Timaru

James Swaney

James is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant and studied at Lincoln University to gain a BCom, majoring in Accounting, Finance and Information Technology.

James spent over four years working in the motor vehicle industry in Timaru, before becoming a Chartered Accountant.
Looking at the big picture, setting goals and helping clients plan to achieve those goals are what James enjoys most about his job.

When James is not in the office he is usually spending time with his family, and sometimes out on the squash court or race track. James is also a big rugby, cricket and motor sport fan.

Richard Wheeler

Richard has over 20 years of experience, in finance including rural banking, and is now a partner in the accounting industry. He holds a BCom in Agriculture majoring in Rural Valuation and Farm Management, and has met the requirements of CAANZ to be a non-member partner of a chartered accountancy firm.

His knowledge of agriculture and business is current and broad. Richard has successfully helped a range of farming systems from large to small, discover and achieve their goals. Hailing from a family sheep and beef station prior to attending Lincoln, his roots are firmly grounded in agriculture. Helping farmers succeed is his passion. With so many challenges facing farming businesses, Richard is uniquely placed to help you optimise your planning and financial needs.

Outside of work, Richard loves swimming and mountain biking with his family and friends, and chairing the finance committee for the successful South Canterbury Rugby Union.

Maggie Harvey

Maggie, a Senior Chartered Accountant on our team, has a wide variety of business accounting knowledge and skillsets that has been acquired from working in accounting practices over the past ten years.

Maggie began her accounting career as an Office Junior in a firm in Christchurch, while studying full-time at the University of Canterbury towards her Bachelor of Commerce, Majoring in Taxation. Maggie is putting all her knowledge and experience to great use here at Sidekick Timaru, and enjoys helping clients in all aspects of accounting and business development.

When Maggie is not working in the Sidekick office or out and about visiting clients, she enjoys running around the beautiful streets of Timaru, running after her gorgeous toddler, and cooking delicious meals. Originally from Ikawai (just out of Waimate), Maggie moved to Timaru from Christchurch in November 2017 and we’re so pleased she did!

Jess Hampton

Jess has a varied accounting background, having worked in both accounting practices and commercial environments, in NZ and overseas.

Jess graduated from Otago University with an LLB and BCom, and then embarked on her accounting career in Wellington. After gaining her Chartered Accountancy, Jess worked in both Dublin and London, while enjoying life on the other side of the world. She eventually returned to her home province and loves working as part of the Sidekick Timaru team to help local businesses achieve their goals.

Outside of work, Jess loves spending time with her family, watching her three boys playing sport and heading to the beach in beautiful Kakanui.

Olivia Rawson

Olivia was born and raised in Christchurch, then moved to Timaru in 2006 where her accounting career started. While working she studied at the local Ara Institute towards a Diploma in Business Accounting and is now a qualified Accounting Technician.

She enjoys working with clients and helping them get an understanding of their accounts and tax.

Outside of work she likes to spend time with her family and their ever expanding zoo, she is also an avid gamer and book worm.

Manish Rawat

Manish, one of our friendly Sidekick Timaru Accountants brings 6 years of experience in the accounting industry, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Commerce.

Manish’s role at Sidekick Timaru involves a variety of compliance work for our clients, such as end of year financials and GST Returns, and he particularly enjoys the challenging and interesting parts of accounting such as Budgeting and Forecasting.

Outside of work Manish enjoys both watching cricket games and playing cricket, chilling out and watching a movie and exploring new places around Canterbury and beyond.

Tom Taiaroa

Tom started his accounting career with us in late 2020 after completing his BCom, majoring in Finance at Otago University.

Tom is now starting the journey to becoming a fully qualified Chartered Accountant. In the office, Tom is continuing to gain experience in accounting for a range of businesses, and enjoys the variety of work that Sidekick Timaru offers.

In his own time, Tom enjoys spending time on the bowling green to relax.

Jessie Brown

Jessie is one of our Client Services Manager, taking on all aspects of our workflow, payroll & client relationships. Jessie has recently moved back to South Canterbury with her family after living and working away for several years. Her previous roles have been in the rural sector – which she’s hugely passionate about and is excited about. It’s especially great for some of our Rural clients to have another passionate expert on the team!

Angelique Van Wyk

Angelique recently moved to Timaru together with her husband and son. She completed her studies in Auckland and became a qualified Chartered Accountant in 2013.

Angelique enjoys putting her 10+ years commercial and rural accounting experience to practice with clients at Sidekick. Her passion is helping clients achieve their short and long term personal and business goals.

Outside of work, Angelique enjoys keeping active, gardening, baking and spending time with friends and family.

Melissa Williams

Mel looks after anything from client queries to bookkeeping and payroll, and assists the Sidekick Timaru accounting team with a variety of work. With a background of working in the customer service industry, her top priority is maintaining great client and workplace relationships.

When Mel isn’t working, she loves to spend time with her beautiful baby girl, her family on the farm at Tarras or the Ohau bach, and catching up with friends.

Michelle Harper

Michelle is one of our newest Accountants, currently studying towards her BAcc through Massey University.

When Michelle is not working or studying she enjoys spending her time with her two boys, watching them play sport, playing netball and catching up with friends.

Letitia Pottle

Letitia (known as Teish) is our Personal Assistant to the directors here at Sidekick.

She brings a wealth of administration experience, working in local government for the past 11 years. She is not afraid of a challenge and knows when something needs her personal touch.

In her downtime, Teish enjoys netball, anything involving crafts and spending time with her daughter.

Zakiaya Gray

Zakiaya found her passion for accounting during her school year. Now with 3 years’ experience in the accounting industry, she’s continuing to grow her knowledge of many different accounting processes. She enjoys helping her clients succeed in their businesses and watching them grow.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys playing golf with her partner and being in the outdoors.

Dianne Wills

Di has recently joined our team as an administrative assistant, supporting the team in any way possible. As our receptionist, she will greet you when you visit our Timaru office or call us on the phone.

Di has 30-plus years of customer service, administration, and management experience behind her and joins us most recently from her role as Office Manager for a local kindergarten.

When Di isn’t working, she is likely to be curled up with a cuppa and a good book, spending time with family and friends, travelling, and supporting her two girls with their tertiary studies and life beyond the nest.

Dave Jessep

Dave’s spent over 20 years in accounting and he still loves coming to work every day. He founded the company back in 2006, and his infectious enthusiasm has helped him build a company of talented staff who are excited to be part of DJCA.

As you’d expect, Dave is a member of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants. He’s also a Mentor with the Business Mentors of NZ program, and is especially skilled at advising clients from all kinds of industries in strategy, planning, goal setting, and implementing business structures.

Dave played hooker for Marlborough Boys’ College and won the Matthews Cup for Most Outstanding Player (ahead of Anton Oliver, who was maybe 14 at the time). He now enjoys running and biking with his kids.

Anna Cochrane

Anna brings a wealth of experience in accounting tech, with a strong focus on FYI and Xero. Having worked closely with firms across New Zealand to implement systems and streamline processes, she’s a go-to expert when it comes to getting the most out of your tech stack.
Anna is passionate about solving problems, improving workflows, and helping teams work smarter. Now based in Timaru to be closer to family, Anna supports Sidekick on a range of internal projects—bringing her trademark energy, insight, and practical know-how to every challenge.