ACCA accountants pour their talents into Africa

Margaret Mwanakatwe and Anna Chifungula are two accomplished Zambian accountants who have risen through the ranks in Zambia�s private and public sector. They tell accounting & business� assistant editor, Colette Steckel, about their successful careers in accounting and business

As managing director of Barclays Zambia, Margaret Mwanakatwe FCCA is one of the few Zambian women to head up a business in the country�s private sector. She explains how she achieved this and considers what challenges lie ahead

Hanging on the wall of Margaret Mwanakatwe�s office at Barclays Bank in Lusaka are two framed photographs; one is of a tiny, ramshackle mud hut and the other is of a large group of school children crammed into a classroom. They remind Margaret of one of the things that she has been able to achieve as managing director of Barclays Zambia.

Each year, 1% of the bank�s profit before tax is set aside for community projects in Africa, which works out at around ZMK2bn. Of that money, 70% goes towards a central pot administered by Barclays Africa for programmes in education, HIV/AIDS awareness, and the disabled throughout the African continent. While Margaret keeps aside the remaining 30% to donate to local projects at her discretion.

Which are where the photos come in. �This is a project that is particularly dear to me,� she begins. �That tiny building was a rural school in Mupita, in the north of Zambia. And all those children used to walk seven kilometres a day to attend lessons there. That�s how bad it was.� Through Margaret�s funding, the 240 primary schoolchildren now have a new school and three classrooms with a further three to go. Margaret is thrilled with the success of the project. �I visited the school recently and it�s so great to see the children sitting at a desk. And because I built the school, the Government has provided teachers, so the whole project has worked well.�

In a country burdened by vast national debt, and with 80% of the population on the poverty line, Margaret counts herself lucky that she has access to money to give back to the community and, in some small part, make a difference to a few lives. �We�re serious about community work at Barclays Zambia and we get inundated with so many proposals to support various projects that we can�t cope with them all. What we really need is for the private sector to develop so a lot more of us can help the community,� she says.

That won�t be easy. Zambia�s plans to grow the private sector have been gathering pace over the past few years since former President Chiluba introduced a privatisation programme, selling state-owned enterprises. His successor, President Levy Mwanawasa has continued the programme. But the economy continues to slide. In 2002, GDP was just 3% while inflation reached an unhealthy 20%. Most of the country�s economic woes are down to the collapse in commodity prices which have damaged the country�s once thriving copper producing industry, stemmed much of the government�s revenues and threatened to undermine confidence in the economy.

Margaret notes that the difficulties facing the economy are hindering private businesses. �High inflationary periods invariably mean high interest rates and high interest rates mean that local businesses have to be making damn good margins for them to be able to borrow money and pay it back. That restricts private sector development in a very significant way.� It also, of course, affects the banking industry�s profits, but Margaret fights back at some of the criticisms that commercial banks are lack-lustre in offering credit to businesses. �I try to lend as much as I can to businesses in Zambia. And it�s often a challenge for me to manage my provisioning levels, because they are very high right now. But, ultimately, banks are all here to make money and I charge what I think is competitive and fair.�

International experience

Margaret�s interest in a career in finance began at the University of Zambia, Lusaka, where she was enrolled in the medical school at the encouragement of her parents. Two terms in, she put paid to the life of a doctor and started studying a business administration course, which she says she never regretted. On graduating, she packed her bags and moved to the UK where she stayed for several years, during which time she met and married her husband, raised a family of three, qualified as an ACCA and worked as a financial analyst for leading British companies, including the brewers Whitbread.

An opportunity for her husband, a satellite communications engineer, to head up the English-speaking Africa division of a French company uprooted the family to Paris and introduced Margaret to the delights of teaching French students the intricacies of finance and accounting. �One of the most memorable points in my career was trying to teach those students about financial management. I think at one point I had to resort to acting, because I couldn�t get the message across in English. We had a few laughs together over that. I�ll never forget it.�

By the beginning of the 1990s, Margaret and her husband, also a Zambian, decided it was about time to return home. �Zambia was exciting at the time. There was no longer a one-party state. We had a new government ushered into power in 1991 (under former President Chiluba), and liberalisation was taking effect. It seemed to us that there was a move towards a more private sector-led economy. We thought it was time to go back and contribute to the development of the economy.�

Within weeks of returning to Zambia, Margaret got back on track with her finance career, joining a manufacturing firm as a finance manager and later taking on a general manager role. She then moved on to head up the investor relations department of the Investment Promotions Agency (now the Zambia Investment Centre), a government agency charged with promoting Zambia and facilitating private sector development.

