Ciara Reintjes, Regional Lead of SAICA for the Northern Region in the Strategic Affairs Division understands her role as crucial to ensuring that the organisation exists to serve its members – and, by extension, the profession as a whole.
Ciara is the kind of person who usually informs people within minutes of meeting them that she’s a CA – that’s how much pride she takes in the profession. ‘It’s a big part of my identity, and I think the same is true for most of our members,’ she says.
This explains the passionate view she takes of her position within the division, which was recently established to influence SAICA stakeholders, from members to regulators and even government. ‘It’s all about making sure that everyone within our ecosystem is aware of our strategic direction and how SAICA and its members fit into the larger environment – so that if there is an event, like, say, a gathering of leaders in the profession, economy or government to discuss matters that impact members (or where members can make an impact), SAICA has a seat at the table.’
Ciara brings profoundly personal aspects to these engagements. Most of her correspondence with members includes a query about how the kids are getting on, for example, or what they think of the latest developments in the organisation. It’s an approach that reflects her dislike of superficial connections, and speaks to her belief that, while it is crucial to maintain a professional demeanour, our workplaces need to make room for the rounded, often messy, human beings that we are.
The key to security
Ciara has come to form this view throughout a career that has included articles at a Big Four firm, followed by a focus on retirement funds, and a senior auditing technical role at the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA). She worked there for 12 years before joining SAICA in a senior executive auditing role −ultimately taking up the position of strategic leader for the Northern Region, which includes Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
The many paths her career has taken her is one of the reasons Ciara is grateful for her CA qualification. ‘I’ve always said that I’m a mathematician before I’m an accountant, and this profession makes room for that. It’s all encompassing – sure, you need accounting to understand how a business works, but you can move on if that’s not your thing.’
She’s equally grateful for the security the profession has granted her. ‘I chose to study accounting because I grew up with a single mother who struggled for money. I can’t pretend that I was previously disadvantaged, but there were months where there was very little to eat. I knew that I would have to be self-sufficient as an adult, because the unforeseen can happen – your spouse can fall ill, you may get divorced – and I didn’t want to rely on anyone.’
As it turns out, Ciara has ended up a single mom to three teenagers − an 18-year-old daughter and 17-year-old twin sons – and she’s pleased she’s able to show them that it’s possible to be an independent woman. In fact, independence, along with determination and resilience, have been Ciara’s defining characteristics since youth: understanding that her mother wouldn’t be able to fund her studies, she went through the phone book, contacting any firm with a name that included the word ‘accounting’, to ask for a bursary. That amounted to at least 200 handwritten letters, leading to offers from two firms and articles with the chosen Big Four firm that kickstarted her career.
Personal versus professional?
But back to those teenagers. Ciara laughs as she recalls the dichotomies of her professional and personal lives and the absurdity of going from a board meeting attended by high-profile individuals to fighting with a toddler to get into the car.
On the serious side, this dual life has not been without challenges. ‘I don’t think it’s possible for a working mother to have it all – you simply can’t be everything to everyone in the 24 hours you’ve been given. There are times when you’ll let your kids down – but you have to know that they’ll come out the other end just fine. And the same goes for work. You wouldn’t hold an important position unless you had what it takes and deserved to be there. You need to have confidence in yourself and stop listening to the noise in your head. Don’t be too hard on yourself. And accept praise and support you receive from others.’
Ciara also believes in finding people who can understand your journey because they’ve travelled it too, because they have a deeper insight into the challenges you’re facing. Of course, it’s not always possible to find common cause with every person in the room – but, where possible, we need to support each other.
The importance of empathy
As a leader, Ciara makes a point of bringing this empathy to transactions with her team. ‘I was once told that I should be more polished. I thought about that a lot – and while I am highly cognisant that we all project an image that has the potential to impact the accounting profession, I also think that we need to acknowledge that everyone around us has their own life, with their own challenges. So, if someone is having a hard day, I’ll invite them to work from home. It is critical that leaders are flexible, allow flexibility, and provide a psychologically safe environment.’
Ciara is an avid proponent of making room for mental wellness and gender diversity in the workplace and is a member of the global Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Task Force, which has provided a toolkit for mid-career women in the accountancy profession. ‘I am proud of the work we’ve done, and how we have started many conversations around these issues – but I think we need to take this further,’ she says.
‘I’d like people to be more open about things,’ she concludes. ‘I simply don’t think it’s possible to separate work and personal lives. If we want people to be both productive and satisfied, we can’t force them into a mould. We have to allow them to be who they are.’
Upholding the profession
Small things have the potential to bolster a profession – or bring it down. ‘When I attend talks with our newly minted CAs, I remind them at this is a difficult profession. It’s not just about the challenges you’ve overcome to earn this qualification. As a CA, you are expected to meet high standards, and not only in your work life. Think of it this way: if you were the only CA in a small town, and you committed a crime, you’d bring the entire profession into disrepute. That’s the kind of thinking that ensures we uphold what this profession stands for in our personal as well as professional lives. The CA designation holds a lot of power − members understand that they should use this power wisely, for their own good, their communities, the profession, and indeed the entire public interest.’
