As an international postgraduate student in New Zealand, I was at a crossroads in my career. With a strong academic background in Actuarial Science and prior experience in financial risk and assurance, I knew I had the skills but no clear direction on how to position myself effectively in the competitive New Zealand job market. 

The career support and practical guidance that I received from Jonathan Sir was truly transformative. The advice was specific, honest, and immediately actionable. 

I would strongly encourage others in similar situations to seek this kind of support that bridges the gap between confusion and competence.

I'm a penultimate-year Actuarial Science and Accounting student at Victoria University of Wellington. Coming to accounting as a career change after completing a design degree, I sometimes worried whether it was genuinely the right path for me. It's hard to know until you're actually in it.

Aurora Financials is a VicASA sponsor, and Jonathan offered students the chance to sign up for a one-on-one "ask me anything" session. It felt like a rare opportunity to have a candid conversation with someone actually working in the industry.

I mentioned to Jonathan that I was coming to accounting later than most of my peers, and his response genuinely shifted my perspective. He said my background was something he hadn't come across before, someone moving from design into accounting, and that design thinking is an advantage rather than a gap. That reframe meant a lot. 

Being surrounded by classmates who have always known what they wanted can make you feel behind, even when you know rationally that it's fine to take time finding your direction. Having someone from the industry reflect that back to me made it feel real. 

Three words to describe this conversation: Mentoring, guidance, self-reflecting

Would I recommend Jonathan to others? 

Absolutely. It's a genuinely valuable opportunity to speak openly with someone from the industry, and Jonathan's perspective as both a practitioner and an entrepreneur made the conversation especially worthwhile.

The team at Aurora Financials are great. Really helpful and Jonathan has been so helpful with some of our tax issues. Highly recommend them.

Papakura Budgeting Service was on the lookout for a new auditor this year, and we are thrilled to welcome Aurora Financials to this role. 

From the start, Jonathan and the team have been responsive, friendly, approachable, professional, and genuinely supportive - taking the time to understand our organisation and the local community we serve. 

Their guidance and expertise give us confidence that our financial records are accurate, compliant, well-managed and in good hands. 

We are very much looking forward to working alongside Aurora Financials in the future and will be recommending their services to all of our partnering local community organisations. Many thanks.

I am the treasurer of Crossways Community Crèche. We reached out to Aurora Financials when our existing auditor cancelled on us last minute. Jonathan responded incredibly quickly and has made the audit process very smooth. I would describe the experience as efficient, easy and responsive, and I would definitely recommend Jonathan and the team to others.

I am a sole trader and was really appreciative of the time that Jonathan took to support me with my day to days and general book keeping etc. This area of running a busimess is not my strength and he really went the extra mile, explained things so I could understand and personalised the whole experience. I thoroughly appreciated this and will definitely recommend him and his company.

I’m Alwarappan, a professional working in a private chartered accountant firm in India, with over a decade of experience in Australia. 

As I prepare to return to Australia, I reflect on the challenges I’ve faced in finding mentorship and guidance in my career. During my interaction with CPA Member Connect, amidst everyone’s busy schedules, Jonathan stood out. 

He graciously volunteered to mentor me, sharing his decades of expertise in the accounting field. If I had to describe Jonathan’s service in three words, they would be Passion, Selflessness, and Professionalism. 

His unwavering support and expert advice have been invaluable in shaping my career. I recommend Jonathan and his firm to anyone seeking exceptional guidance and professional excellence. 

Thank you, Jonathan, for your continuous support and insightful advice!

As first-time practice owners and operators, we faced the challenges of managing a growing business while navigating change. 

Jonathan was instrumental in helping us reaffirm clarity on our current position. Drawing from his extensive real-world business experience, he quickly identified key areas for improvement and provided valuable insights into both our short-term and long-term strategies. 

We're excited to continue working with Jonathan in the future.

I greatly appreciated your candid feedback and willingness to share your own experiences to help guide the success of my practice and ensure compliance with CPA Australia's PPC requirements and the requirements of the profession more broadly. 

THREE words: friendly, candid, helpful I will absolutely recommend you to those in need of your audit services!

I'm a Management Accountant in Australia. I reached out to Jonathan from Aurora Financials to support me as a mentor so that I can complete the professional experience  requirements to become a member of CPA Australia. 

Jonathan provided invaluable assistance in ensuring my work experience met CPA Australia's requirements, a crucial step towards earning my CPA certification. 

Although three words can't fully capture my experience, I can confidently describe Jonathan as Professional, Supportive, and a Thought Leader. 

I highly recommend Aurora Financials to anyone needing professional accounting support, especially for members seeking CPA Australia certification. Jonathan's exceptional support and service as a mentor has been instrumental in advancing my career.

Had the opportunity to speak with Jonathan today for my CPA mentorship. He is highly professional and insightful along with being flexible with his time. 

