Kantha Naicker has had her own business since 1999 and in 2016 merged her firm with that of her best friend, Rookaya Aziz, establishing Evolve Accounting, which is based in Westville and has an office in Johannesburg and now one in her hometown of Ladysmith. She is now the chairperson of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (Saipa), having been appointed in 2017.

Her career as an accountant began at home. Knaicker’s father taught accounting and as teenagers, she and her sister assisted in the home-based part-time bookkeeping business.

At the age of 16, when she was in grade 10, she received a United World Colleges (UWC) scholarship. Naicker then attended the Lester B Pearson United World College of the Pacific on Canada’s West Coast.

I am the daughter of Gopie and Punjy Reddy, two of the most humble, caring, helpful, generous people who supported me and had the courage to allow me to accept the scholarship.

Naiker went on to get her Bcom honours at Unisa. Her resume is long and includes being an accountant, a tax practitioner, a public speaker and programme director.

Naicker has been at Saipa for seven years. Before taking on the position of chairperson, she was the vice-chairperson of the board. And before that she served as the chairperson of the technical committee.

But she says her most important title is “I am a mom.”

From the moment of her appointment as the chair of Saipa, Naicker has been on a mission to ensure inclusivity in the workplace. She told Bizcommunity: “Women often have to wait until they have overcome the hurdles of family and children before they boost their careers, and then they have to face the work/life balance battle. Men and women can work on the same level, but it doesn’t happen because the mechanisms that allow this are not in place.”

Naiker says that being the chairperson of Saipa means that she can be a role model for other women aspiring to be in similar positions.

“I am able to make a contribution from a female perspective in a male-dominated profession. I can bring my experience as a female professional accountant into strategic discussions that shape the profession for the next generation of accountants. I can work alongside my male counterparts as an equal and sensitise them to the issues experienced by females. I can be a voice for all accountants when we sit in discussions at a continent and international level where Saipa is at the forefront of initiating and enabling change from a gender diversity and inclusion perspective.”

Naiker’s female touch are evident in the words she lives by: “Hearts that beat to the tune of kindness can change the rhythm of the world” and “Our world works better when everyone has a seat at the table.”

— Fatima Moosa

Twitter: @kanthatweet