Racing along rural roads, Paul Duynhoven approaches his sport the same way he approaches his career: fully dedicated and willing to put in the work.
He took up competitive cycling after a few too many injuries on the rugby field and loves the thrill of a good race.
“I really appreciate the correlation from putting the work in and getting the results,” Paul says.
“In the early days I was getting fitter and it was helping my racing, then I started getting some structured coaching and got into teams racing too.
“Learning helped me progress and I can hold my own most of the time in some decent company, but when I hit multi-day racing I found it challenging and realised why the best are the best,” he laughs.
He grew up in a small area called Egmont Village, south of New Plymouth. He is the eldest of six, so it was a busy start to life between the family dairy farm, sports and the local community growing up.
“It was about Year 10 or 11 when I was thinking about my future and even though farming was in the back of my mind, I knew I would need an off-farm career to support my sporting passions,” Paul says.
“So I chose accounting and by accident or design I seemed to have an affinity for it.”
Leaving his small-town community for Waikato University was a humbling transition – from being a big fish to a small one. But he took everything in his stride and completed a Bachelor of Management Studies with first-class honours, and became an accountant.
After finishing university, Paul went back to Taranaki for a role with a mid-tier firm. The business was a reasonable size with many opportunities, and that was where he got into farm accounting.
“Even though I had a lot of learning for the accounting side, because of my background and interest in agriculture I was drawn to it where some steer away.
“But I enjoyed getting on the phone to farmers, talking about what was going on and ensuring they’re getting the best outcomes tax-wise and helping them as much as possible with other tools.”
One of his biggest passions is to support people as they progress through the industry and build their confidence.
He got involved with New Zealand Young Farmers too, holding a range of roles and being one of those reliable members who got stuck into nearly everything possible. He holds a life membership for the Taranaki Manawatu region and still pops up at the odd event to continue to support the organisation.
“Young Farmers was a great way to meet people, there are lots of opportunities, competitions and committees to get involved with.
“It’s a great way to build a network and I always encourage others to get stuck in.”
After several years of building his accounting skill set in Taranaki, an opportunity to move to Manawatū arose and he took the chance to gain further experience.
He found that farming there was slightly different. He gained more exposure to sheep and beef and the red meat sector and engaged with some diverse businesses.
“Farmers are different from region to region I’ve found, but it’s good to learn more and support them.”
After a couple of years, he moved back to Waikato in a management role with an accounting firm that had an office in Te Aroha.
“It was a chance to build the skill set again, now I was leading the team and looking after farmers.
“It was good to get out of my comfort zone and grow my confidence to give people advice to help them operate their businesses efficiently.”
He found the farming systems in the area were more intensive, with more System 3, 4 and 5 farms than he had been dealing with previously. And he gained exposure to different milk processors, such as Tatua.
While he was up there, he also completed a Kellogg Rural Leadership course, with the focus of his work on innovative approaches to succession planning. He looked deeply at what successful succession planning looks like and got a solid understanding of the principles.
He was also faced with covid challenges while based in Te Aroha, working remotely. It was a good personal growth period.
And although it was not anticipated, when an opportunity to move back to Taranaki came up, he decided to jump in. There was a principal position going in New Plymouth, which would advance his career and allow him to be closer to his family and the farm.
“I’ve been back three years now and I have an ownership stake in +MORE, an advisory and accountancy firm.
“I’m keen to grow the business here in New Plymouth and continue to support the rural sector, helping farmers with the challenges they face.”
He says accounting is a varied career. The day-to-day he deals with can be quite different within hours.
The family farm is still ticking along, with his brother Mark and sister-in-law Krystal 50:50 sharemilking 270 predominantly Jersey cows. Their dad, Jim, passed away a few years ago but mum Susanne is still on the farm and supports Mark in making operational decisions.
Paul has taken a supportive role. He is involved with the financial administration and has oversight from a strategic perspective. He has more involvement with the big decisions, like when they expanded and bought more land a few years ago.
Outside of work and the farm Paul is still cycling and racing. He has also been involved with managing a cycling team in the New Zealand Cycling Classic, which was a different experience.
“It’s giving the young, up-and-coming cyclists opportunities to race at an elite level.
“We have some phenomenal talent in New Zealand cycling.”
He has also set up a Rural Business Support Group on Facebook, where he shares useful information and offers generic advice.
In the longer term, he hopes to buy his own farm one day but for now he is focused on continuing to expand and grow the +MORE business, which is striving to be seen as a leading agricultural accounting firm.
“And I’d like to have a few more successes on the bike myself.”
This article first appeared in our sister publication, Dairy Farmer.
