Founded on the principle of giving confidence to small and medium sized businesses to succeed, Accounting Made Easy in the Cook Islands is certainly doing just that.
“We want to create healthy businesses, not to just survive but to thrive,” says Director Nancy Matapuku. “Small business owners often find themselves balancing all aspects of their business from – cash flow, product, services, tax. This can be overwhelming and often accounting and tax is put in the “too hard basket.”
Accounting Made Easy was set up to help business owners to reduce the load of accounting and reduce anxieties that often come with this, especially when calculating the tax bill. “Our aim is to help build resilience in our small island economy and sustainable capacity in their business. When business can stabilise and get into a routine, we get satisfaction that we have contributed to better communities and the economy.”
Started in 2008 by Nancy Matapuku and her colleague Tearuru Amataiti, today the business works across Rarotonga and Aitutaki. “Initially we were helping family and small businesses, and we just grew from there. We became a company, increased our skill base and took on contract roles with government which was a turning point.”
As well as running this business, Nancy is also a Board Director on the Airport Authority Cook Islands and a member of a Public Expenditure Review Committee.
In 2022, Nancy became a BLP approved advisor with approved competencies in Accounting & Financial Management and Strategy and Business Planning.
As a part of BLP Advisory Network, Accounting Made Easy can access BLP subsidies to help SMEs pay for advisory services.
“We both gain. The BLP subsidy brings us SMEs that would normally not be able to afford professional services such as accounting.”
“In the last two years we’ve helped around 45 businesses get access to the BLP subsidy. Its empowered businesses with insights into what is available by way of grants and subsidies and provides valuable growth development plans. In the Cook Islands the subsidy can be up to a maximum of 50% of the cost. During COVID it was 70-80%, in dire need some benefitted up to 90% subsidy.”
With plenty of experience in securing the BLP advisor subsidies for SMEs, Nancy has some good advice for other advisors in the BLP network.
“When we first started accessing the subsidy we found that many of our SMEs did not know about BLP, and we were still learning the process as well, so it was a bit drawn out. Also, the application requirements are quite comprehensive, so that was hard for our SMEs who were less proficient with technology and accounting to manage the application process.”
Nancy says that because they have been through the application process many times, they understand all the subsidy requirements and now have a stepped procedure they follow which accelerates everything.
“Before having a meeting with the SME, Nancy says they discuss the information that is needed for the application.”
“At the meeting, we complete the subsidy application. This makes it much easier and quicker for our clients and for ourselves. We are able to show the SME the website on BLP and what it offers, help them set up an account and lead them through the application process. We act as the bridge.”
“We find that there is a 50/50 split” says Nancy. “About half of the SME’s we work with are technology savvy and can navigate the BLP website easily, whilst others prefer that we help with this side of things while they focus on what’s important to them, which is the day-to-day running of their business. Most small business owners are busy managing and working their business that tax and accounting are often area’s that can overwhelm them, so we try and make it as easy as possible.”
Accounting Made Easy’s encourages all business owners “You can do it!”.
She says the BLP subsidy is making a real difference. As an example, Nancy highlights a tourism business that started in 2018. “When COVID hit it lost all its sales and had little to no funds to pay for accounting or tax advice. Fortunately, BLP provided an opportunity that could subsidize this for them. When they started, the business earnt sales of NZ$19k—now their sales have quadrupled, and they are tracking upwards of $750k in 2025. They have gone from strength to strength, employing only five employees at the start, to 15 employees today. We get so much joy seeing small businesses thrive.”
To be a BLP Advisor, advisors must pass a competency test in the field they specialise in. “It is a high-quality vetting and rigorous testing process. It was good and for me as it verified in my mind the standard of my skill. It also allowed us to add a layer of quality assurance to the service we offer to our SMEs on Rarotonga.”
Congratulations to Accounting Made Easy for showing the way.
BLP facilitates access to business advisory services and financial support. To start your journey with BLP, you can self-assess your needs by using the free online tools available to help small- and medium-sized businesses diagnose areas in their businesses that an advisor could improve.
The first step can be the online Business Health Check. You can also check your business’s resilience to respond to crises or climate change challenges on the Business Continuity Planner and the Climate Action Sensor. If you prefer to meet a local BLP representative in person to discuss your business, get in touch with our local partners to arrange a face-to-face Diagnostic.