BVO Audit

About us

BVO Audit

About us

BVO Audit is a team of auditors and a division of the long-established Blackmore Virtue and Owens firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors.

With years of audit and review experience under their belts, they know that getting an audit or review needs to be a straightforward process, with benefits beyond simply knowing your financials are true and correct. You need a clear path to minimise risks and achieve your stakeholder goals for better governance.

“We pride ourselves on providing plain language reports and constructive feedback that everyone can understand. An audit or review with BVO is much more than ticking boxes, it’s about helping you and your organisation do what you do best.” – Alex Houghton

Meet the team behind BVO Audit

Alex Houghton

Director

Qualified Auditor · Chartered Accountant · Certificate of Public Practice

Alex founded BVO Audit in 2021 and has been a director of the BVO accountancy firm since 2009. He has held a range of tax, accounting, and audit roles with Big Four and second-tier firms in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Alex specialises in audit and assurance services, business advisory, and tax compliance. He is a Qualified Auditor and a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Institute of Directors.

Having served on governance boards himself, Alex understands how much directors rely on accurate financial information to make good decisions. He is passionate about providing clear audit reports and practical insights that help organisations operate with confidence.

Alex grew up on a dairy farm in Northland and is married with four children. Outside work he enjoys cycling along the waterfront, fishing in the Hauraki Gulf, and supporting the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks.

Svetlana Petrukhina

Senior Audit Manager

Svetlana (Lana) is a highly experienced audit professional with around 15 years of experience across both internal and external audit. She holds a graduate diploma in Accounting with honours and a Master of Economics, and later completed a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration in New Zealand.

Before moving to New Zealand, Lana worked in Moscow across both external audit and senior internal audit roles, including Deputy Head of Internal Audit Control and Methodology. In New Zealand she has worked across a wide range of audit engagements including not-for-profit organisations, AML/CFT audits, trust account audits, education institutions, and commercial entities.

Lana brings deep technical expertise, strong analytical skills, and a commitment to delivering clear and reliable audit outcomes for clients.

Lana enjoys dance, travel, psychology, and spending time with family and friends.

Karina Zhuravleva

Assistant Manager

Karina is an experienced audit professional with an international background in assurance services. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics specialising in Accountancy and Audit and a Master’s degree in Management Accounting.

 

Since relocating to New Zealand in 2022, Karina has worked as a Senior Auditor in a second-tier accounting firm, gaining experience across a wide range of industries and organisations. She also previously worked with a Big Four accounting firm overseas.

Karina supports the delivery of high-quality audits for a diverse portfolio of organisations and is known for her attention to detail and collaborative approach.

Karina enjoys horse riding and travelling, and has also lived in Spain where she studied Spanish.

Liam Watkins

Senior Auditor

Chartered Accountant · Bachelor of Business

Liam is a Senior Auditor at BVO Audit with experience in assurance services, financial auditing, and compliance. He works across a range of audit engagements, supporting organisations to meet their reporting obligations while providing practical insights into their financial processes.

Liam holds a Bachelor of Business and is a Chartered Accountant. He has experience working with a variety of organisations, including not-for-profit entities.

Known for his analytical thinking and collaborative approach, Liam focuses on delivering thorough and reliable audit outcomes.

Liam enjoys watching sports and exploring New Zealand.

Andrea Mae

Intermediate Auditor

Certified Public Accountant

Andrea is a Certified Public Accountant with experience working in a Big Four audit firm, where she worked on a range of audit engagements and developed a strong understanding of international auditing standards.

She also holds additional certifications including Certified Bookkeeper, Registered Cost Accountant, and Certified Accounting Technician.

Andrea brings a thoughtful and organised approach to audit work and enjoys supporting clients and teams to achieve accurate and reliable financial reporting.

Andrea enjoys painting, singing in her church choir, journaling, and spending time with her family.

Anuksha Talpade

Intermediate Auditor

Anuksha graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a major in Accounting and a minor in Business Law. She previously worked in an accounting role in the property industry and is currently working towards completing her Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand qualification.

Anuksha supports the BVO Audit team across a range of engagements and brings strong organisational skills and attention to detail to her work.

She is fluent in English, Marathi, and Hindi.

Anuksha enjoys singing classic Bollywood songs, watching movies, and spending time with family.

Aubrey Buan

Intermediate Auditor

Aubrey is an experienced audit professional who has worked with clients across a range of industries while working with a Big Four accounting firm. Through this work she has developed strong technical skills in auditing and financial reporting.

She holds both a Bachelor of Science in Accounting Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy.

Aubrey is known for her reliability, attention to detail, and ability to work effectively with both clients and audit teams.

Aubrey enjoys travelling and discovering new places.

David Knightley

Consultant

Chartered Accountant · Retired Qualified Auditor

David is a Chartered Accountant and retired Qualified Auditor with more than 50 years of experience in the profession. He brings extensive knowledge of audit and assurance engagements across not-for-profit organisations, clubs, societies, charities, trusts, and corporate entities.

A long-standing member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, David continues to contribute his experience and guidance to the BVO Audit team.

David is a Trustee of the national branch of the international charity United Way and Treasurer of the Photographic Society of New Zealand. His interests include stamp collecting, tramping, travelling, classic cars, and motorsport.

Lata Nayak

Personal Assistant / Administrator

Lata provides administrative and operational support to Alex and the wider BVO Audit team. She brings more than 30 years of professional experience across a range of international organisations including American Express Bank, McKinsey, and AT Kearney.

Originally from India, Lata first worked in New Zealand in 2002 and later returned to support organisations remotely before joining BVO. Her extensive experience as an executive assistant helps keep the team organised and clients well supported.

Lata enjoys singing Gurbani, travelling, and spending time with family.

Who we work with and the services we offer

BVO Audit work with a range of Not-For-Profit and For-Profit organisations. Find out more about the services we provide and how we can help your organisation by choosing from the list below.

Not For Profit

Charitable Trusts
Incorporated Societies
Clubs
Churches
Volunteer service organisations

Education provider

Charitable Private Training Establishments
Education and training providers

Real Estate Business

Body Corporates
Real Estate Trust holders

Business with overseas shareholders

Book a call with a qualified auditor

Businesses getting ready to attract funding

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How the audit process works.

You’ll love how easy it is to work with us. We’ll do the work either at your place or at our offices in Newmarket, then prepare a report on what we found.

Book a Consultation

1. Discuss

Discuss your requirements with one of our qualified auditors.

2. Estimate

Receive a formal fee estimate for the job, without obligation.

3. Engage

Decide to engage the services of BVO Audit.

4. Step-by-Step

Get step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions and a checklist to help you gather all the relevant information.

5. Your place or ours

We’ll do the work either at your place or at ours, with minimal disruption, to assess and analyse your information and systems.

6. Audit Reports

You’ll receive audit reports of your financial statements, plus a plain language management letter containing constructive feedback on systems, processes or control measures that have been identified, to help you meet stakeholder goals.

Book a consultation.

Book a free 30 min no-obligation call or video with a qualified auditor.