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The firm

The why behind Altiora.

Partner-led, by design. A deliberately small client list. The standard we built the firm to hold.

Origin

We named the firm for the outcome.

Ad Altiora. Latin, “to rise higher.” We named the firm for the outcome we want for every client: better structure, better strategy, better results than they had before.

We have seen, inside bigger firms, what happens when client work gets passed down to juniors, when advice becomes a checklist, and when “proactive” is a word on a website rather than a way of working. Altiora is the correction to that. One senior accountant who scopes the work, does the work, and picks up the phone when something changes.

The practice

How Altiora came together.

Byron was head of accounting at Naked Accounting, where he and Shannon first worked together, in 2024. They shared an impatience with jargon, a view on how a firm ought to look after its clients, and a read on where a small practice with the right systems could go.

So they built one. Altiora runs on a simple division of labour: Byron leads every client’s accounting, tax and advisory work as the senior practitioner, and Shannon founded the firm and runs the practice around him, part-time, so the experience stays smooth from the first email on.

One senior practitioner. A practice built around the work.

It is a deliberately narrow model. No staff layers, no junior hand-offs, no file passed three desks deep before anyone who knows you sees it. The right systems do the repeatable work in the background, which is what lets one accountant look after a meaningful list properly.

Byron Raal, Lead Accountant & Advisor

Lead Accountant & Advisor

Byron Raal.

Chartered Accountant · CA ANZ 2090988 · Registered Tax Agent 26 266 057 · Gold Coast, QLD

Byron leads the firm’s accounting, tax and advisory work, and clients deal with him directly throughout. He is the senior technical practitioner on every file: the person who scopes your work, the person who does it, and the person you call when something changes.

Over 17 years in practice, his career began at Deloitte in Dunedin, covering income tax, GST and FBT, with secondments into CFO and management accounting roles on the client side. He moved to the Gold Coast in 2017, building out advisory work at GFA Strategic before becoming head of accounting at Naked Accounting, running every office across multiple states, remote and on-site from the Gold Coast.

He partners with growth-phase business owners across Australia, focused on the thinking behind the numbers and the decisions that look forward. Day-to-day his work runs across business advisory and growth, SME tax and structuring, asset protection and the more complex end of tax, for clients who want clarity, direct access, and an accountant who is already thinking about next year.

Bachelor of Commerce, University of Otago.

Focus

Business advisory & growth · SME tax & structuring · Asset protection · Complex tax · Systems & practice improvement.

Shannon Tarbotton, Founder & Practice Manager

Founder & Practice Manager

Shannon Tarbotton.

Shannon founded Altiora and works with the practice on a part-time basis. She manages client onboarding, scheduling, workflow coordination and practice operations, helping ensure clients have a smooth and well-organised experience. She also prepares a limited number of individual tax returns each year, as her capacity allows.

Focus

Onboarding · Scheduling · Workflow coordination · Client experience · Practice operations.

Our standard

What we hold ourselves to.

  • Care.

    Every client on our list is here because we chose them deliberately. We notice when things change. We call first, rather than wait for the email.

  • Honesty.

    When we don’t know, we say so. When the rule is unsettled, we say so. When a plan has a weak point, we say so. We show our working every time.

  • Curiosity.

    We are the kind of firm that reads the rulings for fun and watches closely where the standards are moving. A meaningful share of our non-client time is spent getting better at the job.

  • Craft.

    The files we ship are accurate, clean and consistent. Good work is invisible when it is right, and obvious when it isn’t.

How we work together

How the relationship runs.

  • Cadence of contact

    Quarterly check-ins by default, more often when the work warrants it. We initiate as much as you do; staying in touch isn’t only your job. If something on your file moves, you hear from us before you ask. Quick on email. Faster on a call when it matters.

  • How we surface things

    We flag what changes the answer for you. Tax law shifts that affect your structure. Opportunities ahead of year-end. Things that could become problems if left alone. Everyday compliance work runs in the background; you hear when it’s done, not the running commentary. We don’t fill your inbox with FYIs.

  • When we push back

    On structure that risks an audit, even when it saves short-term tax. On growth plans the numbers don’t support. On chasing a deduction that won’t survive scrutiny. Better a hard conversation now than a worse one with the ATO later. If we think you’re about to make an expensive call, you’ll know.

Start a conversation

Tell us what you’re working on.

One call. Partner-led. No queue.

Speak with a partner or call (07) 5620 3540

New here? Start with a free review of your file.