Difference Makers Podcast

Ready to discover how a chartered accountant turns risk literacy into a founder’s edge? We sit down with Christiaan Coetzee—CEO and co‑founder of Audit Toolbar and SAICA Top 35 Under 35 overall winner—to unpack the mindset shifts and practical levers that help small firms run with the giants. Christiaan shares how starting articles straight out of high school gave him a front-row seat to hundreds of businesses, and why governance, financial fluency, and rapid risk assessment can be superpowers when you’re building something new.

We dive into the surprising centre of gravity in audit work: Excel. While big platforms chase grand architectures, most auditors still spend the bulk of their time inside spreadsheets. Christiaan’s team built a tool that lives where the work happens, unlocking “insane efficiency gains” and levelling the field for five-person practices competing with enterprise players. The results speak loudly: a rolling 650 years of work saved across Africa every year, letting local firms grow faster, pitch bigger, and serve clients better.

The conversation turns on a simple but uncomfortable truth—most of us think too small. Christiaan describes the shock of hearing peers make fearless asks of global leaders and realising he’d been self-rejecting big opportunities. His new default is to pick up the phone, pursue top-tier clients, and let the answer be earned, not imagined. Along the way, he lays out a grounded operating system: protect your work ethic, mentor the next builder in line, and prioritise cash moving hands—funding for impact orgs, revenue for startups. Forecasting tech beyond two years is murky, but staying close to customers and their real levers keeps you ahead where it counts.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s thinking small, and leave a review telling us the one bold ask you’ll make this week.

For Jas Rayat curiosity lit the first spark: how do businesses actually work, and why does finance feel like the spine that keeps them upright? From that question grew a bold choice—skip the university track, embrace an apprenticeship, and earn a chartered accountancy qualification while gaining real experience. We walk through the turning points of that decision, the early wins of earning while learning, and the confidence that comes from solving real problems long before graduation day would have arrived.

The conversation digs into social mobility with clear, practical stakes. Growing up without accountants in our immediate circle meant no ready-made roadmap, so research and outreach became essential tools. That journey now fuels a mission to widen access: explain credible routes like ICAEW apprenticeships, share the hidden curriculum of interviews and workplace codes, and model what it looks like to progress without a traditional degree. Along the way, we explore how early exposure to clients, month-end pressure, and audit realities can build judgement faster than textbooks, and why that compounding experience pays off when peers are just starting out.

A visit to One Young World in Munich adds urgency and perspective. Bob Geldof’s line—grit makes the pearl—anchors the reality that effort, not ideal conditions, creates breakthroughs. Maria Ressa’s stand for information integrity shows what courage looks like under pressure, and why clarity and truth are non-negotiable for lasting change. We translate those lessons into steps you can take today: start before you feel ready, ask your network for small, specific help, look for apprenticeships tied to recognised bodies, and treat action as the teacher that confidence follows.

If you’re weighing apprenticeship vs university, seeking a career reset, or driven to open doors for others, this story offers a grounded blueprint. Subscribe for more purpose-led career journeys, share this with someone on the fence about their next step, and leave a review with the first action you’ll take this week.

Start with a simple truth: problems rarely arrive alone. Sitali joins us to show how education, governance, and technology interlock—and how a single career pivot can spark a mission to rebuild trust from the inside out. The journey moves from engineering labs to audit rooms, where ethics meet evidence and small, consistent actions start to change how public institutions serve people.

We dig into the daily mechanics of accountability: mapping how funds flow, pressure-testing internal controls, and closing risk gaps before they become scandals. Sitali explains why internal audit is more than compliance—it is a bridge between policy and practice, giving students and staff confidence that resources reach their purpose. We also unpack responsible technology with clear standards for transparency, bias testing, and human oversight so AI enhances public value without eroding rights or trust.

Systems thinking ties everything together. Fixing a scholarship process is pointless if procurement is broken; digitising services fails if policy is vague. Sitali shares practical ways to avoid second-order harms, from open metrics and cross-functional reviews to training teams to read patterns instead of isolated incidents. Along the way, global networks and the One Young World community broaden the lens: despite different contexts, many countries wrestle with the same need—fair rules, clear data, and leaders who listen.

You’ll hear a grounded vision for the next decade: data-driven governance across Africa, transparent institutions, and technology-enabled tools that put people first. The closing message is simple and actionable—start where you are, use what you have, do what you can—because even a small candle cuts through the dark. If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague who cares about integrity, and leave a review to help more listeners find it.

What if the rigour that keeps companies honest could also save lives? We sit down with social impact activist and aspiring chartered accountant Khethiwe Sibanyoni to unpack how ethics, systems thinking, and real accountability can turn good intentions into measurable change. From Saturday mornings in GBV shelters at age 11 to auditing across oil and gas, pharma, and FMCG, Khethiwe shows how credibility becomes a tool for communities when it is used with care.

