Our People

Ric Payne: Principa Founder - President

Ric Payne co-founded Results Accountants Systems, the Accountants Boot Camp and the and the Results Accountants Network, and now Principa. He has personally trained more than 7,600 accounting professionals how to build a better practice and life. Named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Accounting Profession by US magazine, Accounting Today and a frequent key note speaker for professional accounting bodies worldwide, Ric has long been regarded as a major thought leader for the accounting profession. On top of that, the man can ski!

Mark James: CEO

Mark began his career with foundational experience in financial analysis within the Corporate and Institutional Banking division of a Big Four bank. During his three years in financial markets, Mark worked across a range of portfolios including trading, settlements and relationship management, before establishing a focus on in-depth analysis of the financial strength, structures and credit worthiness of bank customers and trading partners. Mark’s experience expanded to include the unique environment of starting a company from scratch, by taking an idea to proto-type phase through to product refinement, manufacturing, brand development, market awareness, sales, operations and after-sales service within just two years, later selling the business for a solid return. During this phase of starting a company from scratch and nurturing the company to deliver a healthy revenue stream and significant brand awareness within the target market, Mark gained a deep appreciation for the challenges facing small and medium-size organisations at each stage of the business lifecycle. Later joining a large public company with $1.1B turnover, Mark rose to the position of Divisional General Manager where he was responsible for realising the ambitious growth plans for the Division within Australia and New Zealand. As part of the senior leadership team he consistently delivered on aggressive goals set for EBIT, debtor performance, new business development, staff retention, lost time injury rates and customer satisfaction. Gaining a reputation for both strategic and hands-on business management, Mark was regularly called on to assist with the turnaround of poorer performing areas of the business.

Within four years Mark oversaw the division’s growth from a revenue base of $25M to $55M, from five sites and around 90 employees to eight sites and 160 employees. Now Mark brings this significant experience to Principa and looks forward to maximizing his undeniable expertise through our company and to our members. To further Mark’s success, he’s happily married to his college sweetheart and is a proud father to a beautiful son and daughter.

Bridget McQuaid: Vice President - Asia Pacific Operations

Bridget is no stranger to building and leading high performance teams - in both the corporate and sports arenas. With dual degrees in Sports Physiology and Arts plus a solid track record in corporate practice development. directing change and performance improvement there is great alignment between Bridgets expertise and the role she plays with Principa. Fit as a fiddle, she competes in triathlons and is an active fundraiser for her chosen causes.

Joanna Gyuire: Practice Development Advisor

Joannas a girl who does everything with one key concept in mind; success! She joined Principa with a background in operations, public relations, administration and research. As a Practice Development Advisor, she applies her constant state of optimism to assist and advise our clients through their implementation of Principa strategies.

Joanna is devoted to making a difference. Away from the office, she volunteers as a grief counselor for kids, spends time with her dog and enjoys hiking. On top of all that, the girl can snowboard!

Kerry Payne: Principa Founder - Global Director of Marketing

Kerry Payne has a long history of small business consulting and management and has been helping re-engineer accounting firms around the world for the past decade with Results Accountants Systems and now Principa. A former small-business advisor for the Australian government, Kerry is an accomplished trainer and speaker who has educated and motivated more than 2,500 professional throughout the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She is a passionate photographer, but PLEASE keep her away from the karaoke machine!