Māori-owned BDO business advisory launched

Māori-owned BDO business advisory entity driven by kaupapa Māori business model launches in Northland

BDO Pākihi Taitokerau, a majority Māori-owned BDO Māori business advisory entity of BDO Northland, has launched this week to coincide with Matariki.

BDO Pākihi, pākihi being the Māori word for business, will operate through a te ao Māori lens, balancing people, planet and profit to ensure the best outcomes for generations to come, as well as today.

Helping Māori businesses operate sustainably

BDO Pākihi has sustainable outcomes at its heart. Decisions that encompass ESG will underlie the decisions made by the company with kaitiakitanga being a core value. The core Māori value set and decision making process undertaken ensures holistic outcomes are always sought. BDO Pākihi will work with a number of clients, across all sectors and service lines, and will support clients to navigate through their reporting requirements when it comes to climate change. Internally BDO Pākihi has a variety of carbon and waste reduction measures in place and has people volunteering on a number of Northland organisations to enhance and protect te taiao, the environment.

The new entity also works with clients on programmes to help advance Māori in the regions. This includes working with iwi to ensure Māori youth are financially literate and can go into management positions when ready, as well as helping various sectors to improve financial and business literacy.

Helping whānau across Northland succeed

The BDO Pākihi team works with whānau across Northland on a variety of social programmes and partners with a number of organisations. This includes assisting to deliver the Wāhine Mā programme, which helps to empower Māori women in business, supporting businesses post covid, and sponsoring both the Te Tai Tokerau Māori Business Awards and the Youth Enterprise Scheme Māori Business Award. The BDO Pākihi team also volunteers on a number of Boards across Tai Tokerau to support local organisations and sports clubs.

Angela Edwards, Managing Partner of BDO Pākihi Taitokerau and BDO Māori Business Sector Leader, said:

“We know there will always be more to do and we are on a journey when it comes to infusing te ao Māori into every aspect of our business. We are hoping to learn as we go so that we can continually improve, develop internal knowledge around te reo and tikanga and make sure we are serving our communities and the Northland region in the best way possible.

Internally when it comes to our people, we work hard to ensure all our people in BDO Pākihi are valued and heard – we have a child-friendly office space, flexible work, and a comprehensive wellbeing framework in place, and we also make sure all our people have input before business decisions are made.”

Learn more about BDO Pākihi Taitokerau here. BDO Pākihi is part of BDO’s Pākihi Māori – Māori Business team. You can learn more about BDO Pākihi’s services here, as well as its commitment to increasing the number of Māori in the accounting profession through the BDO Sir Henare Ngata Scholarship for Māori accountants here.

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