- In today’s article, we have Nobuhle Mbonambi sharing with us how pursuing CA (SA) changed her life for the better.
- Having done her articles with Unilever South Africa (and not in an auditing firm), she also shares career guidance on whether students pursuing CA from SAICA should do their articles with TIPP or TOPP.
- Today, Nobuhle is the Head of Finance for Tsebo Group Solutions divisions in South Africa. She is responsible for three companies within the group and presently manages a team of 40 people.
Growing Up with Challenges
I am Nobuhle Mbonambi, a qualified chartered accountant from SAICA (the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants).
I was born and raised in Durban and had been privileged to come from a “disadvantaged background” in South Africa. However, coming from a low-income family, with both of my parents being elderly and earning minimum wage, life was not easy.
Staying in the townships in the northern rural province of KwaZulu Natal, there was no structured system for Grade 1 intake. Luckily, my kindergarten teachers knew I was smart and ready to start Grade 1, so they enrolled me at the age of 4 years old.
Financial Difficulties and Choosing CA (SA)
During my high school years, I was generally good at all my subjects (commerce, science, history, and geography). In Grade 9, during a career expo at school, individuals working in the different fields visited, and I learned what an accountant does and where that could take me in life.
Our curriculum was structured in such a way that when we got to Grade 10, we had to choose a stream. So, I opted to do commerce with the intention of becoming a chartered accountant. Also, commerce was an easy, safe option for me because I generally understood numbers more than anything and it made sense.
My older siblings were very supportive of me in my journey and guided me in every way they could. I researched CA and read as much as I could about i.e. also asked my accounting teacher all that I could possibly ask her to prepare myself for the CA journey ahead.
And that’s how I decided to become a chartered accountant.
“How Do I Apply for the National Funding Scheme to Support My Studies?”
My mother worked as a tea lady for a company, and my father was a merchandiser, and I knew they couldn’t afford for me to attend college on my own.
So I applied for the National Funding Scheme in South Africa. I obtained an NFSAS loan, which supported me through the five years I spent at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg.
Luckily, the organization that my mother worked for also financially assisted in my studies, as I had qualified for part-funding, so each year they sponsored me a bursary for 25% of my annual studies.
I went on to finish paying off my NFSAS student loan when I began my articles.
My advice to you is: do not let a lack of finances stop you from studying further and educating yourself. There is always a way in life if you stay focused on your goal.
Overcoming Challenges and Qualifying as a Chartered Accountant
To become a chartered accountant with SAICA, one needs:
- To have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or equivalent
- Honors Post-Graduation Qualification (CTA 1, CTA 2)
- 3 years of articleship (this depends on whether it is part-time study or full-time study, so it can vary from 3-5 years)
- Give two written board exams (ITC and APC).
- I graduated with rank 7 in my year for honors in 2008 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus. So my honor was quite at ease. I started varsity in 2004 and enrolled for my accounting degree.
First-year was a breeze; I passed without putting any effort into my studies; I did not do my homework and tutorials; and I simply enjoyed myself at Varsity being away from home for the first time (my college was 200 kilometers away from home).
I honestly neglected my school work and was enjoying the little independence I had—I was partying for the first time, starting to date, and going on a spree (I laugh at my stupidity now).
In the second year, not focusing on my studies caught up with me, and I failed my Accounting 2 module in 2005. This failure set me back significantly, as I was unable to graduate with my Accounting Degree (and in order to pursue CA, I needed to graduate in Accounting) by the end of 2006.
I had to repeat my Accounting 2 module (which was a full-year course in 2006). That’s when I realized I needed to change my habits; I had come here to study, and that should take priority.
I started studying hard again, doing all my homework, and working through every single question my hands could grab. I went for all my tutorials.
Luckily, I put in extra effort and graduated with my peers, with whom I had started off in 2004 but in supply chain (not accounting). However, to become a CA, I had to have an accounting degree, so I studied an extra year to graduate with an accounting degree.
I was also asked by the university to become their first-year lecturer to lecture students who were disadvantaged and couldn’t understand English.
I began to lecture in IsiZulu (which is one of our indigenous languages in South Africa). I was also a tutor for homework classes for the first year. I was also a resident tutor for anyone in the dorms who needed help with commerce.
I graduated with my accounting degree in 2007 and stood No. 3 at the university. This built my foundation for my honors year and is one of the key reasons why I was able to rank No. 7 in my honors year.
