General News
17 November, 2022
Success for Shelby in auditing field
The numbers are adding up to success for local auditor Shelby Earl who secured a nomination for a prestigious financial award. A finalist in the national Women in Finance Award 2022 — Auditor of the Year category, Ms Earl was placed among the...
The numbers are adding up to success for local auditor Shelby Earl who secured a nomination for a prestigious financial award.
A finalist in the national Women in Finance Award 2022 — Auditor of the Year category, Ms Earl was placed among the industry’s best at the event which took place on November 3 in Sydney.
For her, winning isn’t the most important. Rather, she said, the opportunity to attend as a nominee was significant too.
“It was pretty cool, that I even got to go. It’s something I take a lot of pride in,” Ms Earl said.
Having grown up in Dunolly, she finished her schooling in Maryborough before she moved to Ballarat after university.
She said this time spent growing up in regional Victoria was vital to get to where she is now — working for the sixth largest accounting firm in the world.
“I think one of the biggest things I’ve taken away is that coming from a small regional town doesn’t limit your abilities if you’re willing to put in the hard work,” Ms Earl said.
“My school teachers and other people I’ve met, they’ve all been willing and able to help me get to where I wanted to be in my career. I couldn’t have done it without that upbringing as well.
“And I think in a regional sense, throughout high school, I worked at the Dunolly bakery and built those skills — being able to talk to people and assist them has certainly helped shape my role as an auditor. It means that now I can effectively communicate with my clients as well.”
Apart from getting the best out of small towns, Ms Earl has also confidently ventured into a traditionally male-dominated space.
“Generally, this has been a profession filled with men and so it’s important to recognise the female contribution in the field, which is what the award is trying to do. I guess it’s really about embracing women in their roles,” she said.
“I know in my team, in any audit, the roles are starting to reverse. I guess there’s a lot more women coming through, which is really good to see. So there are definitely no limitations now, if you’re a female, you get every opportunity that our male counterpart does at the firm.”
Both as a woman, and a previous local resident, Ms Earl says the key to achieving your dreams is to not give up.
“Just because you come from a small town doesn’t mean that you have any less skills, if not you’ve probably got more,” she said.
“So keep chasing your dreams and ask for help, that’s one of the biggest things. Because there’s so many people that are willing to help. They want to see you succeed, you just have to reach out and ask for it.”