She became managing director of Barclays Zambia in 2000 after a stint as a non-executive director, becoming the first woman to sit on the board. Margaret professes that she loves being part of what she refers to as the Barclays family, from meeting the myriad faces of the Barclays group on her travels through Africa to nurturing her staff. �I have a passion for people. Just seeing my employees grow in their role or move onto bigger roles. Whether it�s a cashier rising through the ranks or a manager taking on more responsibility. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that,� she says.

She makes a point of meeting her staff as often as possible, even joining in group events like last year�s women�s football championships in which she scored the winning goal. �That�s me with the girls,� she says, pointing to a framed photograph of a team sporting white strips and smiling broadly. �My goodness I was a wreck when the game ended,� she exclaims, bursting into laughter.

Life off the pitch is rather more demanding though. As a significant employer in the country, and a Zambian commentator on the banking industry, Margaret is often asked to get involved in local events or speak to the press. These, coupled with her challenging role as managing director, often take their toll on her free time. �Work-life balance is very difficult for me as a woman. I have a young family who need me and it�s difficult always to be there for them.� She makes a point of leaving weekends free for her children and husband, escaping to Lake Kariba on the border with Zimbabwe for some family bonding. But she admits that it�s not easy juggling a demanding career with a family. �I�m not sure I get it right, but I�m doing my best.�

Her status as one of the few high-profile Zambian women in the private sector is clearly important to her. She�s proud that Barclays has grown into a formidable player among the several commercial banks in Zambia, all of which are regulated by the Bank of Zambia. And with a healthy profit and reserves in excess of ZMK45bn, Barclays ranks as one of the most successful in the country. But Margaret has her sights set on making her mark as managing director. �Right now my challenge is to ensure that Barclays remains the leading and to be the most admired financial services institution here in Zambia,� she says with conviction, before adding rather modestly, �I think I still have some way to go.�

Anna Chifungula FCCA and auditor-general of the Republic of Zambia, talks about her career in the civil service and says why she thinks she can make a difference

Anna Chifungula always knew she would become an accountant even from an early age, when she sold tomatoes to fund the all-girls secondary school she attended in Lusaka. �We had no school fees back in those days, but we had to buy uniforms and books, so I raised money for the school requirements. I�d put the tomatoes in various dishes and would work out how much each dish would give me. All day, I�d be busy calculating my profit,� says Anna, emitting a deep, throaty laugh. �That was the sort of life we used to lead during most school holidays.�

Her success at dealing with money led to the beginnings of a career with the Ministry of Finance. She found herself, rather aptly, in the salary section where she worked as a clerical officer. But eager to take on more responsibility, she enrolled on a basic accountancy course at a local college. �When I finished my studies at college, I immediately demanded to be upgraded to an accountant. But I was told no because I wasn�t qualified,� she gasps. �I asked my superiors, what does it take? And they started telling me about all these accounting qualifications I could study for. Really it was quite a mystery to me at the time.�

A timely offer of sponsorship from the British Council took Anna to the UK�s Abingdon College of Further Education in Oxfordshire where she studied the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification that would take her up to the next rung on the career ladder at the Ministry. It also introduced her to the ACCA qualification, which she went on to study full-time when she later returned to the UK, although her stay was short-lived when her sponsor pulled out. She went home disheartened but determined to see through her studies.

She eventually qualified as an ACCA in 1996 by which time she was swamped with job offers. �I qualified at the right time. In the mid-1990s, the civil service had no qualified accountants. I was the only one and that meant I could pick whatever job I wanted.� She chose to stay in auditing, landing herself a position as controller in the internal audit office of the Ministry. �I opted to go into audit because I wasn�t pleased with what was going on. There were quite a lot of abuses of financial resources then and I thought I could make a difference.�

Anna remarks that since she joined the audit service, she has seen a change in the way in which audits have been carried out. There�s the introduction of modern technology for a start, and an exchange of ideas with the pan-African accountancy bodies ECSAFA and INTOSAI has provided Zambian auditors with new ways of performing their jobs. As for her own contribution to the internal audit office, Anna, with the help of ACCA�s technical department in the UK, wrote a manual on best auditing practice, which was the first of its kind. �An audit used to be looked down upon. Everyone saw auditors as these nosy fellows who interfere in other people�s business, but I don�t think that�s the case now,� she confides, although her hearty laughter might suggest otherwise.

