Emerging Advisory Firm
of the Year
The Gap AIM Awards
The Ake Team (Left to Right): Hannah Murphy, Orijhan Falwasser, Ngawati Cook, Tanisha Jones, Carlene Dixon, Matthew Davis, Tania-Rose Tamati, Dylan Stewart, Leah Donaldson, Cheyne Copeland.
Ake was named from a field of five finalists. It was an honour to be recognised alongside them. The awards look at one thing: whether a firm's advisory work actually changes something for its clients. For us, advisory isn't a service line bolted onto compliance. It's regular hui instead of one meeting a year. Real numbers while there's still time to act on them. And a plan that gets revisited, not filed.
With businesses, that shows up as margin, cashflow and time back. With Māori Land Trusts, marae and Māori Authorities, it shows up as compliance sorted and a values-led plan for the whenua, so the asset is stronger for the generation that inherits it.
If you'd like to see what that looks like for you, have a kōrero with us. No obligation.
What the Judges said
The AIM26 judges recognised Ake for a specialist focus on helping Māori organisations thrive, aligning financial strategy with the values and the vision they already hold. They noted how quickly advisory has moved from one person's project to the core of the firm, now delivered by a dedicated team through repeatable programmes: board coaching, financial awareness coaching, culturally grounded governance training and community workshops. They pointed to client work carried through to investment readiness and funding secured.
Their summary: “Culturally competent. Advisory first. Organisationally scalable. Strategically focused.”
