Our team

James joined R J Preston Ltd in 1993 and became a Director in 2004. He has over 30 years of accounting experience in agribusiness.

Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a farm manager both in New Zealand and overseas, gaining a wealth of knowledge in the farming industry which he is able to use in assisting our clients.

James is married to Paula, and they have two children, Courtney (27) who is now living in London, working for a private investment bank, and Matt (26) who is contract building. When not building Matt is following his passion of diving and hunting.

James and Paula live on a lifestyle block in Loburn, used for fattening cattle and running Paula's small flock of Suffolk sheep.

In their spare time they enjoy travelling and spending time with friends and family.

Grant joined R J Preston Ltd in 2009 with a view to specialise in the farm accounting sector. He is passionate about family farms having grown up on a sheep farm in Glenavy, South Canterbury.

Grant is a Chartered Accountant and completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) majoring in Accounting at Lincoln University. He worked for Staples Rodway in Christchurch prior to R J Preston Ltd.

He is married to Anna and they live on a sheep and beef farm in Hawkesbury, Marlborough with their young children Isobel, Jamie and Pippa. Grant operates a satellite office from the farmhouse and travels to Canterbury on a regular basis. In their spare time they are involved with the family company that farms the 500 Ha dryland property.

Chathu has over 10 years of experience in both the Accounting and IT industries. She joined the R J Preston Ltd team in 2013, became an Associate in 2021, and a Director in 2024.

She loves helping the clients and the team with any matters related to various accounting systems and software. She also prepares financial accounts and consults clients on various accounting matters.

Chathu is always eager to learn new knowledge and engage in challenging tasks. She has a bachelor's degree in Information Technology majoring in software development & programming. She has also completed a postgraduate qualification with distinction in Accounting with NZICA excellence award for top accounting graduate. She is currently studying to complete a Master of Applied Science in Data Science.

When she is not at work, Chathu enjoys reading non-fiction books, collecting books, and getting out in the great outdoors with her husband & helping him with his photography.

Sandra joined the firm in 1987 when Richard ran the business from his mother's house in Memorial Ave. Since then she has gained a wealth of knowledge about farm accounting and our clients. Her duties include preparing financial statement & tax returns, preparing GST returns, client liaison and training & assisting staff. Outside of work, she loves to spend as much time as she can with her children, grandchildren and friends.

She is also very involved with basketball in Christchurch and continues to play and coach in the local competition and is part of the score-bench crew for the Canterbury Rams; she also plays in masters tournaments in New Zealand and Australia.

Joanne joined R J Preston in 2011. She completed a commerce degree in accounting at Canterbury University and since joining the firm has gained a wealth of knowledge about the farming industry and the specialist accounting involved. She can now name many different brands of farm machinery, breed of sheep and types of seed.

Joanne prepares GST, PAYE Returns, RWT Returns and annual accounts. She also administers the provisional tax system for the office.

Joanne has lived in Christchurch most of her life. She met her husband at primary school and they have been together since high school. They have two children.

Joanne worked over 10 years in retail after leaving school, working at London Bookshops and then Whitcoulls. She also spent time working in Japan.

Nikola gained a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours majoring in Accounting from Lincoln University in 2007. After a few years working for commercial accounting firms, Nikola joined R J Preston Ltd in 2012.

Nikola and her husband Will have two daughters, Hayley and Brooke, and two dogs, Lillie and Sam, who keep them very busy!

In their spare time they enjoy hiking, tramping (with and without the girls), camping, and fostering puppies for Pound Paws Rescue. Nikola is in the office on Tuesdays and works from home on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Hannah has 18 years of Accounting experience. She joined the team at R J Preston in 2001 and after spending 5 years with the firm, left to broaden her experience, specifically in the corporate sector. She returned to R J Preston on a part time basis in 2013.

Hannah has completed the NZ Diploma in Business and is working towards obtaining her BCom at Canterbury University. Her areas of responsibility include Annual Financial Statement preparation, GST Return preparation, client liaison, ACC, FBT and IRD queries.

Hannah has three small children who keep her very busy outside of work.

Jan joined R J Preston Ltd in 2018. In addition to having completed the NZ Diploma in Business, she has over 25 years' experience working in the accounting and banking industries. Her duties include the preparation of financial statements, tax returns and GST returns.

Outside of work, she is kept busy with her two teenage children.

Michaela joined R J Preston in June 2019 as an Administrator.

Michaela was born in Invercargill but moved to Pleasant Point with her family as a teenager. She attended Roncalli College in Timaru and worked in administration for a few years before making the move to Christchurch.

She is responsible for a wide range of tasks at R J Preston including doing all the invoicing and being the AML Compliance Officer.

She absolutely loves animals, especially dogs. Michaela and her partner Will have a Rottweiler named Ivy.

Cathy joined R J Preston in 2021 as Receptionist/Typist. She has over 20 years of experience working in farm accounting practices.

She is married to Daryl and has two grown up children who have left home.

Cathy and her husband are avid sports fans, enjoy travel and regular walks with their two miniature schnauzers, Rosie and Phoebe.

Abby joined R J Preston in 2023. She has been a member of the Association of Chartered Accountants (ACCA) since 2010, with 7 years of experience in public practice as an accountant in New Zealand and as an external auditor in Malaysia. Becoming an accountant has always been her dream job since she was a teenager.

Originally from Malaysia, Abby moved to New Zealand in 2010 and spent a year living a backpacker's life with her husband, exploring both the North and South Islands. During this time, she gained valuable work experience, working in a kiwifruit factory and as a salmon factory.

Outside of work, Abby assists her husband in running their family business and devotes time to her two young children, engaging in activities such as learning, sports, and piano practice.

Sai Joined R J Preston Ltd in 2022. He has completed Bachelor's in Accounting (BAcc) and NZ Diploma in Agribusiness.

He has over 12-year experience in NZ farming and has managed a farm (dairy) prior to joining R J Preston.

He is responsible for preparing financial statements, GST returns, Tax returns and RWT Returns.

Sai is married to Scarlett, and they have one child. They enjoyed hunting, hiking, kayaking, biking, and watching movies in their spare time.

Gail joined RJ Preston Ltd in January 2022 as an Office Administrator. She has over 20 years' experience in the Banking Industry.

Gail has a grown-up son and a young grandson. She enjoys time spent with Family and Friends, is a sports fan, likes to travel and get outdoors.