He was able to work through with me the pathway for my CPA program and ultimate career goal. I feel I learned a lot from him in this interaction today and will work on the advice given by him to achieve my objectives. 

I highly recommend Jonathan for CPA mentorship and career advice.

I am Chetan Bhasin and passionate about Wealth Management and Private Banking. 

Jonathan is a fellow of CPA Australia and he took the initiative to guide various new members so that they are well aware of the overall process and can plan career development. 

Fortunately. I am one of the candidates whom Jonathan has helped and mentored to understand the process in detail. 

The experience was amazing, definitely, and I recommend him and his firm for various accountancy-related topics.

Jonathan has a wide spectrum of knowledge in general and I must say that I'm impressed with his IT knowledge. His ability to dissect the queries and the excellent startup advice provided is phenomenal. Thank you 👍

Jonathan is a very talented and knowledgeable person. He mentored me for my business and provided excellent information. He also motivated me to achieve my goals and is always available for help when I am in need.

I am the Founder of Kiran Smart Robotics. My company  was founded in 2019 and we are scaling our business.

I heard Jonathan speaking at a LinkedIn audio event. He shared great advice and is an expert in his field.

Even though we have not used his services yet, we would definitely recommend Jonathan if anyone in my network is looking for his services.

Great audio event🔥🔥

Three words to describe it: Reliable, Perfect, Best.

Thank you Jonathan

Thank you so much for your motivating speech and guidance. It really made me more confident and gave me clear insights for my work. 

Your session was very informative and helpful for me. Each and everyone who attended the session was 100% impressed. Thank you very much Jonathan for being humble and sharing your expertise with us.

I recently attended webinar on "How to Build A Brand on Linkedin" which was very inspiring and helpful to grow with LinkedIn. The explanations and keys points were great to learn and helpful. Thank you Jonathan.

I attended the Linkedin Audio session yesterday conducted by Jonathan. 

I was very impressed the way Jonathan gave tips to enhance one's brand in Linkedin and utilise its full potential. I found Jonathan to be very matured and experienced in answering all questions. 

I would certainly recommend anyone who is serious to build a brand in Linkedin, and optimise the Profile, to attend session conducted by Jonathan. It would give immense benefit.

Valuable information from your audio event.

I've been working as a front-end web developer, but I faced challenges in getting responses from potential clients for online projects. 

Frustrated with this, I embarked on a journey to establish my personal brand on LinkedIn about a month ago. During this quest, I stumbled upon an incredible audio event with Jonathan Maharaj that turned out to be a game-changer. 

This event delved deep into strategies for building a powerful personal brand and attracting clients with remarkable speed. The knowledge I gained was not only immensely helpful but also highly inspiring, pushing me to take bold steps in a new direction. 

I wholeheartedly recommend this event to anyone seeking to make their mark. Its insights have already begun to transform my approach, and I'm confident it can do the same for others. 

Here's to building thriving personal brands and rapidly connecting with valuable clients!

Hi, I am Baljeet Singh, working in the energy sector with the Uttar Pradesh Government. 

Social media presence has always been my source to learn new things but presenting yourself on a professional platform like LinkedIn is no less than a challenge. 

Recently, on LinkedIn, I got notified that Mr. Jonathan Maharaj is hosting a LinkedIn Audio Event co-hosting with Gehna Batra. The topic was about Personal Branding on LinkedIn. 

I would describe their session as : Value Adding, Expert Views, and Problem Solving.

We enjoyed listening to you, Sir.

Your communication skills are magical. The way you take time to simplify the conversation is amazing.

I would highly recommend you to scale your brand up with their expertise and advice. 

Regards, Baljeet Singh

It was excellent opportunity for me to participate in your knowledgeable LinkedIn audio event. Thanks

Thank you Jonathan Maharaj for the discussion today. It was amazing to hear your growth stories and key learnings. The event was informative, candid and most importantly had the human touch.

The best part for me was when you said 'How do I want to be remembered?' I had goosebumps! 

You have an extremely calm and engaging voice. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing your experience at the audio event today. I gained a lot of knowledge from the discussion. 

Would I recommend you to others? 100% yes

Jonathan was my mentor through CPA as I start my own Public Practice journey. 

Jonathan's insights questions and recommendations were exceptional. Jonathan clearly knows his stuff, but he is more importantly willing to share that knowledge with a wider audience and learn from his own experiences. 

It speaks volumes about Jonathan's character that he was willing to give up his time and share his expertise in order to assist me.

Very happy to recommend Jonathan’s auditing work.

As our Club auditor, Jonathan communicated the process clearly, worked to our tight deadlines and gave our Executive a high degree of assurance that the club was being well managed.

On several occasions Jonathan also assisted the club with addition work when specialist support was required for which we were very grateful.

