Maha Kepakisan, CPA
From the first click to the balance sheet. CPA turned data engineer. Fifteen years across finance, telco, insurance and transport. Based in Auckland.
I grew up in Bali, Indonesia, and moved to New Zealand with my family in 2003 when I was 17. We settled in Christchurch, where I spent two years finishing high school before deciding to continue on to the University of Otago in Dunedin. I graduated with a BCom in Accounting and Management in 2009, expecting to spend my career in finance.
But I kept gravitating toward the systems behind the spreadsheets. I started tinkering. Built my first macro. Wrote my first SQL query. Couldn't stop. The accountant slowly became a data engineer, and I think that crossover is genuinely my biggest edge. I understand what the numbers mean to the business, not just how to move them.
Over 15 years I've worked across financial services, telco, insurance, SaaS, big-four consulting at PwC, and now transport infrastructure. I've built data platforms from scratch, migrated legacy systems to cloud, earned 28 certifications, and led engineering teams, all while staying a hands-on builder myself. Currently I operate as sole digital developer and 2IC to the Director of IT at Ritchies Transport, owning the full technology and data function end to end: from Power BI analytics and low-code automation through to full stack Azure serverless applications.
I've completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Governance (Distinction) at the University of Auckland because I believe governance is what separates sustainable platforms from expensive tech debt. I'm always up for a good conversation about data, whether that's a problem you're stuck on, a project that needs another pair of hands, or something bigger. My door's open.
This site is my honest record of that journey. Pull up a chair.
Four projects from three organisations, plus one for a friend. In red: what each one meant for the business.
Ritchies Transport, for the Ministry of Education 2024 - now
A full stack school bus routing and contract management system for the Ministry of Education's SESTA contracts, managing sensitive student profiles, medical requirements and real-time scheduling.
How I redesigned driver loginRitchies Transport 2024 - now
A real-time fleet safety dashboard. Live IoT events from the buses stream through Azure Functions and Web PubSub into a React static web app, instead of paying for Power BI Fabric capacity to do the same job.
Architecture write-upPwC New Zealand 2019 - 2023
A client with hundreds of branches had hundreds of separate Xero accounts, merged by hand at head office. I built a pipeline from the Xero API into PwC's global data platform with one consolidated Power BI view, and close to hands-free onboarding.
2degrees 2016 - 2018
Automated the monthly vendor e-bill reconciliation, which had taken two people a month of manual work.
Pro bono 2026
A mate needed a website for his business, fast. Instead of building it for him, I set him up the way I run my own site: Claude Code, GitHub, Azure Static Web Apps and a custom domain. Now he asks Claude for a change, it pushes to GitHub, and the site updates itself.
This isn't just a CV. It's the actual journey. Career moves, qualifications, certifications earned along the way, and the personal moments that shaped how I think. Use the filters to explore, or just scroll through the whole story.
Ordered by years of hands-on use across my roles. Bold means three years or more. Everyday tools sit at the end of each list.
Maha has the vision, enthusiasm and technical skills to not only manage, but is able to carry out any aspect of a project. He has proven track record in design and delivery as a data engineer, software engineer and manager of on-premise and cloud technology projects.
Anthony Raife Senior Database Administrator, PwC New ZealandWorked together at PwC, 2023
Maha is the living example of “giving a man a fishing rod instead of fish”. Everytime I talk to him, I leave with some new treasure of knowledge.
Joshua Fernandes, CA Finance Specialist (Analysis), Air New ZealandMaha was senior to Joshua, 2021
He was also a fantastic mentor who was easily relatable and always set challenging yet manageable tasks to develop my abilities.
Vincent Sit Software Developer, ClickViewReported to Maha directly, 2023
He has demonstrated database mastery and a impeccable level of business intuition that inspires juniors like me to reach excellence.
Sunny Lam Data Engineer, ThematicMaha was senior to Sunny, 2018
His knowledge and passion for BI and analytics is truly inspiring and is influencing people around him to upskill and think outside of the box.
Lucia Zaťková Data Enablement Lead, WOODSWorked together, 2021
His experience as a BI combined with his knowledge of accounting and reporting makes him an invaluable asset.
Shaheena Ali CA, Management AccountantSame team at 2degrees, 2018
Open to a chat about data problems, side projects, or pro bono work for a cause worth backing. Or just to talk data. My inbox is always open. No pitch decks required.