Day: September 11, 2021

Quick Fire Questions: Kudzai Malunga (PwC)

Quick Fire Questions: Kudzai Malunga (PwC)

In anticipation of our first event ‘Mapping out Accountancy’, we caught up with Kudzai Malunga, our speaker from PwC. Kudzai is a Senior Associate of Assurance and is a 26 year old Zimbabwean living and working in Manchester. Kudzai has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, which just also happens to be her favourite city in the world. She also has a Master’s degree in Investment and Finance from Strathclyde University in Glasgow and is currently working on her ACA qualification. Her hobbies include playing sports and reading, with her current indulgence being “You got anything stronger?” by Gabrielle Union. 

Could you briefly describe your career journey? 

My career journey started with various internships within big for, after my IGCSEs I started to seriously think about what I’d like to do once I got to university, fortunately or unfortunately I’m a person who likes to make informed decisions. As such I managed to get an shadowing position within an audit firm, but as a 16 year old there’s only so much assistance you can give on a job but I appreciate the opportunity as I managed to get my feet wet and started thinking that perhaps financial/professional services was where I’d be happy. Throughout university I then took on more internships more in audit, investment banking and advisory, eventually landing in audit and as it stands I still believe I made the best decision for me and it’s been a great journey thus far. 

What has surprised you most about working in your industry? 

The variety of the job! When you hear about the assumptions and general understanding of audit you hear that it’s monotonous and boring. Truthfully this could be further from the truth. In my 2 years with PwC I’ve has the privilege to work in various industries, from Tech Media and Telecomms (TMT), Utilities and Consumer and Industrial products. These different types of clients all come with new opportunities to learn and challenges that help you grow in your profession. While doing these rotations you also work with different team members, this also builds on you, not just professionally but personally as well as you have an opportunity to learn about different cultures, personalities and beliefs which if you go into it with the right mindset? You’ll be a better person because of it. 

What career advice would you give 20 year old you?

For context when I was 20, I was doing my undergrad in Cape Town. I’d tell myself to enjoy the moment, the stress of uni and assignments, enjoy the environment that I’m in. Nurture those friendships.  Embrace the challenges that come up. All the exposure and experiences will undoubtedly shape you and become the foundation of who you are. The friendships will get you through it all. The stress and challenges with build you to be a better professional and enjoying the moment will teach you that there’s always life to be lived and enjoyed. Most importantly I’d tell myself to trust the process and run the race at my pace and mine alone, oh and take SPF more seriously!


Quick Fire Questions: Denise Fernandez (KPMG)

Quick Fire Questions: Denise Fernandez (KPMG)

In anticipation of our first event ‘Mapping out Accountancy’, we caught up with Denise Fernandez, our speaker from ICAEW. Denise is an Audit Assistant and gradated in July 2020 in Accounting and Finance and is in her first year on the KPMG Empowered Audit Programme. We asked her three quick fire questions, to get to know more about her career background.

Could you briefly describe your career journey? 

My career journey has always been straight-forward. Believe it or not, I have always wanted to work in Finance – as a kid, I was convinced I was going to work in a bank. Having in this mind when choosing my GCSEs and A-Levels was very beneficial as I had a rough idea of what I needed to do. I studied accounting at A-level and really enjoyed it, so I went on to do it at degree level. I enjoyed financial accounting the most, so going into audit was the most sensible option for me at the time and here I am!

What surprised you most about working in the industry? 

The most surprising thing about the finance industry is how broad it is. There are a lot of opportunities available, so you always have the option to try new things within the industry and figure it out what you like and don’t like.

What career advice would you give 20 year old you?

I was a 20 year old less than 15 months ago, so I don’t have much advice for 20 year old me. However, I asked my dad and he said he’d tell his 20 year old self to ‘ask every question and listen to every answer. Listen to understand, not listen to reply’.

 

You can catch Denise at our ‘Mapping out Accountancy’ event on the 7th October at 4pm. Register for the event via this link.