Fund Accountant | Copywriter

COUNTING ON YOUR FUTURE

THE RIGHT WORDS

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION? After the introduction to the profession, I did my research, took a psychometric test and found it to be a great match – and also due to a greater chance of securing employment post qualification.

WHAT TRAINING DID YOU UNDERGO? For the technical training part, I completed my Bachelor of Accounting Sciences Degree (3 years) and my Postgraduate Diploma in Accountancy (1 year). For the professional training, I trained at a medium-sized audit firm, as an external auditor for 3 years.

IS THERE A TYPE OF PERSONALITY BEST SUITED TO THIS WORK? You need to have an analytical mind! Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, during training you will learn to communicate effectively and efficiently. IS EXPERIENCE AS IMPORTANT AS FORMAL TRAINING? The chartered accountancy profession is designed in a way that grants you the opportunity to gain formal training before you qualify, which also counts as experience post qualification.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY AS A SENIOR FUND ACCOUNTANT 09:00-09:30 – Read emails and prepare for the day; 09:30-10:00 – Attend a team meeting; 10:0012:00 – Prepare the financial statements of the funds that are listed on the London Stock Exchange; 12:00-13:00 – Lunch; 13:00-15:00 – Review and authorise payments; 15:00-16:00 – Meet with the board of directors; 16:00-17:00 – Respond to emails from external auditors.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB? Seeing my hard work (financial statements) published on the London Stock Exchange for worldwide stakeholders to make decisions.

WHICH ASPECTS ARE YOU LEAST ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT? When the tasks I do become repetitive. When this happens, I ask for a new challenge.

WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE? The opportunity to work internationally: I have been an external auditor in Dublin, Ireland, and I am currently a senior fund accountant in Jersey, Channel Islands.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE? I’d like to continue being beneficial to society – as a chartered accountant, I am a business leader and a responsible, ethical citizen. I also have my coaching and mentoring venture that I run after 5pm and over the weekends. My goal is to expand my coaching and mentoring venture and help more varsity ZANELE MADUNA CA(SA) SENIOR FUND ACCOUNTANT

BNP Paribas, Jersey CI

students and young professionals with self-leadership, peak academic performance and future-proofing their careers.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN YOUR CAREER? It can and will be challenging, however, in the words of Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”

DESCRIBE YOUR JOB IN THREE WORDS Challenging, engaging, empowering

WHY COPYWRITING? After working in an advertising agency for a while, I looked into working for myself. Although I learnt that it’s tough to make it on one’s own – that I might have to live on potatoes for two months! – I decided to try it. I think my personality is better suited to write by myself sitting at my desk in my office at home working at the times that suit me best. In other words, an open-plan office environment is simply not for me.

WHAT TRAINING DID YOU DO? I did a postgrad course at the AAA School of Advertising, which earned me a diploma in copywriting. Afterwards, I completed a three-month internship at an advertising agency.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY I write advertising copy (the words you see on ads and in brochures) for clients all over the world. I get up very early and after coffee, I sit down and open the brief I received the previous day. I then spend the next three hours answering the brief and send the work to client. If there is more than one brief, or the brief calls for a lot of work, I work until noon. After lunch, and more coffee, I attend to admin such as sending out invoices and trying to get new clients with email campaigns.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST? The flexibility. I can work on a Sunday morning and take a Monday morning off. Deciding when I work means I sit down at my computer when I’m most productive. That way I get a LOT of work done super-fast.

WHAT DON’T YOU LIKE? Tight deadlines and something called ‘name generation’, which is coming up with a name for a company or product. It sounds easy, but it’s very hard. People are picky about what they call their businesses.

WHAT HURDLES HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME? Getting the first client and keeping them happy was tough, since I had to build a relationship from scratch. But the biggest hurdle is probably something in the present - that gnawing feeling of financial insecurity that never goes away when you work as a freelancer.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS? I’d like to venture into the publishing industry, which is no less daunting than working as a freelance writer.

EXPERIENCE VS FORMAL TRAINING? Experience is way more important, specifically knowing how to deal with people on a professional level. Things like tone of voice over the phone

JACOB SIBIYA COPYWRITER

SELF-EMPLOYED

and email. Just basically being polite while at the same time looking out for yourself, by which I mean knowing what you’re worth.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE STARTING OUT? Believe that the work you produce is of a high quality and will be in demand. Don’t miss deadlines – and never send angry emails.

YOUR JOB IN THREE WORDS Exciting, Creative, Inspiring