Zimba wants to take ZICA to higher level
IAM an action-oriented, experienced, committed, and a cradle of success whose track record is there for all to see and I want to be the first Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) female president, Cecilia Zimba has said.
Ms. Zimba, the current ZICA vice president, says having been in the ZICA council since 1999 where she has scored an avalanche of successes, puts her in pole position to be elected ZICA president in the forthcoming elections.
Last week, Ms. Zimba told the Daily Nation that she has offered herself to serving ZICA at its highest level because of her passion to build on the successes of her predecessors which had made the institute one of the most outstanding professional bodies in the country.
Read the full interview here:
Reporter: Kindly tell us your family and educational background?
Ms. Zimba: I come from a very big family of 15 and I am the second born. The interest about accountancy career started when I was just 12. We had a very good reading culture where we read a lot of books. My sister was a grade ahead of me.
When she went to secondary school and came back for the holiday, she told me about a subject called Book keeping. I later learnt that the subject had nothing to do with keeping books as I thought but that it was about accountancy and I also said I would want to do Bookkeeping.
But it was after reading an article in the newspaper on a profile about a Ms. Silangwa who was the first woman to become a chartered accountant and had just come back from the UK where she was studying. I told myself that I was going to be the second chartered accountant and that is how my interest grew.
When I completed Grade 12, I had distinctions in the commercial subjects and I decided I needed to go for accountancy. I am an ACC qualified, which is a professional qualification and I also hold a Master’s in Business Administration by the Heriot-Watt university and I have done other postgraduate courses especially in leadership. I have an interest in leadership especially sustainable business practices.
Reporter: What work experience?
Ms. Zimba: I have been serving on boards, that is, national, public interest organisations, and private organisations. I was one of the first board members who were called commissioners of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and I am very proud of the organisation because I was the first finance and administration chairperson.
We employed the current chief executive officer of the FIC and all the directors that came on board as well as coming up with policies and systems that supported the establishment of the FIC. So, when I see how they have progressed from there, I feel very proud to have been part of the team that set up the FIC. is your
I have also served on the board of Zesco where I chaired the audits committee and I also served on the finance and investment committee. The Bank of Zambia had a financial sector development programme. I was chairperson of the working group that was looking at payment systems. That is the group that recommended to make issuance of rubber cheques, the cheques that bounced.
Reporter: what is your experience with ZICA?
Ms. Mwanza: I am the first female to hold the position of the vice president of ZICA and if I go through as president, I will be the first female president of ZICA. In ZICA itself, I have served in the council before. I was chairpersons of the taxation committee and technical committee as well.
During the time that I was chairperson of the taxation committee, I was the one that went to Parliament and recommended to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that Government needed to change its budgeting cycle because we had a situation where MPs would be in Parliament debating the budget in the first quarter of the year but by the time the budget is debated and approved, half a year is gone.
By the time they do the implementation, the year is ending and the funds remain in the Treasury. We made a recommendation to the current scenario and I am proud to say that the recommendation was taken on board and now we see that the budgets are presented the previous year such that by the time the New Year is starting, the budget has already been debated upon and approved and funds are available for projects to commence.
My current board appointment in the public in
I am the first female to hold the position of the vice president of ZICA and if I go through as president, I will be the first female president of ZICA. terest organisations, is in the Zambia Revenue Authority board where I am the vice chairperson and I also serve on the Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank (ZICB) board and I chair the audits committee.
“I have also served on the board of Zesco where I chaired the audits committee and I also served on the finance and investment committee. The Bank of Zambia had a financial sector development programme. I was chairperson of the working group that was looking at payment systems. That is the group that recommended to make issuance of rubber cheques, the cheques that bounced.”
I do other voluntary work, for example, I serve on a charity which is responsible for giving education to children that come from less privileged families. I am also a staunch Catholic who is very active at church and at the Archdiocese of Lusaka, I have served on the finance committee as a member and I have been chairperson for the finance and advisory committee. At my Parish in Roma, I have helped establish a school which now runs from preschool to Grade 7. We also run a tuition centre for grades 7, 9, and 12.
I really get excited when I see children excelling in school because that is the best gift you can give to the child.
Reporter: So, what makes you better than your opponent and what are you bringing to ZICA if elected as president?
Ms. Zimba: I have been a member of ZICA from 1999 but prior to that, I was a student member. As an associate, I was admitted to ZICA membership in 1999 and from that time until now, I have been very active in the affairs of the institute and I fully understand what ZICA mandate is about and I enjoy being of service to my institute.
Having served as a council member before and currently serving as vice president, I feel that I have reached a stage in my life that I can offer my service at the level where I head the institute to take it to level higher than where it is at present.
I am an action-oriented person and with the experience, commitment, and the drive that I have, I think I am coming in with confidence to move ZICA to greater heights.
I want to see ZICA continue being relevant to all its stakeholders and members and remain a respected partner. I want to see ZICA continue being a professional body that continues to provide professional advice and input in everything.
In this profession, we see more of males than females. I want to promote the profession among women. I want to see more women take up this profession. I also want to enhance the level of accountability among our professionals.
What puts me at an advantage in this race is my record. People should vote for me because I have the full knowledge and understanding of what ZICA is about. I will not need to be
I want to see ZICA continue being relevant to all its stakeholders and members and remain a respected partner. I want to see ZICA continue being a professional body that continues to provide professional advice and input in everything.
hand-held. ZICA now needs a leader who is already well equipped to take this huge responsibility to another level. I am an action-oriented person. I don’t say what I can’t do.
There are a lot of things that are on the pipeline. I think it is important to have a leader like me carry on so that there is continuity with change. Being a person who has an open mind and heart, I am able to accommodate views, not only of my own.
Personal integrity is another thing that distinguishes me. I believe that in our profession, integrity is a critical success factor. It is one of the pillars of ZICA and I think it forms the foundation of who I am.
I see certain times that people get to forget that we you get into the council, you are not working alone. I have that capacity to embrace the views of other people and get to harness the linkages that will come from there.