“A chartered accountant is not working just to add and subtract these numbers between 0 to 9, but he should feel that he is playing an important role in building the economic infrastructure of this nation” – Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

The journey to add the much sought after 4 letters, CA(SA), after your name has to be one of the most life changing experiences you’ll go through and if it's not, then you’re probably not doing it right. 

From university to serving our SAICA training contracts (articles) and having to write board exams in between, we are constantly faced with situations that test us on every level throughout this journey. There are times where we wish to give up because the late nights seem never ending and the constant fear of failing, together with the thought of not making it to the end, keeps us up at night. At times failure may feel more real than the ability to achieve the dream we set out to conquer. However we should churn these fears of failure into our greatest motivation. No matter how old you are or how long it is taking, make this journey count.

Becoming a Chartered Accountant is no easy task. It is up to us to make the best of this experience and to allow ourselves to grow each day in knowledge and in strength. We enter a world where we can put our years of studying into practice and we have a minimum of 3 years to gain all the knowledge and experience we can. As Trainees, we’re surrounded by Partners, Managers, Supervisors and seniors who have been on the same path as us and it is our duty to gain all the knowledge, wisdom and guidance we can from them. We need to be willing to learn from them and question what we do not understand. As we progress in our training contracts, we should have gained sufficient experience in order to be a role model to others.

Do not fear hard work or criticism, rather embrace it and be willing to take on any task at hand, no matter how daunting. It is up to you to make sure you leave your training office as a confident, well-rounded Chartered Accountant. Take pride in your work and build your name in this profession no matter how trivial the task. Let the relationship between you and your training office be mutually beneficial. Just as they have invested their resources in providing a platform for you to grow in your career, you should invest your time and good work ethic into giving them your best, even on your worst days, because this is what makes a good chartered accountant a great chartered accountant.

We should endeavour to enter the doors of our training office with our minds hungry to learn and leave full from the wealth of knowledge we have gained.  There will be days where we feel we are not cut out for this and this is okay but what is important is that we don't stop trying. It is better to live a few years like most people won’t so that we can live the rest of our lives like most people can’t.

Don’t go through the system just to get out of it. Go through it to grow from it. Remember that if you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. But if you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.

Ashmeetha Nandlal

Trainee accountant, Durban

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