Who Are We

Welcome to Stephenson Thorner LTD, chartered accountants and business advisors in the heart of Wellington city.

We specialise in helping our clients grow their businesses and achieve their goals. We achieve this through an in-depth understanding of their business and their personal values. We want our clients to have the freedom to choose their future.

Our holistic approach draws on experience and expertise gained over many years and across a wide range of industries. This results in advice that is useful, valuable, understandable and relevant to our clients' goals and aspirations. By providing proactive solutions for our many and diverse clients, we seek to become the trusted advisor in their business. We work with a number of strategic business partners to ensure that the solutions we provide to clients are both robust and complete.

No problem is too big or too small. We believe that our personal style, accessibility and timeliness are but a few of the qualities that our current clients enjoy. Being entrepreneurs ourselves, we understand business. We welcome the opportunity to work with you to add real and tangible value to your business.

We know that having the right people on board is absolutely critical and that everyone in our talent pool must live and breathe our company values. We put a lot of time and effort into our recruitment processes to make sure that we recruit only the best.

Anne Stephenson BCA CA AIF®

Contact Anne

My role with STL  I am the chief strategist at STL, both for the business and with clients.  With more years working with owners of SME’s than I care to remember, I have built up an impressive range of skills and talents that I can bring to my work.  My principal role is to understand what makes clients tick, and to make sure that we deliver what we say, when we say we will. What makes STL different Having spent a long time in big firms, it’s great to be able to directly influence the culture & brand of the company.  And to have company values that are about people doing good stuff well. The super power I would like to have is  being able to slow time down – I’ve no idea where it disappears to.  Or is it me going off at tangents? If there was one thing I’d change about me it would be being taller – climbing on to stools can be a nuisance after a while. When I was younger I wanted to be  a research chemist.  But studying all the sciences for UE by correspondence put paid to that.  I much prefer being able to talk over issues, rather than read about them. My guilty pleasure, apart from the Karen Walker store, would have to be collecting art – it doesn’t have to expensive, it just has to have an emotional appeal. I get a big kick out of being able to tick off achievement of goals. The three things I would take on a desert island  Sun block, white rum (for the piña coladas) and my iPad.  There would be internet access, wouldn’t there? The actor who would play me in a film about my life  Toni Collette – apart from the amazing film roles she’s had, don’t you just love what she does in the United States of Tara? My current favorite saying  Make the invisible visible.

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Danelle Wilson BCA/BA ACA

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My role with STL is to ensure that the team is able to deliver what we say we will when we say we will. I am responsible for making sure that everyone on the team is well informed and kept up to date.  I also ensure that we are utilising our talents as effectively as possible, while trying to maintain a sense of work life balance!  I’ve worked at STL since 06/06/06 – but I prefer not to be superstitious about that!  I rejoined the firm after returning from Ireland in March 2010.  What makes STL different is the ability to carve out your own destiny.  It is not an old fashioned hierarchical accounting firm.  You are encouraged to see the big picture and think on your own, focusing on realistic solutions for real problems, rather than get bedded down with technicalities.  What I would say to someone thinking of working with STL is if you have a passion for working with clients, like to understand their individual circumstances and what makes them tick, and are motivated by their successes this company is for you.  If you want to turn up each day and simply balance books – perhaps you should keep heading down the street.  When I was younger I wanted to be a chemist – but I doubted the ability to achieve 75% in Bursary Physics – never underestimate oneself! My guilty pleasure is wine – red, white, bubbly or still just abc (anything but chardonnay!) The three things I would take on a desert island are family, food and wine – not necessarily in that order! If I wasn’t here I’d be travelling each corner of the world.  So many experiences to have and learn, I’m sure it could be a university degree! My secret talent is I was once able to name the 50 states of America in alphabetical order. My current favorite saying is  There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind.

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Rakesh Rawat BBS

Contact Rakesh

My role with STL is senior accountant – understanding the detail of the books, working with clients on managing the numbers, helping them to understand more about what the numbers mean. I’ve worked at STL since January 2009 after working for 5 years in Te Awamutu. What makes STL different is the emphasis on company values and striving to make them real on a daily basis. What I would say to someone thinking of working with STL is working at STL will challenge you and give you a balance between your work and life. The super power I would like to have is being able to bring my father back in this world.   Five people (dead or alive) I would invite to a dinner party my father, mother, father & mother in law and my brother. When I was younger I wanted to be an Army Officer. I was always amazed at how hard army people work to protect our freedom. The three things I would take on a desert island  family album, portable DVD player to watch family videos and water If I wasn’t here I’d be a teacher at my high school in my village in India, but not teaching accounting My current favorite saying is  Every problem has a solution.

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Sam Holdem

Contact Sam

My role with STL is accountant. I’ve worked at STL since November 2011. What makes STL different is our commitment to excellence, our ability to understand what makes a client's business tick, and a commitment to improve their profitability, efficiency and effectiveness. What I would say to someone thinking of working with STL is if you have a passion for business and enabling clients to achieve their professional and personal goals, STL would be a great place to work. The super power I would like to have is mind reading. Five people (dead or alive) I would invite to a dinner party Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolly Parton, Winston Churchill, John Law, Warren Buffett. My guilty pleasure is KFC. I get a big kick out of investing, playing cricket. The three things I would take on a desert island are: a beautiful woman, Burger Fuel and my bunny. If I wasn’t here I’d be on the beach. The actor who would play me in a film about my life would be Leonardo DiCaprio. My secret talent is Power lifting

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Dan McIlroy

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My role with STL is an accountant and business consultant. I offer quality advice to small businesses with big ideas. I’ve worked at STL since November 2011. What makes STL different is vision and culture. We are a buzzy, vibrant team and offer a more personalised service. What I would say to someone thinking of working with STL is there's never a dull moment. Something's always happening. The super power I would like to have is mind reading. Five people (dead or alive) I would invite to a dinner party Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, Helena Bonham Carter, John Lennon, Thom Yorke. When I was younger I wanted to be a detective like Sherlock Holmes. My guilty pleasure is drinking on a Monday night. I get a big kick out of small clients with big ideas. The three things I would take on a desert island are: coffee, chocolate, iPod. If I wasn’t here I’d be living in the Marlborough Sounds. The actor who would play me in a film about my life would be Paul Bettany. My secret talent is speaking French and German. My current favorite saying is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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Rebecca Stephenson

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My role with STL is administration support and doing some of the running around for the accountants so they can focus on client work. I’ve worked at STL since October 2009. What makes STL different is the relaxed nature and crafting what you do around the things you’re good at. What I would say to someone thinking of working with STL is you’ll be sure to be impressed! The super power I would like to have is invisibility. Five people (dead or alive) I would invite to a dinner party Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Sean Lock, Bill Bailey and David Mitchell (the panel of British quiz show QI). When I was younger I wanted to be a vet. My guilty pleasure is V energy drink. I get a big kick out of finally completing something arduous. The three things I would take on a desert island are: a comfy bed, my iPod and bug spray. If I wasn’t here I’d be overseas. My secret talent is coming up with mnemonics to help people remember things. My current favorite saying is You can’t have all the stuff in the world. Where would you put it?