Lincolns Connect with Kym
By Bec Pauley & Jen Leonard
On 1 July, Kym Arnold took the next step in her Lincolns journey as she became a Partner of the firm. It is a milestone that reflects not just her technical ability and client focus, but the way she has grown with Lincolns, shaped by strong mentors, a willingness to put her hand up and a genuine love of working alongside people.
We sat down with Kym to talk about how she found her way to Lincolns, the moments that have shaped her career and what she values most about working with clients, the team and the community around her.
Finding her way to Lincolns
For Kym, the path to Lincolns was shaped early by the people who encouraged her to think bigger. Strong mentors have been a consistent theme throughout her career and one in particular helped steer her towards accounting. His advice was simple: if she wanted to work closely with businesses and understand how they really operate, an accounting degree would give her an invaluable base. From there, he encouraged her to spend time in an accounting firm and, if possible, to get into Lincolns.
Learning that it was about more than tax
It did not take long for Kym to realise that life at Lincolns could be much broader than traditional tax work. Within her first few months, she was being given opportunities to attend and present at seminars, supported by people like Gary Philpott who encouraged her to get involved. Those early experiences helped her see that, if she wanted it, there was scope to build a career that combined technical knowledge, client relationships and genuine advisory work.
A major turning point came with Single Touch Payroll. Kym was one of the key people involved and the project changed the way she worked with clients. It placed her alongside business owners one-on-one, helping them navigate a significant change in their business. That experience deepened her understanding of how clients work through change, how much support they need and how important it is to meet them where they are.
Moving from accountant to manager was another important step. Working more closely with the Partners and being involved in their client meetings gave Kym a front-row seat to how relationships are built and how advice is delivered. As she puts it, there is no better way to learn than that.
Make it stand out
Putting the client’s world first
Kym’s approach with clients is grounded in personalising the service to what they need, rather than trying to make them fit a set way of working. She likes to understand the whole picture: the business, the people behind it, their personal goals and what they are working towards over the next few years.
It is this personal side of the work that Kym loves most. For her, good advice is not just about tax planning or compliance. It is about looking more broadly at what is happening in a client’s life and business, then helping them make decisions with that bigger picture in mind.
The Lincolns culture
When asked what she values most about Lincolns, Kym comes back to the culture. It might sound like an obvious answer, but for Kym it is deeply genuine. She does not believe she would still be in the industry if she had not been at Lincolns.
She describes a team that works together well across all levels, without a strong sense of hierarchy and with plenty of fun along the way. On tougher days, it is often the small moments that keep her going: a grateful client, a team member who feels supported, the sense that she is helping someone else develop their own career and a good chai latte always helps.
Growing into the next step
Like many career transitions, becoming a Partner has been a process. Kym says that with both the move from accountant to manager and now from manager to Partner, she felt ready before the change officially happened. Looking back though, she can see the value in the timing. In the lead-up to this next step, she has realised just how much she has learnt in the past year and that the transition has unfolded the way it was meant to.
Along the way, she has also had to rethink how she manages the volume of work that comes with progression. Kym has always been someone who stays on top of tasks and responds quickly, so learning to manage expectations, delegate well and keep one clear to-do list has been important. She is quick to credit Taleah, one of our awesome support team members, for helping keep her in line and supporting that shift in the few months leading up to the change.
Mentors, opportunities and saying yes
For anyone aiming for a similar career path, Kym’s advice is clear: find good mentors and say yes to opportunities.
If you do not have a mentor, find one within your business and, where possible, someone external as well. If something is happening and you are not involved, ask the question. The more you put yourself forward, the more opportunity you create for people to see what you are capable of.
That same philosophy shapes how Kym supports others. She likes to train in the way she learns best: on the job. That means giving people the chance to sit in on meetings, take on new experiences and stretch themselves, while making sure they have the support they need around them.
Life outside work
Outside work, Kym’s days are grounded by family, netball and time outdoors. Cuddles with her girls are one of the small things that always make her day better, or getting out and adventuring with them in the sunshine. Her goal in the next year is to do more camping trips with the family and possibly first plane trip for the girls to somewhere in Australia.
Netball is one of the things she enjoys that is just for her. She loves the team environment, the fun of playing and also watching the game (Go Fever!). Reading is one her favourite escapes, and a personal goal she has is to one day hike the Bibbulmun Track from start to finish.
