Audit Portfolio Manager – Nedbank, Founder and Mentor – Isikhuthazi

My first name is Mbali, which means flower and my middle name is Precious, which means rare. In a nutshell, I’m a rare flower. I’m known as Mbali in the profession who is (M) Motivating, (B) Brave, (A) Ambitious, (L) Loving Leader, (I) Inspiring.

The story of my career began when I was in Grade 8, when I thought that CAs counted money. My love for accounting developed in high school and led me to pursue my dream of becoming a CA. Years later my dream manifested.

When I qualified as a chartered accountant, I knew that it was only the beginning and not the end. I regard the CA(SA) designation as an enabler to achieve excellence in spheres that God has blessed you with to make an impactful difference on earth. At the heart of my core values are people, and I knew that everything that I will do has to be centred around humanity, love, growth, and the development of others so that we can have a better society.

My love for developing people and the discovery of my purpose led me to start a mentorship programme, Isikhuthazi, in 2021 because I saw a need to create a platform where I can assist aspiring CAs(SA) that need mentorship for the board exams. The programme started with four mentees and grew to over 100 in 2021, with both ITC and APC candidates. The mentoring initiative consists of live online interactive sessions, pre-recorded online sessions and one-on-one sessions focused on assisting mentees with enhancing their soft skills, professional skills, technical skills and exam technique skills. The success rate has been phenomenal: the first 2021 APC cohort achieved a 77% pass rate.

In 2021, when I joined Nedbank, I had the privilege of being the project leader of the Group Internal Audit Graduate Programme, which launched in August 2022. The purpose of the graduate programme is to build a talent pipeline to attract the right skills and expertise that add value to the organisation. This entailed collaborating extensively with a variety of stakeholders and sponsors in group internal audit, group risk and human resources to develop and implement a fresh, new, unique, relevant and innovative best-in-class programme that is in line with the ‘Auditor of the future’.

In closing: I’m living my calling.