Meet our #SAIPAproud member

Debbie Kapoock

My dream was to become an Accountant at a young age. My love for Accountancy was born from a love for numbers.

During high school, I followed the Science stream. My core subjects from grade 10 to Matric were: Physical Science, Maths, Biology and Geography.

I enrolled for a B.Comm at University of Johannesburg (UJ), despite not having done any commerce subjects at school. I was nervous to pursue a qualification in the Accounting field, but I was fuelled by my passion. I was happy to have completed my first degree even if it had not in record time as I had pursued an extended timeline.

I was recruited by Deloitte & Touche at University. It was a dream come true for me to be employed by one of the Big 5 Auditing firms at the time. My salary as a Trainee Accountant was low compared to my friends who graduated with B.Comm degrees and worked elsewhere. I decided to not despise the days of small beginnings as I knew that I will be more marketable once I completed Articles. It paid off a few years later.

Completing Articles was a great learning and growing experience. I was working on various clients and developed experience in so many fields such as: Auditing, Accounting, Management Consulting and Forensic Accounting. I stayed on after completing my Articles still growing and developing. I completed my B.Comm (Hons) degree at UJ.

I left Deloitte’s and joined Coca-Cola, starting in the Finance Department. The skills and competencies that I gained during Articles allowed me to move in various departments in roles of increasing responsibility. I became one of the first women to be appointed as a Franchise Manager in 2013, in South Africa.

In 2017, I started my own company. I applied to SAIPA™ to become a Professional Accountant (SA) to improve my business credibility. I wrote the PE exam and am now a proud Professional Accountant (SA). This qualification has paid off and is attracting new clients/job opportunities. As a SAIPA™ member I was able to register as a Tax Practitioner with SARS and grow my service offering.

I invest my passion in the work I do for my clients, one of whom have gone on to win a Business Plan competition with Business Partners.  This inspired me to continue to go the extra mile and strive for excellence in all that I do, armed with the CPD training we get from SAIPA™. The Accountancy field provided me with a career for life due to the Skills and Competencies that I acquired and the constant need for these skills and services.