INTHEBLACK June 2026 - Magazine - Page 18
MEMBER PROFILE
can lead you,” he says. “It is not a narrow
discipline. It is a foundation for broader
leadership.”
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18 INTHEBLACK June 2026
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
Under Miller’s leadership in 1982–83,
CPA Australia (at that time known as
The Australian Society of Accountants)
took a strong line on the need for tax reform.
“I still think Australia is abysmally weak
in public policy development, including
in taxation,” Miller says.
At the same time, Miller and
CPA Australia national marketing director
Ray Andrews developed the now iconic
Not Your Average Accountant marketing
campaign to promote the exceptional talent
of CPAs.
“We were saying that CPAs are different,
that we are quality practising accountants
who are very well trained,” he says.
“The other thing I introduced was compulsory
professional development annually.
“My PhD research showed me that,
in essence, a profession is based on high
levels of competence and high levels
of integrity. If we promoted the integrity
and we promoted the professional
skills through compulsory professional
development, that would leave its mark.”
The bold actions did not go unnoticed.
In 1985, Miller became president of
the Confederation of Asian and Pacific
Accountants, where he played a major role
in introducing elements of Western
accounting practice into new contexts,
including post-reform China.
“I think I have been incredibly lucky in
my career, often in the right place at the
right time,” he says.
Miller was awarded the Order of Australia
for contributions to education and the
community, and an executive meeting room
on level 19 of CPA Australia’s headquarters
in Melbourne has been named in his honour,
the Miller Room.
On his retirement from Swinburne
University, CPA Australia threw a party
for Miller. Among the attendees at the
event were former governor-general Sir
Zelman Cowen, former Victorian premier
Sir Rupert Hamer, future Victorian governor
John Landy, former chair and CEO of the
Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards
Board Merran Kelsall AO and many more.
“I decided to produce a little medallion
called the John Miller Medal,” he says.
“On the medallion, it lists the five ingredients
of success. First is ability. Second is courage,
which is vital in business and in life,
speaking up, advocating the role, advocating
your point of view and so on. Then there
is energy, empathy and integrity. They are
the five things that back crucial interpersonal
skills, the things I have always tried
to encourage.”
Miller says while much in the accounting
profession has changed since his father first
suggested it be his career, many key aspects
have also remained the same. The tools have
evolved and the environment is more complex,
he says, but the core principles endure.
Technical capability will always matter,
but that is now just the starting point.
As routine tasks continue to be automated,
the five capabilities he outlines on his
medal — ability, courage, energy, empathy
and integrity — will only ever become more
important, he says. The future of accounting
is not defined by technology. It is instead
defined by how accountants choose to use
it and, more importantly, how they position
themselves within organisations.
Miller’s career offers a demonstration
of what is possible when accounting
is applied beyond its traditional boundaries.
It is also a reminder that the value of
accounting lies not in the numbers themselves,
but in what an accountant does with them. ■
