Deloitte chairman named AWCA 2011 Woman of Substance

• Published: October 11
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Futhi Mtoba, chairman of Deloitte Southern Africa, has been named the African Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA) 2011 Woman of Substance.

Mtoba was presented with this prestigious award at an AWCA banquet, held at the Sandton Convention Centre, late last week, for her role in uplifting the role of African women in the profession. The annual award, launched in 2005, is a flagship event for AWCA and seeks to recognise and honour women with exceptional achievements in the accounting, audit and financial professions and contribution to the society at large.

Says Mtoba: “It is such an honour to be recognised and celebrated by my fellow peers, who understand the challenges and great joys that come with being African women in this profession and in corporate South Africa. I do recognise the responsibility that comes with such an honour, for all we know that to whom much is given, much is expected.”

Speaking at the event, AWCA president Tryphosa Ramano said: “Futhi is an inspiration to both seasoned and aspiring females in this field. Her dedication, passion and tenacity has seen her pioneer the advancement of women in not just accountancy, but also in the boards and decision-making quarters of the greater business community. Her strength and professionalism have given the world a picture of what women are capable of.”

Mtoba was acknowledged for having played a key role in championing the empowerment of women in different sectors of South African business, and for having made great strides at eroding stereotypes and breaking down barriers for the creation of opportunities for the participation of African women in key strategic areas of business.

Futhi Mtoba

Official title – Chairman of the Board of Deloitte Southern Africa and President of Business Unity South Africa

Ntombifuthi Mtoba grew up in Swaziland with nine other siblings. It was her father’s insistence that his daughters be financially independent, which ensured her career orientation from an early age. She enrolled at the University of Botswana and Swaziland for a BA in Economics, and later moved to South Africa, where she obtained her Honours in economics, a BCom Honours, a Higher Diploma in banking law, and qualified as a chartered account. She joined Deloitte & Touche in 1988 and become the first black female partner at one of the larger accounting firms in South Africa, as well as the first female deputy chairman at Deloitte Southern Africa. She has also been appointed the first female president of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA), a body dedicated to nurturing emerging black accountants, where she was the visionary behind the Nkuhlu Subvention Fund, which subsidises the salaries of black chartered accountants who lecture at previously disadvantaged universities.

She is the President of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and was appointed as chairperson of Council of the University of Pretoria in 2008. She is a member of the Business Foundation of NEPAD. She is a member of the Board of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. The Global Compact strives to be the world’s most inclusive voluntary initiative to promote responsible corporate citizenship, ensuring that business, in partnership with other social actors, plays its essential part in achieving the United Nation’s vision of a more sustainable and inclusive global economy, and therefore achieving the Millennium Development Goals. She is a founder of TEACH South Africa, a programme which recruits graduates who have majored in Maths, Science, English or IT and contracts them for a two-year period to teach at identified schools in formerly disadvantaged communities. This programme is supported by the private sector and the Department of Education.

Mtoba was named “2004 Business Women of the Year” by the Businesswomen’s Association and Nedbank.

Deloitte

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Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and deep local expertise to help clients succeed wherever they operate. Deloitte’s approximately 170 000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence.

© 2011 Deloitte & Touche. All rights reserved. Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

AWCA

Established in 2002 with the vision of the “accelerated advancement of African women Chartered Accountants”, the African Women Chartered Accountants Forum (AWCA) has over the years embarked on a number of initiatives in pursuit of its objective to assist in the increase of the number of African women Chartered Accountants in South Africa. In order to realise its vision, the AWCA follows a three tier strategy, being to (1) identify and develop young girls for entry in the profession, (2) nurture and train these aspiring women and (3) leadership development of qualified African women chartered accountants to take up key decision-making positions, which contribute to the sustainability of the country’s economy. This is also encapsulated in its motto: “Develop as we lead“.

The AWCA Woman of Substance award stands for high integrity, bold leadership, passion for women advancement and determined community involvement.

In addition to bestowing the Woman of Substance award on a woman who has played a significant role breaking down barriers for the creation of opportunities for the participation of black women in key strategic areas of business, the gala dinner is the fundraising platform for the AWCA Bursary Fund, which provides financial assistance to previously disadvantaged African women who aspire to become chartered accountants. The AWCA Bursary Fund is administered under the auspices of the Thuthuka Bursary Fund, operated by SAICA. Last year, AWCA was proud to announce that the first recipient of an AWCA bursary, Yondela Juqu, qualified as chartered accountant upon completion of her articles in January 2010.

AWCA is a registered section 21 company that was founded in 2002 around the concept of mutual support and personal development, by four African women pioneers in the field of accounting – Sindi Mabaso, Sindi Zilwa, Zodwa Manase and Tshidi Mokgabudi. The African Women Chartered Accountants Forum (AWCA) espouses the vision of accelerating the advancement of qualified and aspiring African women CAs, recognising the difficulties and obstacles that confront them in their profession.