Investor Presentaiton

JO CARLESSO, CPA Charles Darwin University Member since 2009 die had sa If in my teens, a little birdie had sat on my shoulder and whispered that I would one day become a CPA, I would have raised my eyebrow completely perplexed by the foretelling. This time of my life was dominated by pursuits in fashion, fitness, and friendships. So, without too much encouragement, I embarked on an extensive stint in the fashion industry, followed by a spell in the fitness and recreation industry, interspersed with multiple social occasions. It was during this time that I developed a deep appreciation for the conscientious hard work of small business owners. This was because - at the time - news stories and conversations were dominated by high unemployment, high interest rates, and the loss of many manufacturing jobs. As a consequence, I was stirred to better understand the economic and business world we lived in. It is 1996, I'm married and living in the US; my husband a lecturer in Aerospace Studies at the University of St Thomas and I've got a lot of time on my hands and an insatiable curiosity about the economic world. Without too much delay, I enrol and am accepted into the University of Minnesota into a business degree program. Returning to Australia in 1998 and settling into Alice Springs, I discover there is a university in town. What luck! I enthusiastically march into the University office, proudly prepared with my transcript in hand; I begin the process of transferring credits and enrolling in a business degree program. Accounting is still not on the radar. with the encouragement of my accounting lecturer, I During my first year, I noticed I was topping my accounting and economics classes. Mmmmm selected classes that would qualify me for membership as a CPA. While still completing my degree, I obtain work in the Accounting profession; tax returns, audit work, and generating financial statements. A few years after graduating, I am offered a finance position at Charles Darwin University and am encouraged to become a CPA. The University continues to encourage me, not as a student anymore, but as an employee. Today, I'm the Finance Business Manager at the Alice Springs Campus of Charles Darwin University. I provide critical advice and support to our work units and stakeholders. Furthermore, I see firsthand, the meaningful role education brings to enhance the quality of life of our students and the positive results that roll onto the local economy and beyond. Remarkably, my interest in fashion, fitness and friendships has not diminished in the slightest. I have just added another energising interest - I'm a CPA. BE HEARD. BE RECOGNISED. CPA AUSTRALIA

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