About

The Engine Room Team


We provide Business Coaching,  Financial Management & Accounting services to small-to-medium businesses. We’ll help you plan for profit, be financially well organised and make informed business and financial decisions.

Contact us for a free business appraisal

Margaret Holmes - Director
Margaret is a qualified Chartered Accountant with 15 years experience working with small and medium-sized businesses. Before entering into public practice, she spent 12 years working in Finance Manager and Director roles for large corporate businesses.

Always extending her knowledge, Margaret recently completed the Qualified Directors Training – enabling her to assist clients with business governance.

Philippa O’Mara - Director
Qualified UK and NZ Chartered Accountant with 16 years experience in public practice; working in audit, acquisition due diligence and small business consulting. Like Margaret, Philippa is passionate about helping businesses achieve their potential.

An advocate of on-going learning and an experienced presenter, Philippa has spent 10 years training and supporting business owners.


Margaret and Philippa are supported by an awesome team of experienced and qualified accountants:

Vanessa Jepson has extensive experience in public practice, working with businesses of all sizes. She specialises in bloodstock and livestock accounting and tax issues and increasingly working with clients to help them up-skill as their businesses grow.

Steve Cornwall looks after our clients’ annual accounts and tax compliance work.

Louise Lauer is a chartered accountant and is our Trust specialist



We couldn’t achieve what we do with our clients, without the support of:

Manon Tait -  Accounting Support and  Xero Consultant. She liaises between clients and the accountants, prepares GST returns and drafts financial reports.

Jin Sun - Accounting Support and Xero Consultant.  Jin is a recent graduate and is rapidly learning the ropes, preparing GST returns and draft financial reports.

Hayley Watters - as Client Services Administrator Hayley supports the accounting team and provides back up support for reception.

Last but certainly not least - Marilyn Jamieson – The Engine Room’s friendly face at Reception and cheerful voice on the phone. She knows where everyone and everything is!