Partner at a Big 4 Firm in South Africa shares why she took a year-long sabbatical and how she made a successful comeback

• Meet Zimkita Mabindla, a Chartered Accountant of South Africa [CA (SA)], thought leader, seasoned finance professional, and currently a Partner of a Big 4 firm.
• Before her current role, Zimkita was a Partner at another Big Firm, after spending much of her time in the company since her articles in 1998.
• In this Q&A, Zimkita shares why women need to make bold career moves, take career breaks, and continuously upskill themselves to stay relevant.

Throughout your illustrious career, you have continuously made bold moves. How did you even end up here? Why did you choose to become a CA and how was the journey?

I grew up in a modest town called Butterworth (former Transkei), but our subsection of the township was more poverty-stricken than the middle class.

At home, I lived with my five siblings, mom and dad. Additionally, my parents struggled financially, this is why we were sent to a boarding school that was situated in a small village.

Here the conditions there were horrible compared to our township.