Meet Luke Henry, Managing Partner at LDB Group

By day, Luke Henry is a tax adviser and managing partner at LDB, but by night he’s just as much of a Netflix fan as the rest of us!

In this article, you’ll discover more about Luke, his expertise, hobbies and secret vice.

1) How did you end up at LDB?

I joined LDB as a graduate accountant at the start of 2003 working directly with Chris Barbanti on his diverse client base.

I was excited to work at a firm that had a broad service range that would support clients at any stage of life.

This matched my being undecided on whether to advise on business taxation or superannuation at the time.

I had the opportunity to work closely with Chris (and his unconventional style) on most of his clients’ tax compliance and business advisory engagements.

I supplemented my on-the-job training with study to become a Chartered Accountant and undertook my Masters in Tax in 2007, which helped me build a practical understanding of tax issues.

When Chris retired in 2011, I joined the LDB partnership team and took over as the key contact for his team.

2) What’s your area of expertise?

I’m a generalist tax advisor with a particular focus on entrepreneur tax concessions, like the research and development tax incentive or early stage innovation company (ESIC), and tax-effective structuring.

My clients are across IT consulting, game development, food manufacturing and distribution, medical practices, building and construction industries, as well as a number of high net worth families and not-for-profits managing investment portfolios.

Within LDB, I am the partner heading up our accounting division and am responsible for championing practice improvement projects like our transition to a paperless office and the introduction of our first web-based client portal.

3) What do you love about your job?

I really enjoy working closely with clients on a diverse range of business and tax issues.

My clients are generally very active in driving their businesses forward, so it’s interesting to see how they evolve, particularly with the effect of digital disruption many are experiencing.

I work with a talented team and I’m proud of how focussed they are in getting great outcomes for our clients.

I’m a big believer of providing Collins St standard advice without the Collins St rigidity and cost.  

4) Do you have any tax or business advice to impart?

Technology is changing at an incredible pace across many industries.

The pace of change and flow of information can be daunting however, there are benefits available to those with the time and willingness to invest.

There are lots of opportunities to harness technology to streamline the finance function and help clients focus on the direction of their business rather than working in their business.

Increasingly globalised economies are forcing the government to undertake much needed reform of the tax system, which opens up our ability to restructure client arrangements to achieve better tax outcomes.

5) What are your hobbies outside of work?

I enjoy trying anything new, interesting and challenging whether that be restaurants, movies or travel.

Earlier this year, I was able to tick Cuba off my ‘places to visit’ list and am tossing up choices for a future trip. A ride on the Trans-Siberian is the current front runner.

6) What is your secret vice?

Spending way too much time (and money) on backing Kickstarter projects.

7) What is your favourite book, movie and TV show?

Recently, I’ve really enjoyed watching Taylor Sheridan’s moody trilogy of the modern American frontier – Sicario, Hell or High Water and Wind River.

I’m currently half way through reading Iain Banks’ The Player of Games and a business book called Uncommon Sense, Common Nonsense. I really only get the time to read when travelling these days.

My all-time favourite movie is Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums.

I’m watching Fargo on Netflix at the moment, but I have to say the first season of True Detective is the best TV out there, in my humble opinion.