Earlier this year, Anna stepped into the shoes of acting auditor-general and was sworn in over the summer. It�s a role she clearly relishes. �The appointment was extremely important for me because I think I can do something good here,� she enthuses. And she certainly has a mission in mind. �When I was heading Internal Audit, I expected the auditor-general to act on my reports but that never happened. I thought to myself, what sort of auditing is this?� She wonders whether perpetrators of mass frauds committed in the mid-1990s could have been brought to justice at an earlier date if Internal Audit reports had been acted upon.

Which brings us to the issue of the auditor-general�s office and independence. �If you�re going to have good governance in any country, you need an institution like the auditor-general�s office to be independent. I don�t like the idea of my audit reports being tampered with if people don�t like what they read,� argues Anna. It�s interesting that she raises such a point, because at the time of her being sworn in, the previous President of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, is facing serious charges of massive illicit diversion of state funds. Anna, however, is mindful of her appointing authority, President Levy Mwanawasa, a man elected in 2001 and who, many say, displays a high level of integrity in his public life. �I think the current head of state wants to see a professional job done and he would, of course, have no need to hide anything. But I still would like to see the independence of this office enhanced,� adds Anna.

That�s not the only thing she would like to see. She has a staff of 169, although the expected head-count for her office is 360. Few of her staff are qualified to do their jobs and those who successfully pass their accounting exams move onto higher paid jobs in the private sector. �Most of the time this office has to sub-contract work to audit firms because it can�t carry out its mandate. We should be responsible for the audit of government money, but we just don�t have the manpower,� rues Anna.

Money troubles

And then there�s the auditor-general�s office itself, a low-rise building that looks exceedingly sorry for itself. Peeling paintwork, threadbare furniture, a pervasive smell of drains, and a roof that�s about to cave in. Anna admits that her office is poorly funded. Most of the ZMK2bn the office received last year came from the Norwegian and Dutch Governments, which bought badly needed computers and vehicles and are currently assisting partly in human resource development. The World Bank, through its Public Service Capacity Building Project (PSCAP), is also assisting with office renovations. �Sadly, this office is among the last of the Government�s priorities,� says Anna. �But if I had a little money, I�d invest it in training for the staff and in improving the working conditions. There�s also a need for salary increases but it�s important for staff to work in a pleasant environment and for them to have the means to continue their studies. Without funding we are still going to have the problems of staff accepting bribes to influence the audit findings.�

Potentially, working in such conditions could be demoralising, but Anna is upbeat about her lot. �We have loads of goodwill here and that is what keeps me going. Everyone recognises the need to empower this office.� And she enjoys her job as well. �I think I like the importance it brings,� she laughs. �But if I could see some people prosecuted for the things they have done, as a result of my audit report, then that would be nice.�

While Anna�s valiant attempts to improve Zambia�s lot in her role as auditor-general are admirable, her ability to juggle her career with her home-life is astounding. She is a single mother to 20 children. Three of them are her own sons while the rest of her sizeable family are children of her five late sisters. �If you come to my house, you�ll find it full of children. I refuse to send any of them to orphanages, so they all stay with me,� says Anna.

The eldest among them, her son aged 27, recently qualified as an ACCA, an achievement that has Anna grinning from ear to ear. While the youngest, her late sister�s child, is an independent five-year-old. Anna shakes her head when asked how she manages a household of 20 children. �They all help each other and play together. I can get on with my own thing and they won�t interrupt me when I�m busy. But when I�m free, I�ll go and play with them. It�s really not that difficult for me,� she says.

Anna�s version of doing her own thing is staying at home and catching up on a few romantic novels. �I�m lazy like that. I don�t like going out but I do like reading. I think at one point I read all the African writers series and all those Mills & Boon novels - you know, material like that. That�s when I�m not reading an accounting text book, of course,� she quips, filling the office with her glorious, infectious laughter.