TaxSmart Cafe duo navigate studied routes to success

A 90-degree turn from healthcare to financial health turned out to be a winning move for Isagani Manaois of TaxSmart Cafe, who was named Property Specialist Accountant of the Year at the recent Australian Accounting Awards. "When I moved to Australia I started studying accounting because of the flexibility," he said, after the 24-hour shift work of nursing had taken its toll. It was a double win for TaxSmart Cafe and for Filipino migrants, with colleague Joynivee Chua winning the award for Accounting Support Staff of the Year. Like Mr Manaois, Ms Chua studied to help her move but she began with a degree in computer science before making the switch. "It took a while, but I finally got an opportunity to start studying accounting," she said, after her software nous helped TaxSmart Cafe embrace a whole range of financial software. "I finished cert four in accounting and bookkeeping and now I'm continuing an accounting degree."