Noluvuyolwetu Ginyigazi, Accountant
Accountant
Current Experience:
Accountant at SABC Nov 2014 - Present · (11 yrs 4 mos)
Past Experience:
Finance Officer at SABC
Sep 2010 - Oct 2014 · (4 yrs 2 mos)
Creditors Analyst at The Really Great Brand Company Oct 2008 - Aug 2010 · (1 yr 11 mos)
Junior Cost Engineer at VWSA Feb 2004 - Dec 2005 · (1 yr 11 mos)
Education:
Master of Business Administration
Postgraduate Diploma in Management (Financial Accounting)
BTech Financial Information Systems
Country of Residence:
South Africa
LinkedIn Profile:
If you ever doubted that finance is a leadership role, meet Noluvuyolwetu. From restructuring petty cash systems to leading high-performing teams and steering compliance at one of SA’s most visible institutions, she’s not just crunching numbers. She’s shaping outcomes.
Voted SABC Woman of Worth and now a voice on the East Cape Midlands College Finance Committee, Noluvuyolwetu blends spiritual discipline, analytical thinking, and active mentorship to lead with impact. Her day starts at 5am with prayer, hydration, and a run — and it shows in how she carries her role: focused, clear, and forward-moving.
What time do you usually wake up on weekends?
05:00 AM
How do you spend the first hour of your day?
I usually start my day with prayer, followed by drinking water and going for a run.
What sparked your interest in accounting and finance?
I’ve always been drawn to numbers and analytical thinking, which naturally led me to accounting and finance.
Can you share some key career milestones or defining moments?
Some key milestones in my career include implementing a petty cash management system at SABC to improve tracking and accountability, which strengthened internal controls. I was also honoured to be voted the 2016 SABC Woman of Worth in the Inspiration category, an award recognising women who positively influence and inspire others in the workplace through their values and outlook on life.
In addition, I currently serve as an Executive Advisory Council member for East Cape Midlands College in Uitenhage. This is my second term, during which I act as Head of the Finance Committee and contribute to the Planning Committee. More recently, in 2023, my finance team was recognised at SABC for having the greatest organisational impact and for being the most consistent and high-performing team.
What is your role within your company’s finance department?
My role focuses on optimising the financial accounting function to ensure efficiency, strong service delivery, and the provision of accurate, timely financial information for informed management decision making. I analyse actual income and expenditure, review reconciliations, and take corrective action where needed.
I also work closely with radio stations to coordinate annual budgets and support forward planning. My responsibilities include ensuring full compliance with legal requirements, IFRS, tax legislation, and the PFMA, as well as managing the general ledger. In addition, I oversee capex, trade payables and receivables, review and approve trade exchange requests, manage contracts, and compile monthly financial reports including the income statement, balance sheet, and projections.
How do you contribute to the overall financial strategy of the business?
I contribute by analysing monthly financial data across business units to ensure spending stays within approved budgets. Where necessary, I recommend cost saving measures, particularly when proposed expenditure is unnecessary or can be reduced without affecting operations.
I also participate in risk meetings to identify potential financial and operational risks and help define practical mitigation strategies. In addition, I ensure that all compliance requirements are met, reducing the risk of adverse audit findings and supporting the organisation’s overall financial integrity.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your role? How did you overcome it?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced has been working with freelance radio contributors, who often resist administrative processes despite the fact that accurate and timely paperwork is required for payment. Delays in submitting claims regularly impacted payment cycles and internal deadlines.
I addressed this by arranging a meeting with my manager, the station manager, and the station administrator to align on a clear and practical solution. We introduced firm submission deadlines for claims, with the understanding that late submissions would result in delayed payment. This brought much needed structure to the process, improved compliance, and allowed the team to meet deadlines more consistently and with far less pressure.
What tools or strategies do you use to manage the financial operations of the company effectively?
We rely on SAP for budgeting, automated payments, and monthly projections, which helps ensure consistency and accuracy across our financial processes. Monthly reporting is a key tool we use to monitor the organisation’s financial health and to identify areas that need attention or improvement.
In addition, supplier payments are only processed once a vendor reconciliation has been completed and supported by a supplier statement. The vendor reconciliation process itself is automated, which strengthens controls and reduces the risk of errors or irregular payments.
Share your strategies for staying balanced, especially during busy periods
I stay balanced by working ahead and making the most of each day, ensuring my work is thorough so issues do not resurface later. I prefer to complete tasks as they arise rather than postponing them, which significantly reduces pressure during busy month end periods.
I’m naturally focused and remain calm under pressure, which helps me manage demanding workloads without panic. Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle also plays a big role in keeping my energy levels up and my mindset positive, even during peak times.
What do you enjoy outside of work? Any hobbies or activities that help you recharge?
Outside of work, I enjoy running, travelling, and reading, all of which help me unwind and recharge.
Do you mentor or support other team members in the finance department? How do you help develop the skills of others?
Yes, I actively mentor and support other team members within the finance department. I help develop their skills by walking them through the work I do, ensuring they understand key processes and are able to step in if they need to act on my behalf.
I also encourage continuous learning by motivating team members to attend relevant courses they identify, supporting their efforts to upskill and grow professionally.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to work in a finance department?
If you enjoy working with numbers, solving problems, and analysing data, a career in finance can be very rewarding. Key skills to focus on include:
Quick learning and adaptability
Strong work ethic
Analytical thinking
Reliability and accuracy
A service-oriented mindset
Strong organisational and planning abilities
“You can be anything you want in this world”
Share a leadership lesson or a piece of advice that’s been valuable to you in your career.
One valuable lesson I’ve learned is that anything truly worthwhile takes time. Patience and consistent hard work are essential to achieving meaningful results.
What’s something surprising about you that isn’t in your professional bio? A hobby, interest, or fun fact?
Something people might be surprised to learn about me is that I really enjoy running long distances.
If you could have any superpower to help you in your job, what would it be? Predicting financial trends? Master multitasking?
If I could have a superpower for my job, it would be the ability to predict financial trends.
What’s your go-to strategy for staying productive during long workdays?
My go-to strategy for staying productive during long workdays is starting the morning with a run to clear my mind and maintaining energy by eating healthy throughout the day.
If you could relive one day from your career, which day would it be and why? What made that day special?
I would relive the day I was told I had passed my Master’s thesis and would be graduating with my MBA. It was an incredibly challenging period balancing work and study, so that moment of achievement felt truly special.
For Noluvuyolwetu, accounting isn’t a desk job. It’s a platform to inspire, systemise, and serve, inside the business and beyond. Her advice to future finance professionals? Be accurate. Be curious. Be reliable.
Because in her world, your work doesn’t just speak, it echoes.
Join CIBA and we’ll show you how to build a finance career that inspires respect, and gets results.
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