Be a difference maker
In John C Maxwell’s book The Difference Maker, he asks what can make a difference in our lives today? How can two people with the same skills and abilities, and in the same situation, end up with two different outcomes? He says the difference maker is an attitude − your attitude affects everything in your life and is one of the few things you can control. A good attitude doesn’t necessarily make good things happen to you, but it sure does help.
SAICA members are difference makers with the attitude John C Maxwell writes about. SAICA members know that there is a difference between good and excellent. Between hoping we can do something and having the knowledge, perspective, skills and capabilities to know we can.
There is a difference between decisions made for immediate gain for the few and those that provide sustained prosperity for all.
There is a difference between the way things are done and how we know they should be done – and applying the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and accountability.
And it’s these difference makers that were recognised at the inaugural Chairman’s Difference Makers Awards dinner on 26 May 2022. The awards seek to recognise SAICA members who are #differencemakers in various areas of business and society – those who have breached the gap between being good and being excellent.
The awards acknowledge members who make decisions that provide sustained prosperity for all and help shape communities, economies and society while applying the highest standards of ethics, integrity and accountability. (Read about the award winners on page 37.)
Among those honoured were Professor Wiseman Lumkile Nkuhlu, the first black chartered accountant in South Africa, Ajen Sita, CEO of Ernst and Young (EY) Afric, and the late Thembekile ‘Kimi’ Makwetu, South Africa’s former Auditor-General.
The issue also profiles many other members who are making a difference in the lives of others:
- In July, 73-year-old Professor Kurt Sartorius will paddle 1 100 kilometres down the Rio Madeira, a tributary of the Amazon River. He hopes that his journey will wake accountants up to the shocking reality of the effects of human activity on the ‘world’s lungs’.
- Erick Liebenberg, MD of The Core Group, used his experience and knowledge of the struggles that face small businesses to create a company that offers a combined solution for small and medium practices and an opportunity to create inspiration.
- Mbali Mabaso launched a mentoring programme to encourage, educate and empower CTA students, ITC and APC candidates.
- How Bulelani Makunga see his career in the public sector as a chance to make a positive difference n the lives of others and as an opportunity to have a direct impact on the people in his community
We hope their stories will inspire you to be a difference maker.
GERINDA ENGELBRECHT
Editor: Accountancy SA
