The governance and leadership teams at the ASA Institute of Higher Education (ASA) are dedicated to ensuring that ASA delivers a quality educational experience to all our students. ASA is established by the Australian School of Accounting Pty Ltd Constitution, which nominates the Board of Directors as the peak governance body for ASA. The Board appoints the Academic Board which has oversight of the ASA’s academic functions and policies. Together with the Senior Management team, the Board of Directors and the Academic Board have oversight and responsibility for setting the vision, goals and strategic direction of ASA as well as decision-making around policies, courses, performance, operations and administration.
The Board of Directors’ role is to ensure that ASA is properly resourced and managed so it can deliver a high standard of education in compliance with the ASA’s strategic objectives and plans, internal policies, and regulatory requirements. With effective governance, the Board of Directors promotes and protects the reputation and interests of ASA. It fosters an environment that supports and protects freedom of intellectual inquiry and promotes the wellbeing of students and staff. The Board of Directors’ decisions are made in the best interests of the students and staff to support the quality of education and the learning environment offered by ASA and to maintain a culture consistent with the ASA’s strategic objectives.
Christine Hawkins AM is privileged to be the Chair of the ASA Board of Directors, working with the Audit and Risk Committee and Academic Board and staff to develop the vision for ASA. She passionately believes in the role of outstanding education for students to support their future vocational and personal development.
Christine graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Financial Management with honours and a Master of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. She was originally an economist with the Reserve Bank of Australia, spending 3 years on secondment to the University and employed there on the academic staff, prior to moving into investment banking.
John is a founding director of the Australian School of Accounting, now ASA Institute of Higher Education. His professional experience includes a range of roles in financial and management consulting, business management, both nationally and internationally. He has extensive experience in business start-ups and is currently involved in a range of businesses that cover education, professional development, IT, disability, and consulting. In addition, he holds a public practice licence.
He has been a sessional lecturer in accounting and management at various universities over an extended period.
John has been heavily involved in the accounting profession, primarily through his involvement with CPA Australia in various roles. Acknowledged as a subject matter expert and innovator in various areas of the accounting profession and he has been a frequent conference speaker, both nationally and internationally.
John’s focus is on contributing to the ongoing development and wellbeing of the accounting profession through his involvement with ASA to ensure its relevance and value to business and the wider community.
Professor Philip Poh has more than 30 years of leadership experience in multiple industries as well as in academia and the services sector. He has served as a Board Director of public listed companies in Singapore and South Korea. He has also served as a Board Director of private companies in the United States, Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region, specifically in Australia, China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
He is the distinguished Edison Professor of Business Research at World Certification Institute (US). He is former adjunct Professor at Southern Cross University (Australia) from 1998 to 2016 and has served in similar capacity at other universities in US, UK and Australia.
The Academic Board is the principal academic body of ASA and has authority delegated from the Board of Directors for academic governance and policy. The Academic Board is the principal advisory body on all matters relating to and affecting the quality of learning, teaching, and scholarship at ASA. The Academic Board assures the academic experiences of students and the quality of each course of study leading to a higher education award. The Academic Board provides academic leadership and promotes a culture of academic excellence, ensuring academic integrity and freedom of intellectual inquiry.
Dr Joo-Gim Heaney has worked at a number of universities, including in the USA and Australia, and private higher education providers in positions related to higher education leadership positions, and corporate and academic governance. Dr Heaney was the Dean of the School of Business at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, and held senior academic positions at Griffith University and at Franklin & Marshall College (USA). Dr Heaney was an External Accreditation Reviewer for the Pennsylvania State Department of Education, and a Board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas for Music Education (USA, Canada and South America). In relation to private higher education institutes, Dr Heaney’s executive leadership and governance role included those at the Australian Institute of Higher Education (AIH), Higher Education Leadership Institute (HELI) and Apex Higher Education (AHE).
Dr Heaney has received numerous awards and grants for education in Australia and the USA, including a Learning and Teaching Citation at Griffith University. She has more than thirty refereed publications, in journals including the Journal of Financial Services Marketing; International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations; Journal of International Consumer Marketing; International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing; International Journal of Bank Marketing; as well as refereed international business and marketing conference publications. She is an Executive Fellow of the Advisory Committee of the Academy of World Business, Marketing and Management Development.
Professor Savery was formerly the Executive Dean, Faculty of Business at Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales before his retirement in 2006. Lawson originally trained as an engineer before having a distinguished career in the field of management and business studies. His was Head of the School of Management at the Curtin Business School, Curtin University of Technology before moving to SCU. His research has focused on human resource management, organisational change and behaviour, employee satisfaction, stress within management teams and currently the role of cooperatives in the economy. Lawson has published over 120 refereed articles in such journals as the Harvard Business Review, Human Relations and the International Journal of Human Factors in Manufacturing. He has co-authored a number of books and has written numerous chapters in books. He has supervised candidates to doctoral and masters by research to completion. Lawson has also served on several academic boards including the Management Development Institute of Singapore. He has also taught in several countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Lawson is currently Professor and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia.
