INTHEBLACK April 2022 - Magazine - Page 74
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// G I V I N G B A C K
Left: Alex Graham FCPA
STORY KATIE LANGMORE
COMMUNITY
CONNECTION
ALEX GRAHAM FCPA’S CONSTANT EFFORTS TOWARDS GIVING BACK
TO HIS COMMUNITY STEM FROM A DEEP-SEATED CONNECTION WITH
HIS HERITAGE AND IDENTITY AS AN INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN.
A
s principal adviser finance business
partnering at Rio Tinto, Alex Graham
FCPA is no stranger to balancing
multiple competing priorities, having had
years of practice in his former role as
management accountant at the Australian
Catholic University, where a large part of his
role was to oversee the financial management
of several campuses across Australia.
On top of his large workload, over the past
few years, Graham has taken on two pro
bono roles. The first is with Hymba Yumba
Independent School (HYIS), a school south
of Brisbane with more than 80 per cent
Indigenous student enrolments. The other is
Murri Watch, an organisation that supports
Indigenous people before, during and after
incarceration.
In his work with Hymba Yumba, Graham
helps the school executive manage the
budget and, as the school is experiencing
burgeoning growth, put governance
structures in place to manage and plan
for its increasing size.
“It’s a great school,” he says. “They’re
working towards getting more and more
year 12 graduates.”
With Murri Watch, Graham sits on the board
of directors and is also chair of the finance
committee, helping to manage grants and
reporting obligations. The organisation is
primarily reliant on grants, so the success of
applications is crucial.
74 ITB April 2022
“Incarceration rates are so high and
so disproportionate that we need to do
everything we can to stop those Murri kids
ending up in the system,” Graham says.
“Murri Watch is fantastic – it has such a
good reputation. It receives requests from
organisations around Australia wanting to
implement similar diversionary and supportive
programs in their community.”
For Graham, a Gubbi Gubbi man, the
mission of both organisations is personal – the
Murris of the region are his mob. He says that,
like for many First Nations people growing up
in urban Australia, to embrace his Indigenous
identity or not is a conscious choice.
“To be true to myself, I have – it’s about
connecting with my community and my
history. Also, when you’ve been in Brisbane
for as long as I have, it’s impossible not to
have those networks and connections with
the community.”
Graham hopes to continue supporting both
organisations, despite his busy work schedule.
“I’d really like to use whatever connections
I have in the business world to help Hymba
Yumba get some sponsorship and grow the
school,” he says.
“And the pro bono work only takes a few
hours of my time each month. To get out
there and help your community isn’t a big
imposition on your time.
“Through my career I’ve been given a lot
of support, so it’s time to give back.”
CLICK HERE
TO ACCESS
CPA Australia’s
resources on
voluntary or pro
bono accounting
services
Hymba Yumba Independent School
(HYIS) is in Springfield, Queensland,
on the traditional land of the Jagera,
Yuggera and Ugarapul people. It
opened in 2011 with 50 students and
today has 40 staff and more than
280 students, 80 per cent of whom
are Indigenous.
hyis.qld.edu.au
Murri Watch is a not-for-profit
organisation based in
Woolloongabba, Queensland. It
delivers a range of sensitive support
services to Indigenous people who
are detained in watchhouses and
youth detention centres or who are
homeless or at risk of homelessness.
murriwatch.org.au