11 November, 2026
From consulting and banking to executive leadership, QUT accounting graduate Brett Walker Davies shares how an accounting degree became the foundation for a career far beyond the numbers.
When Brett Walker-Davies enrolled in a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) at QUT, he expected a career in just that, accounting. What he didn’t expect was that those same skills would take him across diverse industries, into roles spanning product, consulting, strategy and so much more. That journey ultimately led to his current position as Chief Financial Officer at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), where he oversees finance, IT, food and beverage, strategy and government relations.
What were your expectations when you started your career, and how did the reality compare?
I certainly appreciated that accountants had diverse pathways, but I didn't appreciate just how much.
I thought you could choose from a wide variety of organisations, whether in public practice or in-house, but that you would still be somewhat confined to one lane. In reality, the careers you can unlock with an accounting degree are incredibly wide-ranging.
During my years at PwC, I was able to move fluidly across service lines, from audit to consulting. I then moved into private industry, working in banking across process re-engineering, product management, major projects and strategy.
I then moved into education to 'ground myself again' in a core finance and accounting role, before ultimately becoming Chief Financial Officer at QPAC. When I reflect on how diverse that journey has been, it’s incredible compared with what I thought was possible 17-odd years ago.
What has been the most surprising aspect of your work?
The versatility of the skills I originally learned, for sure. Accounting provides such a strong grounding because it allows you to see the entirety of an organisation’s operations through a financial lens. When you combine that perspective with a well-honed problem-solving mindset, you can apply it across so many roles and industries. You can scope and deliver projects, redesign processes, understand operations or develop strategy. Of course, you still need to learn new skills, but they build on that accounting foundation rather than taking you into a completely different world.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
What I enjoy most is being able to use my skills in a ‘for-purpose’ environment where I can see the value of the work and feel part of something important. That was a deliberate reason for moving into education and the performing arts. It’s an exciting time to be at QPAC: the recent opening of the Glasshouse Theatre was a huge milestone, and the momentum building towards the Olympics is creating a positive energy across the organisation, from performers to accountants. I thrive on that kind of energy, and it makes each day more meaningful.
Unlike banking, where there are many people with similar skill sets to bounce ideas off, a ‘for-purpose’ environment gives you a strong sense of your individual contribution. A much smaller, specialised group is responsible for developing a budget that supports our legislated purpose, preserving the organisation’s financial health and ensuring artists are paid on time. Some people might find that intimidating, but I find it rewarding because you can clearly see your value and the difference you are making.
Brett Walker Davies, QUT Bachelor of Business (Accounting) alumnus and Chief Financial Officer at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Which skills or experiences have been most valuable in your career?
Focusing my early years on gaining broad experience, while maintaining a consistent focus on process analysis and sound problem-solving methodologies, has made a huge difference. I still draw on experiences from my first seven years, when I reviewed and analysed dozens of different processes and transaction flows.
I am pretty risk-averse in my career, so it was important that I could build that breadth without feeling as though I was jumping from job to job or becoming lost in niche roles. That is another reason accounting provides such a strong foundation: you really can have your cake and eat it too when it comes to stability and breadth of experience, provided you are conscious and deliberate in your choices.
Is there a common misconception about accounting?
Accountants have proven versatility, they may have started with CPA or CA qualification before moving into consulting, operations management, risk or major projects, yet this can conflict with the common perception that they are narrow or dogmatic in their expertise. The clearer we can be about our grounding while also emphasising our versatility and flexibility, the better it will be for all of us. That is easier said than done, though; I have often struggled to find a crisp narrative for my own career.
What do you see as the profession’s most significant challenge or opportunity today?
The obvious answer is AI, but I see it as an evolution of an existing challenge for accountants: demonstrating versatility amid growing productivity pressures. Developing expertise in a specialist accounting role still provides a strong foundation, but the accountants who proactively build broader commercial acumen and can move fluidly between the problems facing a business are the ones who become indispensable.
AI will undoubtedly increase expectations around efficiency. However, if you position yourself as someone who can solve financial and management accounting issues together, or use AI to perform an exponential level of analysis for your employer to achieve ‘more with less’, you can feel more in control of how that change unfolds.
I see AI as an evolution because I have watched similar pressures emerge through robotic process automation, ‘big data’ and digitisation. Each has played out differently, but adaptability and productivity have always been at the core.