Governance
Corporate Governance - HEPCO Board
Rob Thomason, Chair
Rob has over 30 years’ experience working in education, consulting, and executive development, in Australia and internationally.
VETASSESS is Australia’s leading independent skills assessing agency working with the public and private sector in qualification recognition and employment verification of citizens from over 150 countries. Previously, Rob was Group Executive, Membership and Education with CPA Australia, with responsibility for all their education activities. Prior to that, he was responsible for CPA Australia’s business development and new market entry. Rob has held several senior roles in education over the past three decades, having commenced his career in education management in TVET.
He has worked with and for TAFE colleges, professional associations, universities, and the private sector. He has business development experience in China, India and South Asia, South East Asia, the Gulf, the Pacific, UK and the USA. Rob has been a strong proponent of Australia’s engagement with Asia and was one of a small number of New Colombo Plan Business Champions appointed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has also been a vocal advocate for skilled migration.
Rob worked with Fairfax Media, one of Australia’s largest media organisations and was Director, Executive Education with the Melbourne Business School. Rob has held many directorships including the US-based International University Consortium for Executive Education, a successful Australian Financial Services RTO and the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort.
Marg Marshall, CTA, Director
Marg Marshall, CTA, is a Partner at WLF Accounting & Advisory in Hobart. She has over 25 years experience in tax advisory at a technical level. Marg advises clients of all types from individuals to large, listed entities, specialising particularly in transaction and structuring advice, capital gains tax, not-for-profit tax concessions and deceased estates. She has been a member of the Tasmanian State Council since 2013. Marg is on The Tax Institute’s National Council and is also chair of The Tax Summit Program Committee. She is also a member and past Tasmanian regional councillor of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. She regularly participates in tax law consultations and often presents for The Tax Institute.
Chris Patton, Director
Chris has worked at the University of British Columbia, University of Guelph, Simon Fraser University, the University of Wollongong, the University of New England, Southern Cross University, and at Navitas conducting courses on behalf of La Trobe University. He is currently Principal and Founder of McKay Patton Advisory Pty Ltd, a Principal Advisor for Wells Advisory Pty Ltd and formerly a vice president at UNE and SCU for 10 years where he was responsible for functions such as student enrolment growth, marketing, student housing, planning, business development and entrepreneurship.
Chris has experience launching, leading or controlling several third-party higher education operations onshore and internationally. He was centrally involved in launching “SCU Online” postgraduate programs with Keypath Australia. Based on over almost two decades’ experience in Australian higher education, Chris understands the challenges and the emerging operating and governing risks for Australian higher education providers.
Dr. David Bond, Director
David is the Director of Online Programs at the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW. With a background in accounting and analytics, he has published in journals including the British Accounting Review, the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and Accounting & Finance. He has served as the Deputy Editor on Accounting & Finance and is a current Associate Editor on Accounting Education. He currently sits on a number of boards, including the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, Women Sport Australia and Sydney Rugby Union. In addition, he is a Vice President At-Large for the International Association for Accounting Education & Research, is a member of the ACCA’s Education Global Forum and is also a member of the National Sports Research Agenda Advisory Group. He has previously held the position of Academic Fellow at the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation in London.
Jerome Tse, CTA, Director
Jerome is a Partner at King & Wood Mallesons, specialising in taxation disputes and litigation. Jerome advises corporate taxpayers on all aspects of Australian tax disputes, from the audit and independent review stage, through to High Court litigation. He also guides clients through alternative dispute resolution processes, advance pricing agreements and mutual agreement procedures.
Todd Want, CTA, Director
Todd is a Director at William Buck and brings over 15 years’ experience to his role in the Tax Services division. Todd specialises in SME tax matters and advises clients on a broad range of tax issues such as CGT, advice relating to structuring and restructuring, the tax consequences of acquisitions and divestments, small business CGT concessions, Div 7A, property matters, taxation of trusts and tax risk management.
Academic Governance - Academic Board
Dr. David Bond, Chair
David is the Director of Online Programs at the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW. With a background in accounting and analytics, he has published in journals including the British Accounting Review, the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and Accounting & Finance. He has served as the Deputy Editor on Accounting & Finance and is a current Associate Editor on Accounting Education. He currently sits on a number of boards, including the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, Women Sport Australia and Sydney Rugby Union. In addition, he is a Vice President At-Large for the International Association for Accounting Education & Research, is a member of the ACCA’s Education Global Forum and is also a member of the National Sports Research Agenda Advisory Group. He has previously held the position of Academic Fellow at the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation in London.
