Our People
Amin Islam
Partner
Assurance & Advisory Business Services
Amin has over 35 years of audit, accounting, insolvency and taxation experience. He joined Ernst & Young’s Darwin Office (now Merit Partners) in 1988 direct from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Before coming to Australia in 1982 he worked in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. For the past 22 years he has worked with various Aboriginal organisations and is the audit partner responsible for a number of Aboriginal audits in the Northern Region of Australia. Amin has also conducted a number of special reviews for ATSIC and other funding bodies.
With wide exposure to government accounting systems and accounting requirements, he is an authorised auditor for the Auditor-General of the Northern Territory and a current panel member of Risk Management Services.
Rosemary Campbell
Partner
Taxation & Business Services
r.campbell@meritpartners.com.au
Rosemary has over 25 years experience in providing advice on federal and state taxation, financial and business matters. She joined Ernst & Young’s Darwin Office (now Merit Partners) in 1988 having graduated from Townsville, Queensland. Areas of particular expertise include tax planning advice, restructuring issues, capital gains tax and GST. Rosemary has serviced clients from a broad spectrum of industries, from building and construction to professional services firms and from tourism and hospitality to all levels of government.
Matthew Kennon
Partner
Assurance & Advisory Business Services
Matthew has over 13 years experience in performing statutory and non-statutory financial statement audits for public companies, government departments, private companies and incorporated associations. He joined Ernst & Young’s Darwin Office (now Merit Partners) in 1995 and is highly regarded for the work he undertakes for all levels of government. Matthew also has experience performing financial statement, compliance, internal and probity audits as well as financial statement preparation.
Steven Lai
Partner
Taxation & Business Services
Steven has over 15 years experience in providing financial, management and income tax advice to all types of clients in the Northern Territory. Working across a variety of business structures he specialises in Aboriginal Associations and Corporations. Areas of particular expertise include providing advice on remuneration planning, fringe benefits tax for not-for-profit and government organisations, tax planning advice to SMEs and restructuring issues.
David Gomez
Principal
Assurance & Advisory Business Services
David is an accountant and lawyer with over 20 years of professional experience in both the private and public sectors in Darwin. He has considerable experience in external and internal audit, risk management and corporate regulation.
David joined Merit Partners in 2005 as the senior manager in the Audit and Assurance section. Prior to joining Merit Partners he was a lawyer with the Australian Governments Solicitor’s Office (“AGS”). He has held previous positions the Director of Operations at the NT Regional Office of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and as the State Manager of Fraud Prevention and Internal Audit for the Commonwealth Department of Employment Education and Training & Youth Affairs (DEETYA) in Darwin. In these roles he undertook and supervised a number of major investigations that have led to successful briefs to the DPP. He also has five years of previous experience as an external auditor and insolvency accountant with PKF Darwin.
Simon Coulter
Principal
Taxation & Business Services
s.coulter@meritpartners.com.au
Simon is a Principal in our Tax and Business Services division, with over 12 years experience as an accountant and lawyer. During this time Simon has practiced as a solicitor with one of Australia’s major law firms and also practiced as a sole practitioner.
Simon has extensive experience in providing advice to clients on technical tax matters and complex commercial disputes. Simon has had considerable experience in providing advice on appropriate structures to undertake property developments. In addition to this Simon has assisted clients in managing risk and protecting assets.
Candice Thomson
Senior Manager
Assurance & Advisory Business Services
c.thomson@meritpartners.com.au
Candice has over 11 years experience in providing a range of services in both the public and private sectors. Areas of particular expertise include controlling, planning and completing statutory and non-statutory financial statement audits, internal audits, compliance audits and financial management reviews. Candice has wide exposure to government accounting systems and accounting requirements and is an authorised auditor for the Auditor-General of the Northern Territory.
Elisabeth Tan
Manager
Assurance & Advisory Business Services
Elisabeth is a Manager in the Assurance and Advisory Business Services in our Darwin Office. She joined Ernst & Young Darwin in February 2000 and transferred to Merit Partners in 2004. She has worked on various projects and obtained experience in a range of audit assignments.
She has gained experience in planning and completion of statutory and non-statutory financial statement audits for public companies, local governments, private companies and incorporated associations.
