More than 1,700 people from over 60 countries registered to attend  the first episode of a new series from Chartered Accountants Worldwide, ‘Difference Makers Discuss…’

The first episode was ‘Difference Makers Discuss… The Value of Diversity’ and included a dynamic group of speakers with expertise in chartered accountancy, strategic leadership, entrepreneurship, and academic research.

In this podcast, Dr Caroline McGroary talks about a variety of topics around gender discrimination.  

Caroline worked  in Saudi Arabia at the Princess Norah University where she got the opportunity to educate women in a country which has historically ranked quite low in the global gender equality rankings.  She developed a financial literacy initiative in response to recent statistics which reported that one of the contributory factors to gender inequality in Saudi Arabia was the low financial literacy levels of Saudi women.  These initiatives not only directly impacted on the lives of our students, but also empowered them to bring this knowledge outside the classroom and drive change in their local communities.

Caroline goes on to talk about tackling the gender pay gap and making women feel rewarded and included in organisations.  She makes the point that diversity is not inclusion and that whilst there has been a lot of attention on diversity, which is good, there also needs to be an equal focus on inclusion.

This podcast contains a round table discussion with participants from our recent global online event, ‘Difference Makers Discuss… The Value of Diversity’

More than 1,700 people from over 60 countries registered to attend  the first episode of a new series from Chartered Accountants Worldwide, ‘Difference Makers Discuss…’

The first episode ‘Difference Makers Discuss… The Value of Diversity’ included a dynamic group of speakers with expertise in chartered accountancy, strategic leadership, entrepreneurship, and academic research.

Mandy Muchnick, CA(SA), Chair One Young World Africa, Panda, Founder Imagine.Nation, hosted the event which included three guests with fascinating experience and insights:

• Vincent Egunlae, Chartered Accountant, Strategic Leadership Team, Grant Thornton UK, founder Open Private School.
• Dr Caroline McGroary, Chartered Accountant, Assistant Professor of Accounting at Dublin City University Business School.
• Mufseen Miah, Chartered Accountant, Financial Planning Manager Little Dot Media.

The event was rounded off with a lively Q&A session with attendees’ questions from around the world.

More than 1,700 people from over 60 countries registered to attend  the first episode of a new series from Chartered Accountants Worldwide, ‘Difference Makers Discuss…’

The first episode was ‘Difference Makers Discuss… The Value of Diversity’ and included a dynamic group of speakers with expertise in chartered accountancy, strategic leadership, entrepreneurship, and academic research.

In this podcast, Vincent Egunlae speaks about his project "The Open Private School" which aims to tackle disadvantage among young people.

The Open Private School. We believe that disadvantage begins through a lack of finance but survives through a lack of exposure. Exposure to role models, exposure to networks, exposure to opportunity. Those who grow up to become people of influence are significantly more likely to be privately educated than those who were not, and this lack of exposure lies at the heart. Our name is derived from our conviction that the opportunity to become a person of influence should be open to everyone.

The OPS seeks to redress the imbalance, by giving disadvantaged students from state schools exposure to highly experienced professionals across finance, law and business. We curate one-to-one mentorship programs, connecting ambitious young adults who face congenital barriers, with experienced professionals at the top of their game. 

In this episode Indy meets Amir Dossal CA, Founder and President of the Global Partnerships Forum – a not-for-profit knowledge platform to provide changemakers with tools to build innovative partnerships for the SDG.

Amir describes his varied career with emphasis on his journey to, and work within the United Nations. Reflecting on his humanitarian work in various developing countries, Amir describes it as a privilege to be involved in the problem solving required to meet the different challenges. “It was a system based approach…you capture data on epidemiology…and the moment you do health, you’re doing education.”

Amir is a 25-year veteran of the United Nations, and was the UN’s Chief Liaison for Partnerships. As Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships, he managed the $1 billion gift by media mogul Ted Turner.

Amir is currently President, Global Partnerships Forum; Champion, UN Safe Ground Campaign; Vice Chair, Blockchain Commission; Distinguished Fellow of Healthcare, World Economic Forum.

We hope you find Amir’s story inspiring.

In this episode Indy meets Jonny Jacobs CA, is the Finance Director EMEA at Starbucks, he is also a passionate advocate for positive mental health. 

