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IGNATIUS SEHOOLE'S contribution to the development and transformation of South Africa's accounting and auditing profession during his nine-year tenure as executive president of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) was significant. His appointment can also contribute to PricewaterhouseCoopers achieving its transformation initiatives, which include the acceleration of transformation and gender diversity at leadership level and developing the next generation of leaders.
Sehoole joined PwC as joint deputy CEO in June this year. He sits on its executive committee and chairs the markets board, which serves as the coherent force to deliver PwC as a whole to the market. The new leadership team also includes newly elected CEO Suresh Kana, joint deputy CEO Stanley Subramoney and current executive chairman Thabani Jali.
"PwC is arguably the biggest audit firm in SA but the least transformed. For me that was the greatest attraction when I was considering my post-Saica options," says Sehoole. "I now have the opportunity to transform and grow the business because the two issues go hand in hand.
"In my view, transformation isn't a quick fix. Over the past seven years the rate of growth has been quite phenomenal, but we still need a lot more black chartered accountants to come through the ranks. On a very good day it takes seven years to qualify as a CA and for some people it's more than that. At Saica we started the Thuthuka programme in 2001 and we only started seeing the benefits last year," Sehoole says.
The Thuthuka initative was one of Sehoole's pet projects. It finances literacy and numeracy projects at secondary school level to eventually boost the throughput of desperately needed CAs in SA, especially black CAs. Financing comes from Government, audit firms and various other organisations.
"Experience in the profession has taught me there are no short cuts. And while we need intervention at university level and incorporate learnerships in the work place, the best time to intervene is at school," says Sehoole.
"Although I agree with Blade Nzimande (Minister of Higher Education & Training) that students need easier access to university, it's something totally different to fiddle with standards," he says. "Thuthuka's way of giving access is going to township schools and helping with the teaching of maths, science and English because they don't have the teachers or the resources. If you equip them with those skills, they'll obtain access to higher education themselves.
"That's where the analytical ability of a student is developed and the reality is that the language of business is English. I have nothing against the other 10 languages, but if you want to produce professionals they need to be able to communicate in English."
The few children the initiative managed to reach speaks for itself. Research conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council shows that in 2005 only 6,3% of schools were reached in six provinces compared to 11,64% in nine provinces in 2008. Of Thuthuka-sponsored students in 2007 an impressive 88% got through their first year, 82% passed second year and 67% passed third year. "Those statistics are well ahead of the national averages," says Sehoole. "It's a successful recipe - albeit time consuming and expensive."
Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu sold the idea of transforming the CA profession to the business world. He was president of Saica (the designation changed to chairman after Sehoole's appointment) and later became economic adviser to President Thabo Mbeki. Says Sehoole: "I didn't know him personally but his reputation preceded him. He was the first black man to qualify as a CA in SA at one of PwC's legacy firms. He demonstrated the value I could add where the development of people is concerned - and I have a soft spot for people. Wiseman was also a very good salesman - I had to take a pay cut to join Saica."
Prior to joining Saica, Sehoole was a senior executive at Murray & Roberts Contractors, responsible for mergers, acquisitions and disposals. He cut his teeth as a CA as group internal audit manager for Fedics Food Services. In 1996 he was appointed MD of Fedics' inland region and was instrumental in bringing an empowerment consortium into the Fedics group. "What I learnt during my six years at the group - now called Tsebo - and what I cherish till this day is that you need to appreciate your people, not only your senior management team," he says.
"I never got around to meet all the people in my business unit, but whenever I dealt with people issues I kept in mind there were individuals behind the number of 3 000 employees. It earns you loyalty and commitment and I apply that philosophy wherever I go and it has yet to disappoint me."
In addition to his BCom (Hons) (CA) qualification, which he completed through Vista University and Unisa, Sehoole also holds a General Management Diploma from Ashridge Management College in Britain.
Says Sehoole: "I opted for a BCom degree because it irked me that tax consultancies were either owned or run by white men. I was curious about the subject and wanted to change that ratio. The first course I registered for at the University of the North (now Limpopo) was supposed to be the first step for me becoming a CA.
"The irony was that Saica didn't accredit the course. It didn't matter much, as I was expelled from the university after arranging a protest when the university misappropriated boarding and lodging money - including mine." It took another three years for Sehoole to obtain the funds to finish his studies at Vista and Unisa.
It was at Vista that he met Professor Piet Bosch, a CA and lecturer at the university. "He was the first person who fully explained to me what a CA was. The characteristic of integrity of the audit profession appealed to me most and I thought, wow, this is what I want to do.
"At the time (1986) there were fewer than five black CAs in SA. Now there are almost 1 200 of them. Historically, we could have done more as a profession and that's one of the reasons I went to Saica and that's why we started the Thuthuka programme."
Sehoole completed his articles at one of KPMG's legacy firms and Deloitte. He also lectured at Vista for a year.
"I'm very passionate about developing and empowering people. I like seeing them being the best they can be. It gives me enormous satisfaction," he says.
That PwC shares his vision for learning and development is evident from the PwC Business School. Its mandate is to oversee the development, delivery and market positioning of all learning and development provided to PwC's employees and the development and delivery of programmes to its clients.
The external programmes aim primarily at enhancing corporate governance and improving integrated financial and sustainability reporting in organisations. Those programmes cover topics such as international financial reporting standards (IFRS), taxation and corporate law updates, roles and responsibilities of audit committees, sustainability reporting and internal audit.
"We're the first firm in SA to introduce such an initiative and exciting times lie ahead for me doing exactly what I'm supposed to do."
Vital Statistics
Age: 49
Marital status: Divorced
Born: Lady Selborne settlement, Pretoria
Schooling: Thembisa, Marapyane, Ga-Rankuwa and Hebron
Three things you didn't know about Ignatius Sehoole:
* "I failed an auditor aptitude test at Deloitte and was not allowed to start my articles there as the results indicated I didn't have a knack for it. After a year at KPMG, I was allowed to join Deloitte because I was no longer a novice and the test was therefore not required."
* "Working for Transnet was the shortest stint of my career. After three months working for Transnet, I wanted to resign. Six months later I knew I wanted to resign, but they held me to my 3-month notice period. I worked there for nine months - under duress. The institution was so racially polarised you could feel the tension and I just couldn't deal with "tomorrow is another day" mentality.
* "I worked at a driving school to save enough money for university."
