INTHEBLACK May 2022 - Magazine - Page 32
MEMBER PROFILE
// L E A D E R S & I N N O VAT O R S
After graduation, her first career role was
as a senior auditor for the Tasmanian Audit
Office. She would return to the Tasmanian
Parliament two decades later, working
with the Public Accounts Committee
for the Legislative Council. Both these
government-based roles gave Austin solid
technical experience and enhanced her
communication and negotiation skills –
both strengths she would make continued
use of throughout her career.
During a stint lecturing in accounting
at the University of Tasmania, Austin
discovered she had a love of training
and teaching. This led her to study for
a bachelor of education degree, as well
as an MBA.
Working as a classroom teacher gave
Austin the satisfaction of witnessing
students’ “lightbulb moments” and knowing
she had contributed to the new knowledge
they had just gained. In education, as in
humanitarian work, capacity building
has been a powerful motivator for her.
NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATION
Teaching and lecturing took Austin on short
trips to Malaysia and Singapore, sparking a
yearning to become immersed in a culture by
living in it rather than just passing through.
When her children were aged seven and five,
Austin accepted a job in the United Arab
Emirates lecturing at the Higher Colleges
of Technology, migrating there with her
family. They would live there for the next
10 years.
Back then, the Dubai stock exchange
was just opening up, and the UAE
Government was working towards more
financial transparency and accountability
in international markets, which warranted
a switch from a traditional paper-based
auditing system to one that met modern
international auditing standards. Austin
was hired by the UAE’s auditor general
to oversee the transition and restructure.
She also developed and implemented a
coaching and mentoring scheme for young
female UAE national graduate auditors.
These women were among the first female
auditors in the UAE and would go on
32 ITB May 2022
Austin with a group
of staff in logistics
and procurement.
WORKING AS A CLASSROOM
TEACHER GAVE AUSTIN THE
SATISFACTION OF WITNESSING
STUDENTS’ “LIGHTBULB
MOMENTS” AND KNOWING SHE
HAD CONTRIBUTED TO THE NEW
KNOWLEDGE THEY HAD JUST
GAINED. IN EDUCATION, AS IN
HUMANITARIAN WORK, CAPACITY
BUILDING HAS BEEN A POWERFUL
MOTIVATOR FOR HER.
to achieve great success in the public
sector, becoming role models for the next
generation of women in finance. Austin
remains in contact with them all, and
counts the program among the biggest
impacts she has made during her career.
By the time the family returned home
to Australia in 2010, Austin’s reputation
for technical financial management, as
well as international accounting and
auditing standards, had established her
as a sought-after consultant. She took on
projects with Deloitte for the US Agency
for International Development (USAID) in