PrimeAccounting, PrimeWealth, PrimeAudit, ThePrimeAdvisoryGroup, Chatswood, NSW, Australia

CEO

Shortly after Christian graduated and began his career as an accountant, he realised that he didn't want to be "just a number on someone's payroll". Working for a large traditional corporate where there were seven other junior graduates all doing the same thing, being rewarded the same way regardless of how good their work was and working far, far away from the clients, just didn't cut the mustard for him.

He wanted more. He really wanted to know that what he did on a daily basis made a difference.

As he built up his own tax compliance practice, Christian took on staff and realised he was now not only responsible for making a difference in his clients' lives, but also for his staff members. This has been something that's stayed with him as his business has grown, changed and merged ultimately to become ThePrimeAdvisoryGroup (formerly Primewealth).

The business has changed significantly since Christian first opened his doors, mainly through diversification first into financial planning and now business coaching as well as tapping into other people's expertise. In his almost 20 years in business, Christian and the other TPAG directors, have gained a level of business experience and expertise that they believe is missing in the vast majority of accounting and financial services firms today.

Christian believes traditional accountants can only really report on history. "Sure, they've learned all the theories and had jobs, but nothing in accounting and finance training equips one to run a business or offer the kind of business advice ThePrimeAdvisoryGroup can. That only comes with experience of really growing your own business to a size where it's larger than its owners."

Of utmost importance to Christian is that clients of ThePrimeAdvisoryGroup feel they've got a partner. "So many people in small and medium businesses truly have no-one to talk to, often not even their spouse really understands what they're going through. Running a business truly is the road less travelled and to have a partner who understands the twists and turns of that road and who can help navigate is valuable beyond measure."

Christian still gets a huge buzz from uncovering what's really going in a client's business and then finding an "innovative fix". According to Christian, to be able to "sit down with a client and help them solve their business issues, set their goals and then in a year, look back at what they've achieved  - to make that level of lasting impact is just awesome!"