My name is Nwafor Blessing. 

I am a certified project manager and an experienced business manager. It has been quite challenging for me to land a job and I came across Jonathan's profile and I decided to connect with him. 

It was quite comforting and encouraging to have someone listen to you and try to find a workable solution to the problem you are going through. That is what Jonathan did for me and  I am grateful. 

I would love to recommend him because of his sincerity, empathy and kindness. I am grateful to have met someone like him and hopefully I will share my testimony and growth with you soon.

I am an Operations Manager who specializes in driving driving efficiency and growth. 

I had created a connection with Jonathan via LinkedIn and just wanted to get his opinion on what he thought about my offerings as an operations manager. 

My major area of focus when building a strong operations structure had been people, processes and technology. 

The chat with Jonathan opened my eyes to see how not having a solid risk management system at every stage of my processes could ruin everything I had built. 

Very eye opening and insightful. I would for sure recommend you to others, your insights are very spot on.

I highly recommend Mr. MAHARAJ as a business and finance mentor. 

I learned from him in a podcast where he served as a guest speaker and shared a plethora of ideas which can help  us grow and become more successful with our startups.

I have 2 university degrees from AUST (American University of Science and Technology) that are an MBA in HR and Bachelor's of science degree in Business Management. 

I wanted to reach out to you because my country Lebanon is experiencing a financial and economic crisis. Also because I have the passion for creative writing, so I wanted professional help on how to get things started. 

Your service helped me by highlighting the needed pathway that I should be seeking to pursue my passion. 3 words to describe the experience: insightful, pleasant, rewarding. 

And for the final question, would I recommend you to others? My answer is yes.

The last season of Jonathan and Maria on creating side hustles and career negotiations was quite a resourceful. Thanks Jonathan.

Jonathan Maharaj is truly exceptional when it comes to his knowledge of business terms. 

Not only that, but his ability to provide encouragement and practical solutions is truly impressive. His deep understanding of various aspects is outstanding. 

I wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone seeking assistance with all professional business matters. I am filled with gratitude for his support and expertise.

The Power of a Good Conversation Jonathan.

Your wealth of knowledge about business strategies turned our call into an enlightening conversation, serving as a compass in the thick of my market research for CollectiveIQ.

Three words to describe our conversation…. enlightening, authentic, impactful. 

You have an innate talent for distilling complex concepts into digestible, meaningful insights. And that, Jonathan, is rare. 

If anyone were to ask me if I would recommend connecting with Jonathan from Aurora Financials, it would be a resounding "YES!" 

Thank you again for sharing your time and knowledge. Here's to the power of great conversations and quality connections.

My name is Sarah, I am a student at the University of Canterbury studying International Business and Finance. 

As final-year student, there is immense pressure on us students in finding the 'right' job. I reached out to Jonathan for advice on finding international opportunities and how to approach these.

Jonathan's approach was very professional, he was thoughtful, considerate, and efficient. 

I would highly recommend!

I put out a desperate plea for help from Australia to New Zealand when I was notified about a student loan debt that I wasn’t aware of. 

Jonathan answered that plea and worked with me to get that debt down by more than half. He was respectful, caring, interested, professional and determined. 

I don’t know what we would have done as a family if Jonathan didn’t dedicate himself to our cause. 

He has put our minds at ease and our future looks brighter without the massive debt hanging over our heads. 

I highly recommend Jonathan and Aurora Financials.

I am delighted to recommend Jonathan Maharaj for his exceptional peer consultation through CPA Australia. 

Jonathan's deep expertise in strategy, compliance, and practice management has been invaluable to me and my firm. 

 Through his insightful guidance and practical advice, I have gained a deeper understanding of our firm's strategy and compliance requirements, as well as effective techniques for managing our practice more efficiently. 

Jonathan's professionalism, expertise, and dedication to his clients are truly outstanding. 

I highly recommend him to anyone seeking expert consultation in these areas.

Jonathan was the auditor for Amnesty International NZ. 

As the ICT & Database Manager I had to liaise with him to provide more detailed information to match with the information from Accounts. 

Jonathan was efficient and professional, and worked well with our unique circumstances (Non Profit as opposed to his usual Commercial clients) and was patient with myself (and other staff) who may not understand accounting/auditing terms as well as he does.

I met Jonathan at The Marmon Group 2002 Global Trade Institute [MGGTI] in Chicago. This was a high impact student's conference organised by Junior Achievement International in 2002. 

It was designed to give selected, high achieving students from 112 JA Member Nations the opportunity to learn more extensively about entrepreneurship, international business, global economics, business ethics, management practices, and other such topics. 

Jonathan has an amazing personality, and I knew then as I know now that he would be a success. 

A wonderful friend, and definitely one of my business partners in time to come.