We map the architecture of Khethiwe’s youth-led foundation across three pillars: detection rooted in research and data, prevention that works with both girls and boys to shift norms before harm occurs, and correction focused on survivor support through 13 Gauteng shelters—prioritising psychosocial care, education, and economic empowerment to end dependency. Khethiwe explains how controls, budgets, and outcome metrics translate from audit checklists to fieldwork, building programmes that endure beyond any single leader.

Along the way, we explore setbacks that forged resolve—losing a scholarship, raising tuition in a month, and recommitting to a career anchored in public trust. We talk about meeting a prominent global philanthropist, why team trust is a hallmark of real leadership, and how social investment drives economic performance when paired with clear social impact KPIs. Khethiwe’s message to business is direct: define impact with the same precision you bring to profit. Her message to young changemakers is practical and brave: start with what you have, stay authentic, and fall in love with the problem until the solution reveals itself.

Join us for a grounded, hopeful look at responsible corporate citizenship, nonprofit sustainability, and youth-led action against gender-based violence. If this conversation sparks you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with the one impact KPI you’d set tomorrow.

If you’ve ever been told to “wait your turn,” this conversation politely declines. We sit down with chartered accountant and risk professional Rebecca Casey to unpack how young leaders move from potential to presence—using expertise, community, and conviction to shape business and society right now.

Rebecca charts a clear route from a school enterprise in Sydney to Deloitte, Young CA panels in New South Wales and the UK, and a career leap to London. Along the way she shows why qualifications like the CA are more than letters: they open doors, build networks, and give you the platform to speak plainly on the issues that matter. We get specific on AI governance, data integrity, and ethics—what good looks like, where it breaks, and how to make accountability a daily habit rather than a compliance checkbox.

The energy from One Young World threads through the episode as we translate inspiration into action. Rebecca shares a grounded take on the circular economy, from volunteering with a hard-to-recycle plastics programme to making a personal pledge centred on reuse and repair. We connect those grassroots choices to workplace change—procurement standards, lifecycle thinking, and practical steps that reduce waste and build integrity into systems.

This is a playbook for focused impact: choose one problem, apply your skills, start small, and show results. If youth are the present, the question becomes simple—what will we build today? Listen for candid insights, actionable ideas, and a refreshing kind of optimism that pairs vision with the first step. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who leads from the front, and leave a review so others can find it.

What if a ten-year-old’s love for maths could spark a career that blends finance, empathy and AI for social good? We sit down with Saad Bin Asim Zubairi of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan to unpack how curiosity, grit and global perspective can reshape what a chartered accountant does today. From finding the profession at an education expo to thriving in multinational teams through geopolitical turmoil, Saad shares concrete ways leaders can protect psychological safety while raising standards.

The conversation dives into the shifting toolkit of modern finance: automation, data analytics, and generative AI alongside audit and controls. Fresh from a One Young World workshop, Saad explains how he built a demo app for the Sustainable Development Goal of quality education in under an hour, proving that non-coders can prototype impactful solutions with GenAI. We reflect on powerful moments from the summit, including insights from Queen Rania and Nobel laureate journalist Maria Ressa, and why combating disinformation and online hate is now a core leadership duty, not a side issue.

Mentorship sits at the heart of Saad’s approach. He outlines practical steps for young CAs to balance study and work, use AI responsibly, and move beyond rote tasks into analysis, advisory and product thinking. The result is a roadmap for lifelong learning that keeps you valuable in a changing market while staying rooted in ethics and empathy. If you care about building a career that matters—and tools that help people—you’ll find real takeaways you can apply this week.

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A teenage mum, a bus to Galway, and a toddler in the back row of a lecture hall—this is where Sophie Sweeney’s story begins. That early proximity to learning didn’t just open a door; it rewired what a career could be. We sit down with Sophie, a lecturer at the University of Galway and a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland, to explore how a love for numbers became a mission to serve people through education, mentorship, and purpose-driven accounting.

Sophie shares how structure became her launchpad. The chartered pathway offered clarity—training contracts, exams, professional standards—while her curiosity turned financial statements into narratives that reveal choices, risk, and values. When the day-to-day of practice no longer aligned with her desire for visible impact, she followed the signal toward lecturing. In the classroom, technical rigour meets empathy, and the ripple effect is real: one educator can equip hundreds of future professionals to combine accuracy with ethics and to measure what truly matters.

Fresh from the One Young World Summit, Sophie reflects on the power of networks, representation, and stepping onto big stages with grounded pride. Carrying the Irish flag and connecting with delegates from around the world, she absorbed a simple mandate: you don’t need to fix every problem; you need to leverage your position to move good work forward. We talk imposter syndrome, how to claim belonging without losing humility, and why time pressure—from motherhood to research goals—can sharpen ambition. Looking ten years ahead, Sophie sees a human-centred academic career, a completed PhD, and a community of former students who return with stories of impact.

If you’re curious about purpose in accounting, the value of professional qualifications, or how education can multiply social change, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review with the moment that hit home for you.

