INTHEBLACK June/July 2024 - Magazine - Page 14
MEMBER PROFILE
Dr Michelle Cull FCPA was
appointed associate professor
of accounting and financial
planning at the School
of Business at Western
Sydney University in 2023.
She was instrumental in
the university’s development
of an accredited bachelor
of accounting degree that
offers majors in both
financial planning and tax.
Cull also has a PhD in trust
and personal financial planning.
She has published academic
papers and contributed
to industry publications
and textbooks.
LEADERS AND INNOVATORS
A passion
for learning
Dr Michelle Cull FCPA shares her valuable accounting
acumen with the next generation of prospective
accountants in her role at Western Sydney University.
Words Emily Chantiri
Photography Anthony Geernaert
Dr Michelle Cull FCPA has had many
standout moments in her career, but there
is one that really sticks with her.
In 2019, Western Sydney University (WSU)
was invited to join the Treasury’s National
Tax Clinic pilot program. Cull, who oversaw
the university’s accounting and financial
planning programs, jumped at the chance
to be involved.
Working with WSU’s business school
team, Cull developed a plan to implement
the clinic, which was provided to Treasury.
Within a few months, they had the pilot
tax clinic up and running.
The clinic provided free advice to
low-income and vulnerable taxpayers,
as well as guidance and help with tax
14 INTHEBLACK June/July 2024
matters, such as debt management,
tax lodgement and other dealings with
the Australian Taxation Office.
“The clinic had to be trialled really
quickly, so we could review after
a year and decide whether it was
an initiative we would continue,”
Cull says. “The success came down
to the hard work of the tax clinic
manager, who was appointed to the role
based on her experience and teaching
expertise, having maintained her tax agent
status while working as an accounting
lecturer. She did an outstanding job
training staff and students who together
have provided tax assistance to hundreds
of vulnerable taxpayers in our community.”