Jonny speaks openly about his own struggles with mental health in his teens and talks about the importance of acknowledging challenges people may be experiencing in their lives.

Helping and supporting others is not just a moral and social responsibility in leadership but also has a business case.  A healthy economy is about our environment, our communities, our employees – and the health of employees.   In the UK alone, mental health-related issues carry a £40 billion cost to business and a further £80 billion in social cost, he explains.

Jonny is a trustee of the Mental Health Foundation, the UK is leading mental health charity, a non Executive Director of Mental Health at Work, a One Young World ambassador and a goalkeeper of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

He also plays a key role in supporting ICAS. In 2017, he was recognised as a young chartered accountant of the year and is co-leading the mental fitness in business strategy to drive change on the subject amongst the finance and accounting profession. We hope you find Johnny's story inspiring.

In this episode Indy meets Mufseen Miah. He talks about how growing up he was scared to come out as gay, fearing that if he was open about his sexuality his education, career, and social life might suffer.  Mufseen studied economics and later accountancy.  Once he started his career he became aware of the importance of supporting ED&I initiatives at work.  

Mufseen talks about how he became involved in Pride London, becoming director of finance.  Pride is important because it creates a safe space where people can express their sexuality without being judged.  It is a celebration of love and diversity, he says.

Mufseen is a co-host on Queer Talk, an exciting new LGBTQ+ podcast which he founded. It is a passion project and explores the many real intersectional issues faced by LGBTQ+ people. In addition to this Mufseen is creative in many areas including design, photography and writing and regularly brings these together in consulting or collaborating with charities on awareness campaigns.

Mufseen is a member of ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland) and has several years experience in auditing and assurance services, financial forecasting, budgeting and strategic planning. 

Mufseen is an experienced financial accountant working in digital media specialising in FP&A and financial reporting for Little Dot Studios. 

In this episode Indy meets Zahid Fakey, the CEO of weFEEDsa, an organisation conceived during the lockdown of COVID-19 with the principle purpose of feeding the less fortunate in a dignified manner.

In 2018, he'd left his role Price Waterhouse Coopers as regional head of risk assurance for cases in South Africa and Swaziland to fulfil "his greater purpose".  

He has since devoted his time to improving society through such endeavours as his consulting company "Unplugged", his many board positions.  During lockdown, his organisation We Feed SA, provided 12,000 meals a day to those in need in KwaZulu Natal as well as the project "The House of Opportunity", which helps the homeless obtain skills and jobs. 

Zahid holds multiple board positions. He is a non-executive director of National Bioproducts Institute and the Chairman of their Audit and Risk Committee. He also serves as a trustee on the board of the organisation’s Provident Fund. He holds a non-executive director position with Albaraka Bank Limited where he serves as a member of the main board, the Chairman of capital, risk management and compliance committee and as a member of the social and ethics committee.  

He has been appointed as the independent Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Dube Tradeport Corporation as of September 2018. 

In this episode we meet David Nussbaum, a true Difference Maker.  Throughout his career he's fought corruption, battled climate change, and worked at the highest levels of industry and politics to make meaningful change in the world. 

He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse, moved into venture capital with 3i, and then into manufacturing, becoming the  Financial Director of Field Group plc 

In 1997 David left the world of business and finance and  joined Oxfam as FD and Deputy CEO and was later seconded to head up Oxfam’s operations in India. David went on to become Chair of  Transparency International, the leading global anti-corruption organisation, CEO of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) UK,  and now Chief Executive at The Elders.  The Elders are an independent group of global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights. They were founded by the late Nelson Mandela, and are currently chaired by Mary Robinson.

In each of these roles he used  the knowledge, perspective, skills and capabilities that he gained from his background as a Chartered Accountant to make a difference.  Whether that was through using his skills with numbers to improve logistics for  aid operations, using numbers to help tell the story of corruption in countries around the world, using communication and interpersonal skills to help further the goal of persuading leaders to work with a greater sense of justice, ethics, and consideration for the good of all.

He ends by quoting Arch-bishop Desmond Tutu, who when asked why he was such an eternal optimist, replied: "I'm not an optimist, I am a prisoner of hope".