. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Director of several Shell companies.

Peter Barker FCPA
Chief Financial Officer, Computershare Group

Peter Barker began his career at Ernst & Young and held regional and global financial roles with Amdahl, Cisco Systems and BHP Billiton before joining Computershare. Peter was appointed Chief Financial Officer in January 2009.

Andrew Gay
Chief Financial Officer, Australia and New Zealand, Transfield Services

Andrew has a strong and diverse background, with more than 20 years of financial experience in senior leadership and consulting roles in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. He has broad sector experience across property, petroleum, telecommunications, manufacturing and financial services, coupled with a strong chartered accounting background. Andrew is currently the Chief Financial Officer, ANZ with Transfield Services. Prior to joining Transfield, he has held senior roles at Barclays Bank, KPMG, Australand and Vodafone.

Tracey Jones
Manager – Production Division, Woodside Energy

Tracy Jones joined Woodside in 2004 and has worked in areas including management accounting, group reporting and planning and analysis. Tracy shares management of the finance discipline capability, development and recruitment activities. She previously worked with Cadbury Schweppes and held finance roles at Robe River Mining (Part of Rio Tinto Group) and WMC Resource. Tracy holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Administration.

Ian Wells CPA
Group Manager – Funding, Fortescue Metals

Before joining Fortescue in June 2010, Ian Wells was the Chief Financial Officer of Jemena Limited, one of Australia’s largest owners and operators of energy infrastructure. Ian was the Acting Chief Financial Officer of Alinta Limited when it was acquired by the Babcock and Brown, Singapore Power Consortium in 2007. He has held senior finance roles in the healthcare industry.

Luke Austtin
Chief Financial Officer and Operations Director, Lenovo Australia and New Zealand

Luke Austin was reappointed Chief Financial Officer of Lenovo Australia and New Zealand in March 2009 after spending two years in Singapore supporting the Asia-Pacific region. Luke oversaw the financial management of Lenovo Japan until October 2010, and now oversees the operational management for Australia and New Zealand. He has 10 years’ experience in the information technology industry and was previously Divisional Controller for IBM Personal Computing Division Australia and New Zealand. Luke started his career with a six-year tenure at Arthur Andersen

Professor Paul Simshauser CPA
Chief Economist and Group Head of Corporate Affairs, AGL Energy

Paul Simshauser joined AGL Energy in 2008. He is responsible for regulated pricing, economic policy and sustainability, energy regulation, government affairs and emerging technology. Paul has 20 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is an Australian Financial Markets Association Accredited Dealer and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Paul is Professor of Finance at Griffith University’s Business School, and his work on energy economics is widely-published in academic journals. He has held senior executive positions at Stanwell Corporation, NewGen Power and Babcock and Brown. Paul holds Bachelor Degrees in Economics and in Commerce, a Masters Degree in Accounting and Finance and a PhD in Economics.