Introduction, and why we chatted Fenni Nghekevali CA(NAM) is the Chief Executive Officer at ICAN (Institute of Chartered Accountants for Namibia), and from her own journey she has a wealth of experience to share. We chatted about journeys outside our comfort zones, the importance of mindset, and the opportunities we may not realise we might…
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‘Masters of Money’. Behind-the-Scenes I chatted to KC Rottok Chesaina about his recently published book ‘Masters of Money’. You can see our chat about the book and stories in it here. I chatted to KC a few years back about his CA(SA) qualification journey, you can read that here. This discussion was a behind-the-scenes discussion,…
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What is MyCAhub? Muhammed Ismail has started his own business, myCAhub. We chatted about a LOT of stuff, so I’ve separated our discussion into a few posts. In this post, we chat about his business, what it looks like, what it does, and how it helps SAICA CA(SA)’s We’ve had two other chats so far,…
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We want more entrepreneurial accountants! Muhammed Ismail is a recently qualified CA(SA) who has started his own business, myCAhub. We chatted about a LOT of stuff, so I’ve separated our discussion into a few posts. In this post, we chatted about entrepreneurship, and some specific challenges and opportunities related to accounting professionals, based on our…
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Who is Muhammed Ismail, what did we chat about? Muhammed Ismail is a recently qualified CA(SA) who has started his own business, myCAhub. We chatted about a LOT of stuff, so I’ve separated our discussion into a few posts. In this post, we chatted about his qualification journey, challenges that students face on this journey,…
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Creativity, Innovation, and uncertainty I chatted to Michael Lee, founder of The Innotivity Institute, about creativity, innovation and uncertainty. I’ve chatted a bit about the future of accounting before, and will continue to do so. It’s really important for us to understand the role that innovation and creativity will play in our future success. The…
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Why did I chat to SAICA about this? Everyone tells you that your CA(SA) articles / training contract is going to be tough. But what if you feel that you’re in the wrong place, that you’re not getting the experience you should be, or that things are too bad to put up with? SAICA regulations…
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Why did I chat to SAICA about RPL? I had a chat a while back with Gareth Olivier from CA Connect, “Should you start your qualification journey if you’re older”. For a lot of people, the information around how their articles / training contracts will work, is the dealbreaker for this decision. Once you’re working,…
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Why did I chat to Nicolaas? Nicolaas van Wyk is the CEO of SAIBA (South African Institute of Business Accountants). I wanted to chat to him to provide more insight for students about professional accounting qualification options in South Africa. (If you enjoyed this, want us to chat about something else, or want more of…
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Why did I chat to Mandi? Mandi Olivier CA(SA) is a Senior Executive at SAICA, involved in the pre-qualification process. Everything from university studies to the Board exams. I felt that students need to hear directly from the source what SAICA expects from them as they’re studying. (If you enjoyed this, want us to chat…
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Why did I chat to Pat? Pat is another example of the fact that we are NOT boring, grey accountants! He is in Business Development at BDO, he mentors students and so he understands the journeys of many students. We chatted about his journey, the idea of ‘boxing’ yourself, the breadth of your potential career,…
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And now for something completely different! Most of my chats have been a little more serious. Career and study advice. So, I thought we needed to lighten the mood a little! I came across a video from these gents and contacted them, they were good enough to do a chat with me (apparently because it…
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“Am I too old to start?” I get emails from students all the time asking me “Am I too old to start my CA(SA) qualification journey?”. I answer this question all the time, I wrote a short article on it before as well, and I thought I’d chat to someone else for their perspective, on…
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Why did I chat to Cindy? Cindy Mati is the Senior People and Culture Manager at BDO. (Most people refer to this department as HR!) I chatted to Cindy on behalf of all those students who need to put CV’s together, attend interviews and are planning to start articles and want more information on what…
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Why did I chat to Matt? Matthew Tilling is an Australian CPA who is somewhat of a self-confessed IFRS Geek. Matt was the Director of Education at the IFRS Foundation for a few years, so I wanted to chat to him to get some behind-the-scenes information on how IFRS Standards are written, and how the…