Elisabeth has been involved in the audits of a number of Northern Territory Auditor-General assignments and has had a wide exposure to government accounting systems and accounting requirements.
Valentin Markez
Manager
Assurance & Advisory Business Services
Valentin has over 8 years experience in undertaking both internal and external audits. He joined Merit Partners in 2005 after over 4 years experience in Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen in Argentina. Areas of particular expertise include limited review of financial statements, financial reporting, compliance audits and internal control reviews. Valentin has worked across various industries including the service sector, not-for-profit, oil and gas, tourism and healthcare.
Lawrence Autencio
Manager
Assurance and Advisory Business Services
l.autencio@meritpartners.com.au
Lawrence has over 15 years of audit experience, having spent 13 years with EY Philippines and over two years with Merit Partners. Whilst with Ernst & Young he had exposure to a wide range of industries including automotives, real estate, construction, securities and brokerage, financial, lending institutions and consumer products. He also participated in support engagements, such as equity offerings, acquisition audits, and financial due diligence reviews; internal control reviews; review of financial forecasts; review of annual reports and comfort letters.
Raul David
Assistant Manager
Assurance and Advisory Business Services
Raul joined Merit Partners in May 2006, after four years’ experience in International Professional Audit/Financial Services Firms in the Philippines. Raul has considerable experience in both external and internal audit and liaising with clients from various industries to assist with meeting their accounting and audit requirements. His industry expertise includes public listed companies, manufacturing firms, profit and not for profit entities, financial and educational institutions.
Tamara O’Sullivan
Senior Manager
Taxation & Business Services
t.osullivan@meritpartners.com.au
Tamara is a Senior Manager with Merit Partners’ Tax and Business Services division, and has over ten years of experience in professional accounting firms.
Tamara has considerable experience in compliance and advisory services in relation to income tax, FBT, salary packaging and employment taxes, GST and international taxes. Such experience has been gained from working with private and public sector clients, including local and Federal government departments and government-owned entities, not-for-profit entities and multinational corporations.
Tamara is also experienced in financial and management accounting, and has managed and reported on the financial affairs of several remote indigenous community stores including Centrelink’s Income Management programs.
In addition to working in professional accounting firms, Tamara has worked as a consultant on an International Tax Desk in New Zealand, as a Tax Manager of a State-owned utility corporation and as a Finance Manager of a government-owned entity managing remote indigenous community stores.
Narelle Crichton
Senior Manager
Taxation & Business Services
n.crichton@meritpartners.com.au
Narelle has over 10 years experience in providing advice on taxation and financial business matters. Areas of particular expertise include preparing and reviewing financial statements, income tax returns, fringe benefits tax returns, business activity statements and income activity statements. Narelle has worked with government, private companies, trusts, partnerships, superannuation funds and incorporated associations.
Sandrina Disney
Manager
Taxation & Business Services
Sandrina is a Manager in the Tax & Business Services division of Merit Partners.
Sandrina has seven years experience in the provision of taxation, accounting and general business advisory services to a broad range of small, medium and large clients. Sandrina’s expertise is in the areas of financial and management accounting, income tax compliance and general financial advisory work.
Kim Johnson
Assistant Manager
Taxation & Business Services
k.johnson@meritpartners.com.au
Kim is an Assistant Manager with Merit Partners; she has gained experience in the preparation and completion of non-statutory financial statements for partnership, trusts, private companies and self-managed superannuation funds. She also has experience in the preparation and lodgement of income tax returns for individuals, partnerships, companies, self-managed superannuation funds and trusts.
She has recently gained her accreditation with MYOB and is able to assist in the comprehensive and productive use of this accounting software in most service organisations.
Tania Senga
Assistant Manager
Taxation & Business Services
Tania is an Assistant Manager, she has over eight years experience in the provision of taxation, accounting and general business advisory services to a broad range of small, medium and large clients. Tania’s expertise is in the area’s of financial and management accounting, income tax compliance, general taxation advisory work and general financial advisory work.
Prior to joining Merit Partners, Tania worked for four and a half years at another Big 4 Chartered Accountancy firm in the Taxation & Business Services Division.