Domenic Carbone, CTA, Member
Domenic has been a full-time lecturer primarily in taxation law since joining The University of Adelaide. He lectures tax courses at both undergraduate and graduate level, as well as business law in the University's MBA Program. His background in taxation law extends beyond academia and includes experience in both the private and public sectors. Prior to his appointment as a lecturer, Domenic was a Tax Manager with a "Big 6" accounting firm where he was mainly involved in the tax consulting, tax audit and indirect tax areas. Domenic had previously worked for several years in the Australian Tax Office where he held a number of positions, including Legal Officer, Appeals and Review Officer and Personal Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation.
Rupert Cheong, CTA, Member
Rupert was a Corpus Christi student before graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Business Law, with honours in business Taxation. He also completed the Master of Taxation at Curtin University with a high distinction average. Rupert has an extensive accounting background of over 20 years, assisting his clients in a variety of practices including Deloitte, Moore Stephens and Grant Thornton Australia. He owns and operates Alpha Accountancy Services, providing income tax and business services advice to businesses and high net wealth individuals.
Hansini De Fonseka, Student Representative
Originally from the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, my journey in Australia began in 2014 when I first arrived on a scholarship to pursue my bachelor’s degree at the University of Wollongong. I had a relentless passion for accounting and finance, which helped me to excel in my academics. This later led to an admission to the Dean’s Merit list and an offer to be part of the prestigious Dean’s scholar program. My keen interest in the Australian taxation system and legislation grew when I started working in public practice whilst becoming qualified as a CPA. I relocated to Adelaide in 2020 and have since been working in the business advisory division of a reputed mid-tier accounting firm. Over the years, I have gathered invaluable exposure to a broad and diverse range of clients, giving me the opportunity to explore and experience the complexities of tax legislation at length. I am currently enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law program offered by the Tax Institute Higher Education.
Dr Bronwyn McCredie
Dr Bronwyn McCredie is a Senior Lecturer and the Postgraduate Subject Area Co-ordinator in the School of Accountancy at the QUT Business School. She holds a PhD in Finance and the University medal from the University of Newcastle, and as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from Queensland University of Technology. She is a Chartered Accountant (CA), a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), an affiliate of the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA), the Chair of the Tax Special Interest Group at AFAANZ, the Treasurer of ATTA, and a member of FIRN. Dr McCredie’s research on financial law, taxation and regulation has been published in Australian and international journals and edited books. Her current research focuses on identifying and measuring tax aggressive behaviour, the OECD BEPS program and resultant tax transparency legislation, and the efficacy of director trading and human slavery legislation.
Dr. Elizabeth Morton, FTI
Elizabeth is a Lecturer in the School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain (AISSC) at RMIT University and Research Fellow seconded to the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub. Elizabeth currently coordinates and teaches undergraduate taxation in the Bachelor of Business degree. Elizabeth has taught across the commerce discipline throughout her academic career, developed course content, co-authored an Australian tax textbook and produced a tax podcast series. Elizabeth is also an active researcher traversing both the accounting and taxation systems, focusing on blockchain and related technologies, information disclosure and tax compliance. Her research is published in peer-reviewed academic and professional tax journals; and, Elizabeth also appears in podcasts and webinars. Elizabeth has received awards in both teaching and research activities. Prior to academia, Elizabeth worked as an accountant in small business taxation in regional Victoria.
Dr Sharon Smulders, PhD (Tax), Chartered Accountant (SA) - Academic Director (ex-offico member)
Sharon is appointed as the Academic Director at The Tax Institute Higher Education where she is responsible for monitoring the quality of teaching, student progress as well as managing and reviewing academic issues and ensuring quality outcomes. Sharon is a qualified Chartered Accountant (South Africa), Professor Extraordinaire and published author. Her various leadership roles included her being primarily responsible for tax advocacy at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the South African Institute of Taxation where she contributed to the development of tax policy and legislation in South Africa. Before joining SAICA she was an Associate Professor at the University of South Africa (the largest open distance learning institution in Africa) and at the University of Pretoria. In both these roles she lectured taxation on under/post-graduate levels and ensured appropriate student progress and quality academic outcomes. Prior to joining academia, Sharon was a manager in the taxation department of Deloitte.
Andrew Sommer, CTA, Member
Andrew is a specialist in indirect taxation. Andrew started in tax at a major accounting firm over 25 years ago and moved to Clayton Utz in 1998. He was involved in GST implementation and has advised on all aspects of GST, including financial services, property, government and M&A. In addition, Andrew advises on FBT, land tax, payroll tax and transfer pricing matters. He has been involved in a wide range of contentious matters across different taxes and different jurisdictions. Andrew has taught masters courses in GST and has written numerous articles and papers on different aspects of the GST.