Sara du Toit CA(SA) – Management Accounting CTA lecturer at CA Campus

You are going to spend the better part of a year listening to your CTA lecturers. You will know all about their academic credentials and work experience, as this is the type of information they will gladly share with you. But wouldn’t it be nice to know a little bit more about each of your CTA lecturers…

They do, after all, expect you to put all of your trust in them.

We decided to put your CTA lecturers to the test.

Each CTA lecturer was asked a few of the most popular questions that students like to ask their lecturers.

Here is what our Management Accounting CTA lecturer, Sara du Toit CA (SA), had to say:

Why have you chosen lecturing as your career?

In my opinion, there are two types people in this world: those who can speak in public and those who cannot. Until 2009 I was one of those people who could not! I would rather be sick and miss school than do a speech in front of the class. I would blush if a teacher or lecturer even called my name. I was honestly petrified of it!

I have always had a passion for academics. I thoroughly enjoyed university and not in the same way that normal people do 🙂 I enjoyed learning and studying accounting! In 2009 I was offered an opportunity to pursue this passion at FLB. However, in order to do this I would have to overcome one of my greatest fears. My first lecture was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. The whole class could see how scared I was and they felt so bad for me that they didn’t ask one question. But after that lecture I knew I would never be happy doing anything else.

Why have you chosen the subject you are lecturing?

Management accounting was definitely not my first choice. It is the subject I struggled with most at university. I was the top financial accounting student in my CTA year at UNISA and this would have been my first choice. However, when I was approached by FLB the only position available was for management accounting. So I took it!

After 7 years lecturing this subject I can honestly say that I love it 🙂 I think lecturing a subject that hasn’t always come easily to me has made me a better lecturer because I understand where students struggle. I don’t overlook sections that may be considered “too simple” by someone who has always had a natural grasp of the subject.

Why did you choose CA Campus?

For me, starting CA Campus with Roulon and Candice was an opportunity to be self-employed and to do things our own way.

Leaving my full-time salaried job at UNISA was very scary. Especially because my husband (tax lecturer at CA Campus) also left his job at the same time! I know a lot of people at the time thought that we were taking a massive risk. Especially our poor parents who were so supportive but probably secretly believed we would be moving back home 🙂 However, I feel I took a calculated risk because I really believe in our team. I know that we are all exceptionally good at what we do. So it just has to be a success!

What other interests/hobbies do you have?

Having my own business you’d think I have some say in the questions asked! This answer is not going to be interesting so you can scroll on. Last year my interest/hobby/life was this business. Everything in me went to making it a success. Now that we are in our second year I hope to have some spare time to acquire some interests other than Netflix and my cats 🙂

What advice would you give to an aspiring CA (SA)?

SAICA is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes making the CA (SA) designation extremely sought after across the globe. When you qualify and register with SAICA you will be 1 of 40 000 people who hold currently hold the designation (CA) SA. This is not even close to 1% of the South African population.

You have chosen a difficult path and you need to be prepared to make a lot of sacrifices if you want to be successful. If this is your dream, work harder than you have ever worked in your life. Don’t give up and always stay focussed on the final goal. Give this everything that you have because it will be worth it in the end.

Why in your opinion should students choose CA Campus?

We have a whole page on our website dedicated to why CA Campus is the best. You can read it here: http://www.cacampus.co.za/why-ca-campus/

Apart from that I would like students to know that at CA Campus your success is our success! All of our lecturers have the same goal: We want to be the best in what we do so that our students are well equipped to tackle all the UNISA assessments as well as the SAICA ITC.

Find out what your Taxation CTA lecturer, Roulon du Toit CA (SA) had to say when asked the above questions, in our next blog.