Aiko Wang of the Rodgers Reidy NSW office has been registered as a Trustee in Bankruptcy with no specific restrictions placed on her license.

A Committee convened for the purpose of considering Aiko’s application to be registered as a trustee noted:

“Ms Wang demonstrated an exceptional level of communication, negotiation and advocacy skills, professional judgement and integrity…The Committee was impressed by… her ability to readily recall relevant caselaw and specific sections of the Act and Rules, and her comprehensive knowledge…”

Aiko is now both a Registered Trustee and a Registered Liquidator. This is a wonderful achievement and places her in only around 4% of the industry who are female holding both a Trustee’s and Liquidator’s license. She is quick to point out that Kaily Chua of the Queensland office of Rodgers Reidy holds the same qualifications and that overall 30% of the Registered Liquidators at Rodgers Reidy are female compared to an industry average of around 9.5%.

It’s been a good start to 2023 for Aiko following an article in the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (“CAANZ”) Acuity Magazine which recognised her amongst 20 young chartered accountants in Australia and New Zealand reaching significant achievements and breaking down barriers in their chose careers. A link to the article is below:

20 chartered accountants to watch | Acuity (acuitymag.com)

For someone who at the age of 14 was sent from her home in China to live in New Zealand and attend school there, where she knew no one, Aiko has come a long way. Other than irregular holidays, she has never returned to live in China. She learned to be self-sufficient finding her way in New Zealand and ultimately graduating from the University of Auckland before moving to Australia where she was awarded further Double Masters’ degrees from the University of Sydney.

Among her many qualifications, Aiko is also a CA Forensic Accounting Specialist that recognised by the CAANZ.

Aiko describes her work in the insolvency, forensic and restructuring field as “not only intellectually challenging but also highly emotionally charged. Working with people who are at their lowest financial point in life brings with it some of the best and worst of human traits, including mental health issues.”

She has an insightful understanding of the circumstances she often finds herself in “sometimes, good people do bad things when under such stress. I thrive on finding a solution to the financial problems faced by individuals and their companies. Most people think that their financial hurdles are insurmountable, however, the reality is that there are different options to deal with financial distress to find better outcomes for all involved. This includes good use of the Small Business Restructure (“SBR”) laws.”

Rodgers Reidy has been an early adopter of the SBR laws and has achieved great success in restructuring many small businesses. The laws are quicker and simpler to access and our results speak for themselves.

She has worked on large appointments at Rodgers Reidy dealing with over 1,000 employees and 240 sites in one matter down to small family company restructures and personal financial problems.

Aiko is a trailblazer breaking down barriers for females in a heavily dominated male industry. “I am eager to establish myself as a leader in my industry and a role model for other women breaking into heavily male-dominated industries. I believe that there is very important role for women in my industry, in particular, to improve the balance between empathy and the proper and necessary enforcement of the law.”

Our successes with the SBR regime and restructures of large entities provide me with great hope that restructuring viable businesses in the future will become more commonplace than liquidating. I want to change the way the industry is perceived both internally and externally.”

Aiko is an exceptional talent and has a bright future ahead of her.