David is the Director of the Master of Business Analytics at UTS. He has published in journals including British Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and Accounting & Finance, and is currently Associate Editor of Accounting Education.
He currently sits on a number of boards, including the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, Women Sport Australia and Sydney Rugby Union. He is also the Chair of the Academic Board of The Tax Institute Higher Education. He has previously held the position of Academic Fellow at the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation in London. He is a member of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
.jpg)
Alison holds a Master of Information Studies and is applying to start her PhD in January 2024 with a thesis title of Challenges International Students face transitioning to the Australian Higher Education System.
Alison has held roles within the private higher education sector for over 10 years in student support, program management and course development. She has developed undergraduate and postgraduate courses for submission of accreditation and vocational courses for delivery. Alison has implemented processes for student support programs giving students skills to help them progress through their courses successfully. Alison has also created reports delivering governing bodies and regulators detailed information regarding student outcomes, course development, course teach out and conditional responses.
Dr Kanwal Javed has a passion for conducting research and the ambition to impact knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. Kanwal has four years of extensive research experience in accounting and corporate governance and one year of research experience in the banking and financial economics sector. She graduated with a Master of Research in Accounting and Corporate Governance and a Doctorof Philosophy in Accounting and Corporate Governance from Macquarie University. Kanwal worked as an accountant in Sydney for a year before moving into the academic world. She is passionate about teaching and believes teaching is a lifelong learning and self-reflection process. Prior to moving to Australia, she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with a Master of Business and Information Technology in Finance and a Master of Science in Banking and Financial Economics from Pakistan. She also had approximately two and half years as a Customer Services and Branch Operational Manager at a Bank in Pakistan.
The Audit and Risk Committee supports the ASA Board of Directors with the organisation’s governance through the exercise of due care and diligence in relation to ASA’s financial performance, risk management, and compliance with laws, regulations, and policies of ASA. The Committee provides technical and management expertise to allow the regular review and monitoring of ASA’s financial position and the policies, systems and controls that support the management of ASA and its finances.
.jpg)
Chandra Sundaresan serves on the ASA Board of Directors as a member and is also the Acting Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Chandra holds a Bachelor of Information Technology and a Master of Computer Science, and possesses extensive leadership experience across the Australian vocational and higher education sectors, including senior roles in academic management, operations, and organisational development.
Susie Zhong is honoured to be appointed to the Audit and Risk Committee, working with the Board of Directors and management to drive whole-of-organisational good governance and risk management practices for the ASA. Born and raised in China, her journey of studying and working in Australia has provided her a unique worldview and helped her in better understanding the importance of good corporate governance along her career.
Susie graduated with Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature in Shanghai International Studies University, then obtained her Master of Accounting from Macquarie University, Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Management from Central Queensland University and Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute of Australia. She is a Chartered Secretary and a Fellow member of the Governance Institute. She has Over 12 years’ experience in governance, risk management, assurance and stakeholder engagement within the Associations and Co-operatives Sector. Susie believes that education changes lives and equal opportunity to affordable and quality tertiary education is key to success for our next generation.
Graham has over 40 years’ experience working as a senior leader in the Banking, Finance, and Insurance industries, both in Australia and Asia. He has also had experience working in a global Trade and Investment role for the Australian Government. Recently he worked for five years as the CFO for one of Australia’s largest Not For Profits which operates in 26 countries navigating the difficulties of capital management and operations through COVID. He has had accountability for profit and loss, strategy, people, operations, and organisational leadership in his roles.
Graham has a Bachelor of Commerce (UNSW), is a Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed The Senior Executive Program at Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
Coralie Morrissey is currently based in Sydney as the Chief Executive Officer of ASA.
Coralie was previously the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Higher Education, a private higher education provider based in Sydney and Melbourne. During her time with AIH she achieved 7 year re-registration with no conditions as well as 7 years no conditions for 10 new post graduate qualifications and 7 new undergraduate courses.
Prior to that Coralie was based in Melbourne as the President Asia Pacific of LCI Education, a Canadian based education network that has 22 higher education campuses in 12 countries. Originally from Western Australia she has built a reputation for innovation and building programs that lead to employable outcomes for students, fostering commercial and industry relationships along the way.
Her work experience includes Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Hospitality at THINK Education Group (a division of Laureate International Universities) based in Sydney, and Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria as the Executive Director of the Centre for Engineering, Technology and Trades. Prior to that Coralie was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Technical and Trades Innovation at Victoria University where she lead the faculty in the development and delivery of vocational education products and services on campus and in industry, nationally and internationally. Prior to settling in Melbourne Coralie was the General Manager of Training at Swan TAFE (Polytechnic West) where she was instrumental in developing partnerships with industry and community through a range of projects that gained national and international recognition.
Dennis is a Chartered Accountant, registered tax agent, and registered ASIC agent. He has more than 25 years of experience providing professional accounting, taxation and business advisory services in Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. His expertise includes the financial management, accounting and financial compliance of the higher education sector.
He earned his Master of Business Administration from University of Strathclyde, and Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy from City University of Hong Kong.
Dennis enjoys reading, running, hiking and spending time with friends and family. He is a lifetime learner, self-development is his life journey
