Finance

Nicole joined MCG in 2024, coming from Endemol Shine Australia (ESA), the number one independent TV production company in Australia, responsible for blockbuster formats such as MasterChef, NCIS Sydney, Survivor and Gogglebox.

During her time at ESA, Nicole was the Head of Finance, providing strategic and operational guidance across key areas of company performance, while leading and scaling the finance function through an unprecedented period of growth for the business.

Prior to her time with ESA, Nicole held senior roles across commercial, FP&A, business control and strategy with both Volvo and Qantas Group.

A proud Wiradjuri woman, Nicole is a qualified CPA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University.

As Head of Finance, Aoife provides leadership and direction across a range of disciplines, oversees commercial arrangements, tax, treasury, financial planning and reporting.

Aoife has over 13 years’ experience working in the entertainment industry, most recently working at Opera Australia with the finance and commercial teams on transformation project for their musicals.

Prior to that, Aoife worked for over 11 years as Finance Manager for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Australian subsidiary, The Really Useful Company, touring first class musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera and Cats through Australia and Asia, providing decision making support to senior executives, managing risk, commercial deal structuring and financial planning & analysis.

Aoife has an honours degree from Trinity College, Dublin and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Originally from Ireland, she moved to Sydney in 2001 where she lives with her family.

Phyllis is a chartered accountant with over 7 years’ of accounting experience in South Africa and Australia. Previous roles include managing the end-to-end finance function of various entities of the Allan Gray group and shortly after, taking on the responsibilities of a group statutory reporting manager at AMP Limited. Prior to this, Phyllis practiced as an auditor with Deloitte in South Africa and across USA.

Phyllis graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Business Science Finance degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting and is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and Connecticut Society of CPAs.

Born and raised in South Africa, Phyllis and her family moved to Sydney in 2020. She joins the Michael Cassel Group in October 2021 as a Production Accountant.

 

Danielle returned to Michael Cassel Group in 2021 as the Production Accountant on Mary Poppins, after coming full circle from her 2015 internship with the company.

Since 2019, she has been working for Musica Viva Australia as their Financial Accountant. Her role included working closely with the CFO on board reports and budgeting, while also being responsible for maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the day-to-day accounts.

Prior to this, Danielle worked as a Senior Associate for Grant Thornton in Audit & Assurance where she was lucky enough to work with companies such as NIDA, Bell Shakespeare, and Sydney Film Festival. She also interned at The Hayes Theatre and Opera Australia throughout her university studies.

Danielle’s passion and dedication to the arts combined with strong financial skills has allowed her to build a wonderful career in the entertainment industry, and she is excited to grow further with Michael Cassel Group.

Danielle is a CA qualified accountant.

 

Maudy joined Michael Cassel Group in 2018 as Production Accountant for The Lion King International Tour. She has more than 10 years’ experience in managing production accounts for both Australian productions and International touring productions.

Her most recent experience was with Opera Australia working as Production Analyst and Production Accountant for My Fair Lady the Musical – Australian tour 2016-2017.

Maudy first introduction to the entertainment industry was when she joined the finance team of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group Sydney office back in 2004. She was responsible in managing & reporting production accounts for CATS International Tour, Love Never Dies Australia, and the Phantom of The Opera Asia Tour 2012-2016 with seasons in Manila, China, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong & Istanbul.

Maudy is a CPA Australia qualified accountant. She graduated from Australian Catholic University in North Sydney majoring in Business Accounting.

 

India hails from Wollongong where at Wollongong University she completed her Master of Professional Accounting with Distinction and her Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting. Prior to her accounting degrees, India undertook a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Philosophy and French at the Universite Francois-Rabelais, in Tours, France.

India is no stranger to the entertainment industry coming highly recommended from our partners at Disney. Indeed, India worked as a Park Greeter at the Walt Disney World Resort Orlando Florida, in the USA as part of Disney’s International College Program.

More recently India has worked as a company accountant in the Aged Care Sector and Labour Hire Corporate industry.

India has relocated from Wollongong to Sydney to join us at the Michael Cassel Group and is looking forward to the challenging but rewarding industry that live entertainment is.

 

Ming is a qualified accountant with more than 15 years’ experience in Finance. After graduating from Western Sydney University with a master’s degree in accountancy, Ming worked for the coffee brand Robert Timms as a corporate accountant for 6 years. She then move to SGK, a global creative and designing company to work as a Senior Financial Accountant.

Ming is competent at gathering and monitoring financial data, preparing financial statements and reports, forecasting and budgeting, and advising company leaders on business practices and strategies. She is passionate about her work in this industry and working to pursue the best result.

Celina is a keen fan of musicals, movies and theatre and therefore enjoys the creative energy that the Michael Cassel Group provides. She has seen over 30 live productions from South Pacific (her favourite) to The Lion King and Singin’ In The Rain.

Celina joined the Michael Cassel Group Finance team after many years of working in such diverse industries such as Insurance, Health Care, Banking and Wine Retail. In her most recent role as Finance Officer at Beazley Underwriting Group, she streamlined processes and was responsible for multi-million dollar payments. She liaised with external suppliers and clients ensuring that all invoices and queries were handled effectively and promptly and while working at a wine retailer, she once got to sample a glass of port from 1896!

Though new in the Entertainment business, Celina is responsible for some of Michael Cassel Group’s Payroll functionalities, Accounts Payable and Receivable to name a few. She also assists the Production Accountants in a various range of duties.

In her own time, Celina loves to cook, paint and decorate. She enjoys the simplicity of life and is looking forward to learning more and enjoying “now”.

 

Amy moved to Australia in 2001 and earned a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wollongong.

With over 15 years of experience in payroll, Amy has worked as a standalone payroll officer and manager across various industries, including non-profit, private, and public sectors. She has extensive expertise in both in-house and outsourced payroll operations.

In November 2024, Amy joined Michael Cassel Group as a Payroll Specialist. She is excited to further strengthen her payroll expertise while also exploring the world of musical theatre and entertainment.

Masuma first joined the Michael Cassel Group Finance team in 2022 as her first step into the entertainment industry. This opportunity prompted her interest in music, play and drama. Before working at Michael Cassel Group, Masuma spent past years working with different tax, recruitment, and transport business organisations where she further developed her skills and experience.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science and an accounting Diploma.

Masuma is excited to experience the new experience of the musical theatre platform.