About Us
Mr Taxman, aka Adrian Raftery, MBA, B.Bus, FCA, CFP, F Fin, FTIA, MAICD
has almost 20 years experience in providing accounting services and financial advice to businesses and individuals. Being born to Irish immigrants and from a line of 6 generations of bricklayers, helped laid the foundations for the approachable, down to earth nature of Mr Taxman.
Time to drop the shovel and become an accountant
It was during a labouring stint at the age of 15 that Adrian's father gave him two options. Get an education or grab the shovel and wheelbarrow from the back of the ute & become the 7th bricklaying generation ... it didn’t take long for the accountant to emerge!
Whilst working with his father, Adrian would count the exact number of bricks required for each wall. He would make statements like "Dad I've worked out that if you didn't have so many smoke breaks, you could lay an extra 113 bricks exactly per day". It was soon after that his father suggested he drop the shovel and become an accountant.
The makings of Mr Taxman
To put himself through university, Adrian started an accounting cadetship with Pannell Kerr Forster before gaining more exposure as a manager with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. He spent one year fulfilling a dream to work on the stock market as an option trader, before establishing ARW Chartered Accountants in 1997 and AccountantsRus in 2001.
Adrian is also a Certified Financial Planner, holds an MBA and specialises in business planning, financial planning and tax.
Adrian holds a graduate diploma in financial planning and a graduate certificate in Journalism. He is currently doing a PhD Scholarship with the School of Accounting at UTS where his focus of research is Self-Managed Superannuation Funds.
Please don't confuse 'Mr Taxman' with 'The Taxman!'
Despite being called it for years, alot of people confuse Mr Taxman with the ATO.
"Consider 'Mr Taxman' as being the good cop compared to 'The Taxman' as being the bad cop ... a subtle but important difference" says Adrian.
Achievements
- Top 5% of Chartered Accountants in the ICAA's Professional Year Program
- Twice named in Australia's Top 50 Financial Planners in the AFR Personal Investor Magazine's Masterclass (2005-06 and 2006-07)
- One of the youngest to hold the honour of Fellowship with the Institute of Chartered Accountants;
- Founder and former managing director of award-winning practice ARW Chartered Accountants
- Founder and CEO of accountants R us, Australia's leading network of independent accountancy firms.
- Represented the Australian Masters AFL side in 6 International Rules test matches versus Ireland in 2006, 2008 and again in 2009 in front of his Irish relatives in Dublin & Galway.
Charity work
- In November 2007, Adrian ran the New York marathon and was Australia's leading fundraiser for the National Heart Foundation
- Has helped raise funds for other charities including Kids 4 Christmas, the Kokoda Track Foundation, Camp Quality and the Leukaemia Foundation
- Wrote a blog for the 2008 Mother's Day Classic to help raise much needed funds for the National Breast Cancer Council
- In September 2009, Adrian ran the Sydney marathon in a Leprechaun suit raising funds a charity close to his heart, Bears of Hope
Media
Mr Taxman is regularly seen on TV and in the media giving his expert views and has appeared in:
- National Nine News
- A Current Affair
- Sky News
- Woman’s Day
- Australian Financial Review
- The Australian
- Sydney Morning Herald
- The Age
- Daily Telegraph
- Sunday Telegraph
- Business Review Weekly
- Money magazine
- Charter
- Wish
- SuperFunds
- Irish Echo
- The Sunday Times
- Auburn Review
- Parramatta Advertiser
- IFA
- Financial Standard