My journey into finance was inspired by my grandfather, who ran a chain of supermarkets. Initially, I wanted to study business management with the aim of finding the best way to help scale up his company.
I entered the accounting profession in 2010 via a bursary from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). Without that, and my ACCA qualification, I would not be where I am today. My time at the AGSA gave me a good grounding in assurance for the public sector.
To build on my early experience I moved to the South African Revenue Service. There I was initially involved in investigative audits around various tax types before moving to the Exchange of Information (EOI) department where my work involved ensuring that companies and individuals met their tax obligations under bilateral and multilateral taxation agreements. This experience gave me an understanding of the importance of effective and efficient revenue services in helping a country meet its ambitions. It felt good to play a part in protecting the nation’s resources.
It is satisfying to be involved in the nation’s financial ecosystem
Next I joined the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the government’s public integrity and anti-corruption authority. The SIU supports the recovery of public funds and improvements in financial controls in the public sector. As senior manager in forensic accounting, it was fulfilling to be a part of a unit focused on ensuring resources are used for their intended purpose while also tackling fraud, corruption and poor administration.
An advantage of working in the public sector is that you can see a direct relationship between the work you do and the impact it achieves. It is satisfying to be involved in the nation’s financial ecosystem and the collection of funds that provide key government services.
I stepped right out of my comfort zone when I was asked to provide the induction for new trainees at AGSA. This involved leading sessions to bridge the gap between what the trainees learned in classrooms and what they would experience during their more hands-on training – a new experience for me.
This is my favourite mantra: ‘Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.’ It is an approach that works for me.
If I had the power to make laws, I would require public officials to disclose their financial information for public scrutiny, with the disclosures independently verified for accuracy. This would serve as a preventative measure against people making decisions for personal gain, and ensure that funds were directed as intended towards improving the lives of our citizens.
My biggest achievement came when I gave a presentation on ‘lifestyle audits’ – forensic investigations that compare an individual’s known income to their actual lifestyle, assets and spending habits – at a pan-African anti-fraud conference. This gave me an opportunity to share my expertise with colleagues in the assurance space. If we collaborate more as professionals we will develop our knowledge and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our organisations.
One should always strive to improve oneself
Keen to see how resources might be leveraged to make a different impact in the private sector, I recently joined MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, as a senior manager in fraud detection and prevention. I am excited to see how evolving technology, specifically AI, can be used in this work. Ultimately a successful AI model could be scaled for use in other sectors and contribute to the quest for a corruption-free society.
If I wasn’t an accountant, I would probably go into teaching. My instinct would be to focus on financial subjects, but the technological space would also be interesting, particularly seeing how technology can be used to improve the lives of citizens.
During lockdown, I used to take walks and have since graduated to running. This has become an important part of my life and I take part in local 21km competitions. It is a therapeutic activity as only you can improve your ‘personal best’ or PB. I think this is similar to life, where one should always strive to improve oneself – a personal interpretation of the Japanese concept of kaizen. You can always look around for inspiration, but remain focused on that PB – something that nobody else can do for you.
