Our Story

Hi, my name is Mel Wear. I’m the principal of Wear Accountants. I have spent the last 25+ years as an accountant and business advisor in public practice.

I have worked with hundreds of business owners from many different industries, from taking care of their annual compliance needs, to helping them work on their business, and being an active member of their management team.

My passion for working with small to medium businesses started a very long time ago. I always excelled at accounting and legal studies at school. I was inspired by my Mum, who was a cost accountant in the commercial field in her early career. Later in life, Mum and Dad bought a small business and I could see Mum putting her accounting skills to use in their business. So, I decided to commence a business degree with an accounting major.

I can remember when I first came to the Gold Coast in the 1990s, I was fortunate enough to secure a short-term position working in the finance department for the local TAFE. As it was short term, I was actively applying for a permanent position at various accounting firms on the Coast and at the same I had also applied for a permanent position at TAFE.

I was called in for an interview at a local accounting firm. I made it through the first interview and was invited back for one day’s work experience. I turned up for work experience, very nervous, not knowing how to use a computer, let alone Word Perfect 5.1!! (Word Perfect 5.1 was the standard word processor application for DOS-based business PCs back in the day. I’m showing my age now, aren’t I?!)

I managed to make it through the day thanks to the help of a kind junior/trainee. In the office; I got to see and hear everything that was going on. Things were really happening in that office, there was a buzz, it was very busy and I could hear the partners and managers talking to clients about all sorts of interesting new things, like purchasing businesses, cash flow and finance applications.

As luck would have it, another candidate was offered the job as trainee accountant, and I received an “unsuccessful letter’, on the basis that the other candidate had completed their degree, and I hadn’t yet finished mine. I wasn’t going to take that. So, I wrote back to the managing partner and told him how bitterly disappointed I was, that I would be the best person for the job, and to please consider me if another role becomes available.

A few weeks later I was offered a full-time position at TAFE and at the same time I received a phone call from that accounting practice, telling me that they had a part time position available as a filing clerk, along with timesheet data entry work, and back-up to reception.

Of course, I took the part time filing clerk role, as I just wanted to get my foot in the door, and the chance to be considered for a trainee accountant position if it was to come up.

Well, a trainee accountant position came up with the junior partner of the firm, who offered me the role. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. However, my elation was short-lived, as when the managing partner found out about this, he called me into his office and told me I had to stay in my current role as “my expertise was required there”.

I was completely shell shocked, thinking that no one thought I was good enough to become an accountant. Fast forward several months and the managing partner eventually needed another trainee accountant on his team.

He offered that role to me – little did I know that he did in fact think I had loads of potential, but it was just that he was saving me for a role on his own team!! I worked long and hard to work my way up the ranks, and during this time I married my husband and completed my Masters degree in Taxation Law.

It is really motivating to know that what my small team and I produce is helping another small business owner to gain more confidence in their financial position and the future of their business.

I have many clients with mature businesses, and self-funded retirees, who have been with me for over 20 years. Also, being an accountant on the Gold Coast, which is a hub for entrepreneurs and start-ups, means my client base is very diverse and I look after some super interesting and fun people doing amazing things – I look after builders, developers, manufacturers, doctors, lawyers, therapists, horse trainers, farmers, and even scientists!

We have developed an exciting 6-Step Service Plan™ to support our clients with not only compliance and tax but also supporting clients to understand their numbers so that they can make better decisions in their business.