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Meet Shelby Earl - Principal, Ballarat
In our latest edition of Careers and Conversations, we chat to Shelby, Principal in the Audit & Assurance division in Ballarat.
Being a part of RSM's regional audit practice means no two days are the same. Get to know what inspires Shelby, the perks of living in a regional area, and her plans for the post-COVID-19 world.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN AUDIT & ASSURANCE? WHAT ARE COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
I celebrated 6 years with RSM in the Ballarat Audit & Assurance Division in May 2022. Working in external audit means no two days or locations are the same and it’s been a fantastic experience building up our regional audit presence across Australia. The past 6 years have been a challenge, but oh so rewarding for my career.
As a Principal in the audit division, I think the biggest misconception people have when you hear the word audit is that we are there to catch people and organisations out.
While we do ask a lot of questions, our goal is to work with organisations. We perform a range of procedures in accordance with auditing standards, which forms the basis of our audit opinion about whether financial reports comply with relevant legislative requirements.
There is a whole heap of reasons why an organisation may need an audit, and 9 times out of 10 it isn’t for a bad reason.
WHAT DID YOU DO PREVIOUSLY? WHAT LED YOU DOWN THIS PARTICULAR CAREER PATH?
Before I hit the professional scene - growing up in a rural country town, I whipped up coffees at the Dunolly Bakery (a must stop for a vanilla slice) and then over the summer months during harvest, I worked as a grain sampler.
Since then, I’ve been in external audit starting as a fresh-eyed vacation student in Melbourne back in 2012.
With a love of numbers, meeting new people and travel, my career calling was answered with audit. Actually, that's a lie – as a vacation student I was offered an audit or tax position and I definitely didn’t want to be doing tax returns - so audit it was.
While working in audit I’ve continued to study and during this time I’ve completed my Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Quantitative Business Analysis), Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting, became a Registered Company Auditor and also just gained accreditation as an External Examiner with the Law Society of New South Wales and the Victorian Legal Services Board.
HAVE YOU WORKED OVERSEAS (OR OTHER PARTS OF AUSTRALIA)? IF YES, WHAT WAS IT LIKE?
While I’m very lucky to travel for work, this has been around Australia only and has not yet taken me overseas.
I have multiple clients all around regional Australia, so it’s not uncommon for me to be jetting off to the Central Coast, Hunter Valley, Riverina, Western Districts, and the Mallee for work. I also work closely with the Sydney, Gosford, Albury, and Wagga Wagga offices and it’s been great to get back to visiting my clients and colleagues this year with borders reopening.
WHO HAS INFLUENCED YOU AND WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
In a nutshell, my world revolves around my family and friends. My parents gave my sister and I such a great upbringing and every day I want to make them proud. Also, my pop Joe. He would have to be hands down the most hardworking, loyal, and loving gentleman I have ever come across – nothing beats a cuppa and hearing his stories on a Sunday afternoon.
Having this growing up, I’m inspired to build our own version. My husband, Nick, and I have started this with a beautiful home and our cavoodle fur-baby Lily. Born on Christmas day last year, she’s growing up too fast!
TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU... YET.
My sporting career literally ended with a bang. I was lucky enough to play in my 200th club netball game with the Dunolly Football Netball Club last year only to snap my Achilles in the first centre pass of the 3rd quarter. While I was planning on quietly retiring after the game, at least now I have a good story to tell. 200 games is a pretty solid innings - although in hindsight, I'm not sure the pain and recovery were worth it!
IN THIS COVID-19 WORLD, WHERE ARE YOU NEXT LOOKING AT GOING ON A HOLIDAY?
My husband tells me I’ve gone overboard with holidays this year! I currently have trips booked to the Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, and Port Douglas.
Living in Ballarat, it's always a good idea to escape the cold and getaway in the winter months - or hit the slopes so at least being cold has a good reason.
I’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of overseas travel in before the pandemic hit, although I can’t wait to get back into adventures. I'm thinking of white water rafting in New Zealand or sipping on a good Chianti in Tuscany.
WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF PROFESSIONAL ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
‘Don’t ever think working in a regional area is a step down’. I received this advice after I decided city life wasn’t for me and haven’t looked back. Working regionally has enabled me to get where I am today. How great is it that we can work for the 6th largest accounting network in the world, and bring that knowledge and specialisation to our regional and rural clients? Also living 7 minutes from the office is a great perk!
