Leading Ladies ( Meet Kudzi)
ABOUT ME: A young girl born and bred in the small town of Masvingo. There, I went to Victoria Primary and later on to Victoria High School. I wanted to be a Chartered Accountant from our first day in high school. My dad is a numbers person and I always saw myself as being like him; but I wanted to get to the highest level in the industry, which was being a Chartered Accountant.
ENDURANCE: I did commercials for ‘A’ Levels in preparation for my CA journey in anticipation that I would do articles straight after ‘A’ Levels, but BOOM! Got 9 points and the world crashed before me. The hope of becoming a CA had become a distant dream. It was devastating and for a moment, I had no idea what I was going to do. BUT I had to reboot so I decided to go the university route. I had to get a job in my first year to help my parents with fees, so, I would work during the day and would go to school at night. That was tough but I had to keep going. There were moments I felt like I was drowning but I knew FAILURE wasn’t an option. I passed my degree and went on to do my CTA on my own, and the next hurdle followed, I FAILED!! I had failed my first year of South African Tax, WHAT NOW? I had to redo my CTA, and so, I changed to Zimbabwean Tax. FINALLY! the hard work and consistent drive to achieve my dream of becoming a CA(Z) paid off, and I PASSED.
GRACE: From that moment on I passed all the necessary exams until I qualified as a chartered accountant. Through GRACE I was able to join Baker Tilly and I passed my CTA during the first year of my employment and have been with the firm since then.
FAITH: My parents taught me to ALWAYS believe and trust in God and I have stayed a firm believer, my determination to be a chartered accountant and be in a position to make decisions and make a difference kept me going. I got married during my CA journey and my husband has been amazing and in the support of my career. God blessed us with 3 beautiful children and it’s been such a gift.
TO ALL MY WORKING LADIES: what I can say to women is as a tri-factor MOM, WIFE, and CAREER WOMAN, it’s never easy but when you have a great support structure, and your priorities in check together with the right team (people you surround yourself with) you can do it.
ADVICE TO 15year OLD ME: Don’t let anyone or anything define you. Define who you are and what you want and go for it. “Habakkuk 2:2 “write the vision and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run that readeth it, for the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, it shall speak and not lie. though it may tarry, wait for it because it will surely come. it will not tarry”
You are a brand so start working on your brand now, define what you want and do not want to be associated with, and start building yourself towards that. Keep your eyes on the goal, the sky is your limit. Don’t be scared to reboot when life seems not to be going as planned. REMEMBER to Be respectful, eager to learn, dependable, warm & approachable!!
“Sometimes failure is necessary for you to truly appreciate success!!”
Proverbs 18:16 “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men”
Kudzaiishe Chikwanda CA(Z)
