CHARTERED Governance and Accountancy Institute of Zimbabwe (CGAIZ) has urged its members to be the difference between failure and growth by utilising their skills to uplift the informal sector as it has become the heartbeat and pulse of economic development.
The call comes at a time when the country is working on a transitional programme to formalise the informal sector which contribute over 60% of national GDP and employs over 90% of the workforce.
Speaking during the two-day CGAIZ Summer School, which was held under the theme Upskilling Governance and Accountancy Professionals for Enhanced Organisational Resilience, vice-president Lifneth Moyo, who was representing CGAIZ president, urged accountants and auditors to showcase their skills in uplifting the informal sector by making them big formal businesses.
“One of the areas that CGAIZ is deeply passionate about is the empowerment of small and medium enterprises,” Moyo said.
“These businesses form the backbone of our economy. They are dynamic, resilient and filled with potential. Yet too often they operate without governance and financial management systems that allow them to thrive sustainably.
“This is not because they lack the drive, but because they often lack access to professional support. That’s where each of you come in.”
Added Moyo: “I envision a future where our students and members walk into those small enterprises and become the difference between failure and growth, where your skills are not just for boardrooms, but for the vendors, the tech start-ups, the young entrepreneurs, the family businesses that are trying to formalise employment.
“You are not just the future, you are future advisers, catalysts of job creation and enablers of economic transformation.”
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Moyo said as CGAIZ, their mission was to produce students, professors and competent individuals whose ideas and skills can led to national transformation.
“As CGI Zimbabwe, we are clear about our mission, which is to raise a generation of governance and accountant professionals who are not just qualified, but who are courageous, competent and passionate,” she said.
“Professionals who understand that their knowledge is not for personal innovation alone, but for national transformation.
“This summer school is designed with that mission in mind. Many of you here today are students, the future of our profession. You are the heartbeat of the institute.
“It is for you that we continue to innovate, we continue to develop relevant programmes and create platforms such as this one to equip you beyond the classroom, to equip you for the industry.
“But this gathering also brings together members, non-members, aspiring professionals and thought leaders from across the country. It is all-encompassing because the responsibility to build resilient professionals belongs to all of us.”
Moyo underscored the importance of this year’s theme saying it speaks not only to the needs of the institution, but to the personal responsibility which requires growth, evolution and agility.
“This summer school is not merely a tradition, it is a movement,” she said.
“It reflects our shared commitment to excellence, professionalism and resilience in a world that is constantly changing.”
CGAIZ chief executive officer Lovemore Gomera challenged accountants to participate in every opportunity they are given so as to help upskill, place themselves in a spot where they keep growing and transforming the nation.
