PHILLIMON MHLANGA
Over the course of his high-flying career as a chartered accountant (CA), Davison Charamba (pictured) has learned the value of hard work, commitment and above all, discipline and not shying away from making difficult decisions.
He took the reigns as the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ) in July this year, becoming the first Diaspora member to lead the country’s oldest and largest professional accountancy organisation.
Charamba is also the finance director at Botswana based IT company, RPC Data Limited.
Prior to that, Charamba co-founded Addmath, a boutique Gaborone based financial advisory firm, which focuses on micro to small enterprises and aims to empower them in financial literacy and reporting.
Charamba was also founding director of Money Experts, a firm established to raise and deploy capital by Chartered Accountants (Zimbabwe) based in Botswana. Charamba told Business Times that the vision was ‘to stimulate entrepreneurship by CAs in a practical way’.
He took over as ICAZ president from Delta Corporation group Treasurer, Tumai Mafunga, who stepped down after completing his tenure.
Charamba is an optimist, who is always looking for ways to improve.
He describes himself as “a boy from the village who dares to dream”.
“I have a pioneering and fighting spirit. I am not scared to stand up and be counted. Let me say Davison is a boy from the village who dares to dream. There are many possibilities out there, and I always do my best with what I have, and the rest will take care of itself
I believe everyone has their story to tell. And their story is as unique as they are. I am walking my path,” Charamba told Business Times.
Growing up, Charamba had envisaged a different career for himself to become a dentist. However, the executive revealed that it was a chance encounter with newspaper adverts that set him on the path to accountancy.
“My childhood dream was to become a dentist, I could not because I was advised otherwise at the selection of A ‘level subjects,” Charamba told Business Times.
He added: “(Was influenced by) newspaper adverts. (I realised) that every advert for a high post indicated that they needed a CA.
“But ever since I became an accountant, I don’t know if I could have made a good dentist.
“There are many possibilities out there, and I always do my best with what I have, and the rest will take care of itself,” Charamba told Business Times.
Although he had ‘absolute conviction’ about the accountancy profession, Charamba said he faced some challenges breaking into the profession.
“My first time doing accounting was at university. And since then I have never failed a public examination.
“(But) the first challenge was to break into the profession. As I indicated, I knew little about it, except from newspaper adverts. When in college, I learnt that during articles, the salary was very meagre. My parents were peasant farmers, so I needed to earn as much and as quickly as possible. I nearly dropped the idea, until one day a sermon rekindled my passion and purpose to become a CA,” Charamba said.
He added: “During training life was very tough. The budget could not meet. College life and articles training were my most trying times.
“I was also disappointed I didn’t get a place in the Big 4 (KPMG, EY, PwC and Deloitte). I had interviews at one firm that I was sure I would get.
“But I didn’t get the place because a relative whose phone number I had put didn’t relay the message for me to go and sign the offer in time. It was one of the most heart-breaking moments in my life.
“However, my goal was to be a CA, and I was not going to be deterred. I applied to more firms and got admitted to AMG Global. And the rest is history.”
After attaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and training with AMG Global, Charamba, worked briefly for Caltex as finance manager, before relocating to Botswana.
“After qualification I had a short stint with Caltex as finance manager, before relocating to Botswana.
“I joined RPC Data Ltd as a group accountant. I had an opportunity to participate in a management buyout when the company was delisting in 2013 and has been a director since then.
“From 2010, Botswana started changing its accounting regulations. In 2015, I partnered with a Motswana to create an accounting firm to offer accounting and advisory services. The whole idea was to empower Batswana and offer young graduates an entry into the profession, more so those who can’t have a break into the big firms. I had learnt that from my own heart breaking experience.”
Asked how he was handling pressure as the president ICAZ and the RPC Data Limited boss, Charamba said: “It is tough, some things just have to give. I have received support from my employer and my family to balance things out. In the last six months or so things, it has really been hectic. Sometimes I regret the decision.
He added: “I however got counsel before I made the decision to run for council and the presidium.
“So I knew there was going to be a lot of work. It is quite some work but someone has to do it. It is a privilege that I cherish.”
Charamba outlined his priorities for the year ahead as ICAZ president.
He said: “The vision of ICAZ is driven by council which consist of 22 members. Driving that vision is a group effort, which I am part of, and spokesperson for only 12 months. We have a three-year strategy developed in 2021 which I will continue with implementation.
“Also note that the presidential journey is three years. I have already been in the presidium for two years. For my tenure as president there are three areas I would love to focus on, that is Dialogue, Ownership and Legacy Building.
“These three themes emanate from the work we did and are doing in Botswana as a chapter. We focused on engagement and created an interactive chapter. It is my hope that we can export some of the things that worked for us in Botswana to the wider group of ICAZ members. Ultimately, it is about serving the member.”
Charamba said ICAZ has scored milestones.
“(There are many milestones and one of them) is adapting to changing times, hence surviving for more than a century for. For example, ICAZ has allowed the diaspora to participate in its activities, culminating in the diaspora being in the presidium. There are now more than seven active diaspora chapters, which are growing in strength.
ICAZ has also allowed women to participate equally and fully in the life of the institute. We now have more than 40% of council members being women. ICAZ has also entered Mutual Recognition Agreements. These have allowed for easy flow of our members into other markets. I think the diversity of our members will continue to be our strength as we create diverse platforms and views.”
However, Charamba highlighted that ICAZ was battling some challenges.
“The number one challenge is membership growth. We have had to reduce our membership target for the current strategy. However, there are a number of initiatives we are undertaking to address the matter,” Charamba said.
He added: “The second challenge is debtors. This was worsened by Covid-19 pandemic. We need members to pay their dues to allow ICAZ to finance the many initiatives that are beneficial to members.”
For his hard work, work ethic, Charamba has become a treasured example of success to many young CAs.
And for young CAs starting out in their career, Charamba has this advice: “Great men father daughters. I am a father of one. For the women I would love to add my voice for them to keep fighting for their space. We all have a seat at the table, but no one is going to give it to you. You need to claim it,” the executive said.
As Charamba sees it: “Never give up on your dreams, and never stop dreaming, because dreams have a tendency to become true.
“When it seems too easy to give up, always think about the many possibilities that can be unlocked because you never gave up.
“Take time to reflect on the decisions you make and make incremental gains on the discipline to take you to your desired destiny. Nothing worth it is never easy to achieve.”
A father of two kids, a daughter and son, Charamba read several books that have left indelible lessons and helped shape his views in life.
These included Today Matters, written by John C Maxwell, The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason and The Prince, authored by Niccolo Machiavelli.
Currently, Charamba is reading How to Lead by David M. Rubenstein and Bringing Up Girls by Dr James C. Dobson.
