About

Specialties

Accounting and Bookkeeping
Inland Revenue Issues
Budgeting
Business Start-up
Cash Flow Forecasting
Company Secretary
Strategic Planning
GST
Taxation
Trusts

Our Story

Accounting by Design Limited is owned and operated by Geoff Balme with the support of Amy Hyde, the former owner. We value our clients and treat them with respect and friendliness. Having your business is important to us. We take a personal interest in your contribution to society and an active role in helping you achieve your goals.

Like every successful professional relationship, be it for business or personal matters, it is important that we get to know you. With us, you will know who will be working for you. That way you will be familiar with the person dealing with the various aspects of your affairs.

The most common complaints we hear from our new clients is that they find their previous accountant(s) unapproachable, hard to reach, never the same person to deal with, and frightened of the bill if they call with questions.

The main reason we are in public practice was because we like accounting, dealing with people, assisting with business growth and helping to manage your taxes. We enjoy the interactions we have with our clients. We are available by mobile phone and/or internet 24/7.

Geoff Balme

Geoff was born and bred in the Waikato where he lived all his life other than 8 years living in Canada in the 1980s. A Chartered Accountant, Geoff joined Accounting by Design Limited in Whitianga and relocated from Hamilton in April 2017 having owned a holiday property here since 1994.

From May 2011 to August 2015 he was the Chief Executive of the Home of Cycling Charitable Trust, the developer and operator of the Avantidrome / National Cycling Centre of Excellence velodrome at Cambridge. That was followed by 9 months project managing the development of the detailed business case for Napier City Council’s proposed multi-use velodrome.

Geoff’s previous roles have included partner at Beattie Rickman (now PricewaterhouseCoopers); Chief Operating Officer at the University of Waikato and Chief Financial Officer at AgResearch Ltd, all based in Hamilton.

Geoff has had a lifelong involvement in sports administration as a volunteer at a local and regional level in hockey, and at a national and international level in luge. He has proven experience with project planning, management and fundraising.

He is currently President of the New Zealand Olympic Luge Association and Vice President of Oceania for the International Luge Federation. He was a member of the Board of the New Zealand Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2003 and New Zealand Team Chef de Mission at the 1998 (Nagano, Japan) and 2002 (Salt Lake, USA) Olympic Winter Games.

Geoff has attended 7 Olympic Winter Games and his wife Debbie was Manager of the Black Sticks Women’s Hockey Team for 10 years, attending 2 Olympic and 2 Commonwealth Games.

In his leisure time Geoff enjoys running, cycling, snowboarding and sailing.

Amy Hyde

Before going into public practice in 2000, Amy had three years experience with Deloittes in San Francisco and Auckland doing audit and taxation work. She then spent twelve years in commerce working for international corporates in Financial Controller roles and was involved in listing two of them on the ASX and NZSE.