Zane Stevens is the Director of Protea Financial—an accounting and bookkeeping firm specializing in wineries. In this episode, Zane talks about his life in South Africa, how he got into accounting, and what made him move to the US to start working in the winery consulting space. Zane and Stuart discuss what’s unique about winery accounting, how they attract clients, and what the future holds for Protea Financial.

Together they discuss:

Growing up and going to college in South Africa (00:30)The start of Zane’s accounting career (02:00)Zane’s experience at KPMG (04:00)Pivoting to consulting work (06:40)Moving to Cape Town and working in IT consulting (08:00)Leaving KPMG and moving to the US (09:00)Entering the winery consulting space (12:30)Characteristics of winery accounting (15:30)The process of building the structure (18:30)Balancing work and family (19:30)Ways to attract new clients (21:40)What’s next for Protea Financial (25:30)Client stories (29:20)