While still a teenager, Tsatsi Ngcingwana discovered a feel for accounting whilst working on holiday jobs.
“It just made logical sense … it’s a balancing act and I did not find it difficult to understand,” he remembers. He graduated with a ND Accounting from the Durban University of Technology in 1998.
During mid-July this year he took on the job of Director: Finance Operations at CPUT having garnered a wealth of experience in both public and private sectors over 19 years.
While he does have a head for figures, Ngcingwana quickly discovered in his first role at SARS as a Tax Auditor that his people skills were even more important.
“It was an intimidating role because some people didn’t understand the value of paying tax. They’d literally come out guns blazing and dogs barking because you are taking away from them what they have rightfully earned (like taking food from their mouths).
“But when you explained how the tax system operates, people tended to listen. If you were aggressive, people reciprocated with the same response, the key was to be humble and engaging to meet targets” said Ngcingwana.
“You approach your career thinking you want to achieve a certain level of self-fulfilment but little do you know, even if you are not a people’s person, you will end up having to deal with people on a daily basis.”
From SARS he moved on to national and international and medium sized corporates, alternating between the private and public sector, eventually settling at UCT in 2008.
He worked there as Finance Manager for nine years and at the same time furthered his own education. Ngcingwana holds masters’ degrees in Financial Management (M.Com) and Executive Management (MBA), B.Com honours and is currently completing the CIMA accredited Chartered Management Accountant qualification.
Ngcingwana thinks that as Director: Finance Operations at CPUT he will be much more involved with dealing directly with student matters, DHET and NSFAS than accustomed too, prior to this role.
First thought he is assessing processes and procedures and familiarising himself with our policies, regulations and guidelines. Already he is applying his mind to how some policies, such as the one on Student Debt, require updating.
Written by Theresa Smith
