Pioneering chartered accountant receives Tuks Chancellor’s Medal

Nonkululeko Gobodo, the first black woman in South Africa to qualify as a chartered accountant (CA) in 1987, was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) on April 16.

The accolade was in recognition of her groundbreaking achievements and her ongoing commitment to transforming the business landscape in South Africa.

Reflecting on her journey, Gobodo said everyone has to do their part in achieving the country they want.

“Wherever you are and whichever job or profession you are in, do your part,” she said.

Gobodo was nominated by GIBS dean, Prof Morris Mthombeni, who said that as a schoolgirl in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Gobodo helped her father with bookkeeping for his panel beating shop.

He said she had a love for numbers and was inspired by WL Nkuhlu & Company owned by Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu, the first black male chartered accountant in South Africa.

“Gobodo decided that she also wanted to become a chartered accountant,” he said.

He added that it was right that Gobodo received the Chancellor’s Medal because Nkuhlu was UP’s long-serving Chancellor from 2007 to 2022.

In the late 1970s, Gobodo enrolled at the University of Transkei (now called Walter Sisulu University), for a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

She later followed her dreams of being a chartered accountant in the early 1980s and 1990s, when there were very few black CAs at the time.

In 1992, Gobodo established her own accounting firm, Gobodo Incorporated, after turning down a partnership offer from KPMG.

“This is one of the proudest moments in my life,” she said.

In 2011, Gobodo Incorporated merged with SizweNtsaluba VSP to form SizweNtsalubaGobodo (SNG), now known as SNG Grant Thornton.

The firm became South Africa’s largest black-owned accounting firm and one of the “Big Five” largest accounting firms in Southern Africa.

Gobodo said the SNG merger process was not easy and had challenges that included blending of different corporate cultures.

She said that although qualifications remain important, being a leader demands more.

Gobodo said that leaders are not always prepared for the huge task of leading people.

“We think we are, but people see the world differently and bring different gifts and talents to the table,” she said.

“It takes maturity to appreciate this and find ways of working together to avoid company and boardroom conflicts,” she added.

Gobodo said that the more she understands herself, the more she appreciates the different ways in which other people work.

After serving as executive chair of SNG until 2015, Gobodo co-founded Nkululeko Leadership Consulting (NLC) in 2016, where she remained as CEO until 2021.

She currently is the CEO of Awakened Global, a company she founded in 2021 to combat workplace bias and racism against women, and continues to serve on various boards.

Reflecting on her journey, Gobodo said she had to forgive herself for parts of her life she could not change.

She said women often second-guess themselves about whether they should pursue their ambitions because it would impact their family time.

“I say you will always make time for your family but don’t miss the moment. Women need to seize this time to get where we should be in all forms of leadership,” she said.

Gobodo said she has reached a stage where she is satisfied that she has achieved her goals, appreciates life, and witnesses her children on their journeys.

Giving words of encouragement, she said anyone can achieve anything they want to once they believe in it and become their true selves.

“We can establish our own firms and grow them. We can do whatever we want to do, but whatever we do, we must do our part,” she said.

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