I don’t think my honors would have been that easy for me had I not encountered a breaking point during my second year at university.
Always BELIEVE that everything happens for a reason. Learn from your mistakes.
“What Have I Learned From My Journey?”
- Taking a look back at the years and how they played out for me, I think it is very important to emphasize that hard work produces the right results.
- Focus in class, attend all your classes, work through all the past papers, and do all the given homework and tutorials.
- If you don’t understand something, engage with your peers who seem to have a better understanding, engage with your tutors, and engage with your lecturers to get the knowledge you need.
- Don’t give up until something makes sense to you; if it doesn’t make sense, go back to it until you figure it out, or someone helps you to figure it out.
- Forget peer pressure; everything you are doing while at college is investing in YOUR future, not your friends’ futures or anyone else’s but yours. So people might laugh at you at that time when you seem stupid for asking the same question over and over again. Don’t let that stop you; tomorrow you will be happy and jolly when you have gained your success.
- While I was in high school, my accounting teacher would frequently say to me, “Nobuhle, educating yourself is the ONE selfish act that you should never shy away from.” Today, today sitting where I am sitting right now, I fully understand that statement.
Starting My Articles: TIPP or TOPP?
During my first year at university, a number of audit firms would visit us and talk to us about their articles.
I applied for Deloitte and Touché SA at their Durban branch, and I was accepted. So, from my first year, I was supposed to finish my honors and work as an articled clerk at Deloitte. However, during my third year of accounting, Unilever South Africa came to visit the university and informed us about their TOPP training programmes. I did not know TOPP until the year Unilever SA came to visit us.
In South Africa, you can either do TIPP (Training in Public Practice) or do TOPP (Training Outside Public Practice).
TIPP training focuses on developing audit expertise as you work with audit firms and audit their external customers over the course of three years. You get the advantage of becoming a registered auditor when you post your articles.
If you do TOPP articles, you work with large organizations, and the one I then signed with was in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) industry.
The difference is that with TOPP, you get exposed to the real work environment; you are part of the finance team doing the accounting work vs. auditing them.
“How was my journey as a TOPP Article Assistant?”
The main reason I chose to take the TOPP route and say goodbye to my Deloitte contract was that I did not see myself staying as an auditor after writing my articles.
I was going to move into the finance space anyway, so being given a chance to train in the same environment I wanted to end up in was a blessing for me.
Also, the remuneration package for TOPP articles was four times that of TIPP articles (I am not joking), so that was the cherry on top for me.
During my articles, I was a category accountant (management accountant). I was looking after a brand, responsible for their profitability, business partnering the factory with innovations, costing different innovation models, business partnering the marketing team, and assisting in managing their budget (and so much more).
After working as a Category Accountant, I advanced to Financial Accountant (reporting and ledger management, dealing with mergers and acquisitions, preparing annual financial statements, and so much more), and then to the Tax Department.
Lastly, I finished my training at the Internal Audit function, where I was an Assurance Controller (internal audit).
Articles Advice
- TIPP or TOPP? Know where you see yourself in 10 yourself in 10 years. If it is in an audit firm as a partner, then you must do TIPP. If it is in a non-audit organization and you are heading a finance department or heading a company as an MD or CEO, then you must do TOPP.
Research well. Once you have made a decision based on the above, research information about the potential company you have decided on. Speak with former employees to learn about the culture and whether it will mesh with yours. Read articles about that company to see what the latest news is that the company is going through—you don’t want a company that’s associated with fraud or that is unable to remain stable during tough economic conditions.
Promotions. Find out what it takes when you are in that company to get a promotion—speak to people that have been promoted. See if you have those qualities and whether you will be able to get promoted. You don’t want to get your dream job but end up being redundant in the same position because you do not meet the qualifications for a promotion.
In Conclusion…
My biggest learning was realizing that in the working environment = You have to be committed + you have to be trustworthy + you have to be reliable. These are the key most important factors.
You have to be clear in communicating simply things as not being able to meet a deadline and state your reasoning.
KEEP EVERYTHING DOCUMENTED, especially email trail. People forget about the decisions they made and when things don’t go in their favor, they will rebuke what they had said. So Document everything, get all approvals on email.
VAC Work. See if you can get VAC work into a different company’s so that you can get a feel of different working environment so it helps with making your decision.