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Why did I chat to Vincent? Vincent Motholo CA(SA), RA is the Chairperson of SAICA for 2022 and 2021. He was a UNISA Auditing lecturer, and an audit partner at SNG-Grant Thornton. His experience as an academic and in practice is really valuable for students. I wanted him to share his qualification journey with us…
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What’s in this article and videos? Introduction I spoke to Bruce about career opportunities in the Public Sector a while back. I found that quite a few people were interested in exploring the topic of the Public Sector a little more, so I decided to chat to him again. This time, we chatted about the…
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What’s in this article and videos? The future of the Accounting Profession Will Accountants be obsolete in the near future? Is there a future for someone who wants to pursue an Accounting profession? This is a huge topic with a lot of viewpoints, concepts and ideas to discuss. As a starting point for this discussion,…
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What’s in the article and videos? An accounting career in The Public Sector The Public Sector (ie: Government) is a HUGE part of our economic environment and GDP. I thought it was time to explore career opportunities for Accounting and Auditing a little more. Loads of students look into doing their articles at the Auditor…
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Is your work schedule out of control? It’s tricky to balance life and work at the best of times. If you’re studying at the same time, this becomes even more challenging. I often get queries from students on how to get their work schedules under control so that they have time to study. This is…
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i chatted to tim about his book We don’t always realise that our actions and what we do are governed by our beliefs about ourselves and how we feel about ourselves. When I coach students and younger professionals, they often identify their challenges as “I’m not DOING something”. (Studying, working etc). They want me to…
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“make enough mistakes…” Most of my students are not ok with failure and making mistakes. I get that. I’m there too! Trying to really comprehend and value the benefits of the mistakes we make, is tough. But I really want you to think about why someone like this advises you to make LOTS of mistakes!…
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books for your career and personal growth Your successful career is going to involve way more skills and knowledge than your exam syllabii. Thankfully, not all of this knowledge requires exams. That’s good news, right? There’s SO much information out there, so I’ll start you off with a few topics and fields of interest that…
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We all need a little light-hearted moment, so take a breather from your studies, and do this personality quiz. Forget your career choices, let’s see what your persona will be around the office! [interact id=”5d8b6084504e4c0014e5da12″ type=”quiz”] Surprised? Share it with your friends and family. Make sure they know who they’re dealing with!
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TIps for you to get mentor-help, without a mentor Sheryl Sandberg – ‘Lean In’ “I realized that searching for a mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming. We all grew up on the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty,” which instructs young women that if they just wait for their prince to arrive,…
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Maggie Perotin “Throughout the years, I have learned, and proven, that with a great skilled leader, a team can be happy at work, successfully go through change, and love what they do while delivering incredible results.” Director – Service Excellence. BGIS Solutions Canada; Who is Maggie? “I have a Master’s Degree in International Relations from…
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Who is James Perry? James Perry, is a Chartered Accountant, and one of Northern Ireland’s Top 40 Under 40. He’s the owner of AccountingExamCoach.com, a unique business coaching Accounting Students on mindset, motivation, study & exam techniques. He has successfully coached over 80 people globally including Jamaica, India, Zimbabwe & New Zealand. Holding a First Class…
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Why is it important to build a network? People are increasingly relying on their networks and connections to find work roles, opportunities, projects, funding and information. As someone who’s employed people, I can absolutely relate to this. Hiring someone who needs to fill an important function and play a part of your team, just from…
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If you’re going to do an accounting training contract in the future Online Course Course duration: 3 hours Cost: R450 (Launch price until November 2018) You can see the course outline, details, preview videos, on the course site. (Please note: If you’re paying via EFT, or want to register for more than one candidate, please…
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Connecting students to SAICA training contracts I get hundreds of queries from accounting students looking for a SAICA training contract (SAICA Articles), trying to get information about requirements, the firms, opportunities etc… so I ‘interviewed’ an audit firm who is currently recruiting, on your behalf! I spoke to Ingrid du Preez CA(SA), the Recruitment Manager…
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