Difference Makers Podcast

Ready to discover how a chartered accountant turns risk literacy into a founder’s edge? We sit down with Christiaan Coetzee—CEO and co‑founder of Audit Toolbar and SAICA Top 35 Under 35 overall winner—to unpack the mindset shifts and practical levers that help small firms run with the giants. Christiaan shares how starting articles straight out of high school gave him a front-row seat to hundreds of businesses, and why governance, financial fluency, and rapid risk assessment can be superpowers when you’re building something new.

We dive into the surprising centre of gravity in audit work: Excel. While big platforms chase grand architectures, most auditors still spend the bulk of their time inside spreadsheets. Christiaan’s team built a tool that lives where the work happens, unlocking “insane efficiency gains” and levelling the field for five-person practices competing with enterprise players. The results speak loudly: a rolling 650 years of work saved across Africa every year, letting local firms grow faster, pitch bigger, and serve clients better.

The conversation turns on a simple but uncomfortable truth—most of us think too small. Christiaan describes the shock of hearing peers make fearless asks of global leaders and realising he’d been self-rejecting big opportunities. His new default is to pick up the phone, pursue top-tier clients, and let the answer be earned, not imagined. Along the way, he lays out a grounded operating system: protect your work ethic, mentor the next builder in line, and prioritise cash moving hands—funding for impact orgs, revenue for startups. Forecasting tech beyond two years is murky, but staying close to customers and their real levers keeps you ahead where it counts.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s thinking small, and leave a review telling us the one bold ask you’ll make this week.

For Jas Rayat curiosity lit the first spark: how do businesses actually work, and why does finance feel like the spine that keeps them upright? From that question grew a bold choice—skip the university track, embrace an apprenticeship, and earn a chartered accountancy qualification while gaining real experience. We walk through the turning points of that decision, the early wins of earning while learning, and the confidence that comes from solving real problems long before graduation day would have arrived.

The conversation digs into social mobility with clear, practical stakes. Growing up without accountants in our immediate circle meant no ready-made roadmap, so research and outreach became essential tools. That journey now fuels a mission to widen access: explain credible routes like ICAEW apprenticeships, share the hidden curriculum of interviews and workplace codes, and model what it looks like to progress without a traditional degree. Along the way, we explore how early exposure to clients, month-end pressure, and audit realities can build judgement faster than textbooks, and why that compounding experience pays off when peers are just starting out.

A visit to One Young World in Munich adds urgency and perspective. Bob Geldof’s line—grit makes the pearl—anchors the reality that effort, not ideal conditions, creates breakthroughs. Maria Ressa’s stand for information integrity shows what courage looks like under pressure, and why clarity and truth are non-negotiable for lasting change. We translate those lessons into steps you can take today: start before you feel ready, ask your network for small, specific help, look for apprenticeships tied to recognised bodies, and treat action as the teacher that confidence follows.

If you’re weighing apprenticeship vs university, seeking a career reset, or driven to open doors for others, this story offers a grounded blueprint. Subscribe for more purpose-led career journeys, share this with someone on the fence about their next step, and leave a review with the first action you’ll take this week.

Start with a simple truth: problems rarely arrive alone. Sitali joins us to show how education, governance, and technology interlock—and how a single career pivot can spark a mission to rebuild trust from the inside out. The journey moves from engineering labs to audit rooms, where ethics meet evidence and small, consistent actions start to change how public institutions serve people.

We dig into the daily mechanics of accountability: mapping how funds flow, pressure-testing internal controls, and closing risk gaps before they become scandals. Sitali explains why internal audit is more than compliance—it is a bridge between policy and practice, giving students and staff confidence that resources reach their purpose. We also unpack responsible technology with clear standards for transparency, bias testing, and human oversight so AI enhances public value without eroding rights or trust.

Systems thinking ties everything together. Fixing a scholarship process is pointless if procurement is broken; digitising services fails if policy is vague. Sitali shares practical ways to avoid second-order harms, from open metrics and cross-functional reviews to training teams to read patterns instead of isolated incidents. Along the way, global networks and the One Young World community broaden the lens: despite different contexts, many countries wrestle with the same need—fair rules, clear data, and leaders who listen.

You’ll hear a grounded vision for the next decade: data-driven governance across Africa, transparent institutions, and technology-enabled tools that put people first. The closing message is simple and actionable—start where you are, use what you have, do what you can—because even a small candle cuts through the dark. If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague who cares about integrity, and leave a review to help more listeners find it.

What if the rigour that keeps companies honest could also save lives? We sit down with social impact activist and aspiring chartered accountant Khethiwe Sibanyoni to unpack how ethics, systems thinking, and real accountability can turn good intentions into measurable change. From Saturday mornings in GBV shelters at age 11 to auditing across oil and gas, pharma, and FMCG, Khethiwe shows how credibility becomes a tool for communities when it is used with care.

We map the architecture of Khethiwe’s youth-led foundation across three pillars: detection rooted in research and data, prevention that works with both girls and boys to shift norms before harm occurs, and correction focused on survivor support through 13 Gauteng shelters—prioritising psychosocial care, education, and economic empowerment to end dependency. Khethiwe explains how controls, budgets, and outcome metrics translate from audit checklists to fieldwork, building programmes that endure beyond any single leader.

Along the way, we explore setbacks that forged resolve—losing a scholarship, raising tuition in a month, and recommitting to a career anchored in public trust. We talk about meeting a prominent global philanthropist, why team trust is a hallmark of real leadership, and how social investment drives economic performance when paired with clear social impact KPIs. Khethiwe’s message to business is direct: define impact with the same precision you bring to profit. Her message to young changemakers is practical and brave: start with what you have, stay authentic, and fall in love with the problem until the solution reveals itself.

Join us for a grounded, hopeful look at responsible corporate citizenship, nonprofit sustainability, and youth-led action against gender-based violence. If this conversation sparks you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with the one impact KPI you’d set tomorrow.

If you’ve ever been told to “wait your turn,” this conversation politely declines. We sit down with chartered accountant and risk professional Rebecca Casey to unpack how young leaders move from potential to presence—using expertise, community, and conviction to shape business and society right now.

Rebecca charts a clear route from a school enterprise in Sydney to Deloitte, Young CA panels in New South Wales and the UK, and a career leap to London. Along the way she shows why qualifications like the CA are more than letters: they open doors, build networks, and give you the platform to speak plainly on the issues that matter. We get specific on AI governance, data integrity, and ethics—what good looks like, where it breaks, and how to make accountability a daily habit rather than a compliance checkbox.

The energy from One Young World threads through the episode as we translate inspiration into action. Rebecca shares a grounded take on the circular economy, from volunteering with a hard-to-recycle plastics programme to making a personal pledge centred on reuse and repair. We connect those grassroots choices to workplace change—procurement standards, lifecycle thinking, and practical steps that reduce waste and build integrity into systems.

This is a playbook for focused impact: choose one problem, apply your skills, start small, and show results. If youth are the present, the question becomes simple—what will we build today? Listen for candid insights, actionable ideas, and a refreshing kind of optimism that pairs vision with the first step. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who leads from the front, and leave a review so others can find it.