Ever feel like your day is a blur of pings, context switches, and late-night messages that steal your sleep? We sat down with Brad Hook and Declan Scott to unpack why the profession’s greatest strengths—kindness, curiosity, creativity—can be undermined by hypervigilance and constant multitasking, and how simple, science-backed rhythms can restore focus and energy.

We dig into the data from the inaugural global resilience and well-being report for Chartered Accountants and preview what the next survey aims to measure after practical interventions. Brad explains why “measure, train, measure” beats guesswork, and shares tactical calm tools that create quick wins: one-minute breath resets, bookending the workday, and clear evening boundaries. Declan brings an experienced lens to early-career overwhelm, showing how coaching-led leadership and mentoring across generations can reduce anxiety, build confidence, and connect daily work to real purpose.

You’ll learn how attention is being fragmented by constant digital stimuli and why monotasking outperforms multitasking for quality and speed. We walk through the conditions for flow—clear goals, the right challenge-skill match, protected time, and fewer distractions—and how teams can pilot weekly or daily “flow zones” to unlock meaningful progress. We also dive into sleep as the bedrock of performance, from chronotypes and consistency to practical checks for issues like sleep apnoea, plus everyday habits that recharge your mental battery.

The episode closes on presence—the underrated skill of pausing, widening your view, and asking what matters most right now. If you’re ready to replace false urgency with real effectiveness, this is your playbook for calmer focus, better sleep, and stronger leadership. Enjoy the conversation, then share it with a colleague who needs permission to switch off notifications. If it resonated, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what single change will you try this week?

Curiosity isn’t a personality trait—it’s a practice that can shape a career and safeguard public trust. That idea runs through our conversation with Carla S. Vijian, whose path from Malaysia to New Zealand, Sydney, London and now New York traces a throughline from hands‑on audit work to ethics standard setting. We dive into how fieldwork hardens your scepticism—the kind that looks past headlines and asks who funds what, where assumptions hide, and how incentives bend outcomes—and why that habit is essential when claims move markets, pensions and policy.

Carla opens the black box of ethics standards and shows how practical and global the work really is: listening to regulators, investors and firms, and crafting principle‑based guidance that scales across 130+ jurisdictions without losing the self‑awareness professionals need day to day. We test the ideas against live issues: Norway’s Northern Lights CO2 storage milestone and debt‑for‑policy swaps that promise conservation and reconstruction. Both raise the same hard questions—measurement, transparency, accountability—that ethics can answer when applied with rigour. We also tackle AI without the hype: it’s a powerful tool, but not a moral agent. The IESBA’s technology guidance helps identify risks like bias, data integrity and over‑reliance, reminding us to validate models, document judgement and remain accountable for outcomes in the public interest.

Threaded through the technical is the human: marathon training as a blueprint for resilience, discipline and humility. You don’t run 42 kilometres at once; you run one at a time. The same is true for building trust—small consistent choices compound. Carla leaves three anchors for the next generation: make curiosity a daily discipline, choose courage over convenience, and pair purpose with patience. If you care about trustworthy reporting, sustainable finance and responsible AI, this conversation will give you practical ways to strengthen your judgement and your impact.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review with the bravest professional decision you’ve made recently.

The myth that accountancy is just numbers falls apart fast when you hear Nicola Ellam’s story. Trained in the UK, seasoned in Hong Kong, and now a managing principal in New York, Nicola joins us to unpack how a global career can thrive at the intersection of regulation, culture, and bold technology bets. From the maze of US CPA licensing to the daily realities of leading teams in a fast-moving market, she lays out what changes, what doesn’t, and how to stay relevant when the tools of the trade are being rewritten.

We dive into CLA’s decision to invest $500M in AI and a broader solutions master plan, and why the firm insists on staying people-led even as automation accelerates. Nicola walks us through the practical wins: less data entry, faster insights, cleaner visuals, and client conversations that shift from “what happened” to “what should we do.” Inside the firm, connection centres and the CLA Academy create a learning engine—sandboxes, simulations, and persona-based pathways—so interns, associates, and partners can build the skills that matter now: relationship building, project management, and critical evaluation of machine outputs. It’s a training model designed for multi-generational teams that learn in different ways and at different speeds.

Global work brings added nuance. Even when language is shared, culture, compliance, and expectations vary—sometimes state by state. Nicola explains how to bridge those gaps with empathy and structure, helping foreign-owned businesses land and scale in the US without losing momentum. And we tackle the big anxiety head-on: will AI take our jobs? Her answer is simple and sharp—AI will take your job to a whole new level. Roles will evolve, judgment will matter more, and the time we get back can be invested in better advice, better teams, and a better life outside the office.

If you care about the future of accounting, professional growth, and turning technology into real client value, this conversation offers concrete steps and fresh optimism. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a nudge toward the future, and leave a quick review to tell us what skill you’re focusing on next.