TMNZ Strategic Advisor Chris Cunniffe celebrates 40 years of CA ANZ membership.
Chris Cunniffe FCA didn’t plan a career in tax. Forty years later, he’s glad it found him.
At school, Chris was choosing between journalism and accounting. Strong at maths, accounting won. A bursary with Inland Revenue sealed it – covering university fees, holiday work and a role when he qualified. More importantly, it introduced him to tax.
“I fell in love with tax,” he says. “Every time I wondered about leaving Inland Revenue, I got a new role, so decided to stay a bit longer.”
He joined at a pivotal time. The mid-1980s brought sweeping reform to New Zealand’s economy – FBT, GST, changes to international tax. For a young tax professional, there was no shortage of complex, consequential work.
From 13-column ledgers to instant downloads
The tools have changed. The purpose hasn’t. Chris recalls auditing businesses where accounts were kept in handwritten, 13-column paper ledgers. Investigations meant working through bags of invoices, manually locating individual cheques in bank storehouses to trace how money had been spent.
“It was very manual, very slow,” he says.
Today, data downloads in moments. Automation has freed accountants from the repetitive work that once consumed their days. But Chris sees technology as an enabler – not the point of the profession.
His first accounting lecture was led by Professor Don Trow FCA, who described accountants as communicators. That message has stayed with Chris ever since.
“Your job is to communicate. It’s less about, ‘Do my numbers balance?’ and more about, ‘What story are my numbers telling?'”
Whether in business, advisory, banking or government, accountants help people understand performance, make decisions and meet their obligations. That role is still essential. The tools just keep changing.
The community within the community
For Chris, the CA designation represents more than a professional qualification. It carries a responsibility – to uphold standards, contribute to the public interest and build trust across the tax system.
Over the years he has worked at Inland Revenue, Air New Zealand, BNZ and TMNZ. In that time Chris has had a ring side seat to some interesting and challenging business events. From the deregulation of the economy and the explosion in new tax law in the mid-80s, to the winebox enquiry at IRD, Air New Zealand’s government bailout following the collapse of Ansett in 2001, and working at BNZ during the GFC, each role he has taken has presented its share of opportunities and challenges.
Since the early 2000s, Chris has also served on the CA ANZ Tax Advisory Group, giving him a close view of the profession’s role in policy and advocacy.
“One of the unique things about the Tax Advisory Group work is that we act in the public interest. We’re not an advocacy group for our members.”
That principle matters. It means supporting changes that improve the system – even where those changes might reduce compliance work that members could otherwise charge for.
Chris also values the relationships built over four decades. The New Zealand profession is close-knit, he says – mutual respect between people who may at different times represent the regulator, a client, a bank or a business.
“There are a bunch of people I’d happily sit and have a coffee with. People for whom you have immense personal and professional respect.”
For aspiring CAs, his advice is simple: get involved. CA ANZ offers many ways to find your professional community – regional groups, special interest groups and more.
“Find the bit that relates to you and get involved. You will find the community within the wider community.”
Improving the system, together
Chris’s career has been closely linked to TMNZ’s journey. He was at the Tax Advisory Group meeting in 2001 when tax pooling was first discussed. He later worked with TMNZ as a client while at BNZ, before joining the business to lead it for 12 years. Today, as Strategic Advisor, he’s still in it.
As CA ANZ’s exclusive tax pooling partner in New Zealand, TMNZ’s relationship with the professional body feels natural to him – built on a shared commitment to helping accountants and businesses navigate the tax system more effectively.
“We should naturally be alongside each other, working for the betterment of that system.”
That same philosophy shapes his view of TMNZ’s future. Under the leadership of FinTech executive Matt Edwards, TMNZ is investing in technology and innovation to make a valuable tax payment service easier to access and use, so it becomes a regular part of every accountant’s toolkit, for all New Zealand businesses to benefit.
Two milestones. One moment.
Chris is being recognised alongside TMNZ founder Ian Kuperus, who is also marking 40 years of CA ANZ membership this month.
Their careers have intersected in more ways than one: both began at Inland Revenue, both moved into banking, both contributed to the Tax Advisory Group. Chris admires Ian’s willingness to challenge the conventional accountant stereotype.
“He breaks the mould – entrepreneurial in style, broad in his thinking. He asked: how can I make things better? What can I change?”
Chris also has deep respect for Ian’s decision to distribute TMNZ’s profits to registered charity Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation, for a restored Aotearoa.
“It makes it very easy to come to work when your ‘why’ is investment in New Zealand.”
For Chris, the milestone is ultimately about the people who have shared the journey – colleagues, friends, mentors, family.
“It’s immensely satisfying to work with good people. To know you’ve walked this path with people who are good representatives of our profession.”
Forty years on, the profession keeps changing. Its purpose doesn’t: help people understand the story behind the numbers and use that insight to make things better.
We’re proud to be part of that path and excited about what comes next.