Profile: Jaco Nieuwenhuis – Building a skill set for success

Working his way from promotion to promotion, in 2018, Jaco Nieuwenhuis bravely decided to leave PwC, where as a senior manager he was responsible for managing an audit client portfolio of roughly R20 million per annum in audit fees, to become one of the founding partners of NieuMan Chartered Accountants, a small-sized audit firm specialising in the audit of retirement funds.

In addition to his 17 years of audit experience, with 12 years of them being in retirement funds, Jaco managed to build significant relationships and trust with key role players in the industry over many years, which he says has also contributed to NieuMan being able to build a great client basis.

Jaco has been married for 11 years and has three young kids. He is very passionate about sport, especially rugby and Formula 1. As well as having a braai, enjoying the pool in summer and socialising with friends and family, he enjoys the bush and the ocean as places to find a bit of rest.

He believes one is never too old to still enjoy the lighter sides of life: ‘I am a massive Batman fan and collector of all things related to Batman!’

We asked Jaco about his career journey:

How has being a CA(SA) propelled your career?

I am very grateful for my journey in starting my career straight after high school, where I was initially only exposed to accounting and tax work. After the first two years, I was transferred into the audit environment.

Being exposed to these different disciplines and various industries (which include financial services, travel, manufacturing, public schools, and SMEs) has enabled me to apply these different learnings and experiences to enable me to have the necessary skill set to break free from one’s comfort zone of being employed to being a business owner and contributor to the industries in which we operate.

Challenges you have had to face and practical ways to overcome them?

My studies were challenging in being part-time from day one. I had failures, which meant that I had to repeat certain subjects during my degree, as well as only passing my CTA and QE1 exams on the second attempt.

I had a strong desire to obtain the CA(SA) designation and the failures on those exams encouraged me to have a solid support group / study buddies, as well as to study harder, try different techniques, ensure I attend the necessary support classes, and most importantly, not lose motivation and never give up.

I was also unsuccessful in my first attempt at being promoted to senior manager. This initial failure drove me to prove a point that it was a mistake in not being promoted and pushed me to challenge myself and get involved in various other roles. I was promoted on my second attempt, following a year with excellent performance evaluations.

My biggest challenge has probably been to make the decision to leave PwC and start NieuMan. Our first two to three years were challenging as we were trying to build our brand and adjust to the change from a fixed salary income. However, due to a strong and amazing team, perseverance, faith, and lots of hard work, I believe we have been able to establish ourselves as a known and trusted brand in the industry.

How are you making a difference in your specific industry?

I represent NieuMan at SAICA’s Retirement Fund Project Group where we contribute to retirement fund industry developments by liaising with industry regulators, other audit firms and various retirement fund benefit administrators.

NieuMan is able to offer retirement funds a specialised audit, at small-firm rates, which results in cost savings for the members of these funds to ensure greater retirement benefits.

In addition, I serve on various audit committees where these committees act to ensure the members of the medical scheme or retirement funds’ interests are protected.

Advice for younger CAs

• Don’t underestimate relationships with clients, trainees, managers and partners. Engage by having a chat, make time to have a coffee, or socialise over lunch.
• Actively seek new challenges to move outside your comfort zone.
• Be involved in additional roles outside of purely being an audit manager, such as risk management, technical, social committee or human capital.
• Respect your own work/life balance due challenges of having to be ‘always online’ by being strong enough to not take a call or email after your workday has ended. There is unfortunately the exception to the rules when you are facing deadlines, but this should not be your norm.
• Ensure you have a good network of support at work and home.
• Don’t be afraid to grab a career-changing opportunity when it comes your way.