Marileen PretoriusMarileen says the route to where she is today started when she was still in grade eight and she just fell in love with accounting. Even at that young age, she dreamt of being a chartered accountant and made a conscious decision to make this her goal and to work towards itMARILEEN PRETORIUS, a chartered accountant and registered auditor, is an external audit associate director for KPMG Durban, and is part of the leadership team. She maintains responsibility and oversight of the external auditing division leading a team of audit professionals, providing assurance to shareholders, financiers, and third parties. Marileen says the route to where she is today started when she was still in grade eight and she just fell in love with accounting. Even at that young age, she dreamt of being a chartered accountant and made a conscious decision to make this her goal and to work towards it. "In the end, lots of hard work, perseverance, and dedication were required, as the road to becoming a chartered accountant is a long and hard one, involving studies and articles that many give up on," she reflects. Along the way, Marileen received significant input into her professional life from 'the great leaders' at KPMG. Since it is a learning environment, she can always discuss issues with fellow professionals. Marileen is grateful that she has benefitted from the mentoring and coaching she received from people who had crossed her path. Marileen admits KPMG has gone through tough times, but she is committed to working with the leadership team to rebuild the firm, showing the world who they really are and restoring their public image. Since moving from East London to the Durban practice during 2018, Marileen has been embraced by the partners like a family member. She added, "I would not have been able to achieve what I have without the support of my family - a committed husband and my two children - as well as my circle of amazing friends." Marileen also gives credit to her team for helping her to function effectively. Inspirational parents Marileen's biggest inspiration in life came from her parents who have been married for 49 years. "They are an example of what can be achieved when a couple works together." Her father was in the SA Defence Force, and he taught her to work hard, be loyal and persevere. She values his professionalism and 'can-do' attitude. He taught her: 'If the vision is clear, the how-to will be invented', and she often reminds herself of this mantra. Her mother was 'a stay-at-home mom' and the backbone of the family. They often moved between cities due to her father being transferred, and her mother always supported him, ran the household, and raised the children. Her mother has been helping people in the community as long as Marileen can remember and her mother's unwavering faith has helped the family through difficult times, keeping them all close to this day. Supporting people's progress In reflecting on the approach of men and women to business, Marileen does not believe that there should be differences. The accounting profession has been male-dominated in the past but has recently grown and developed into an environment where men and women can be successful. "The diversity brought by different genders strengthens teams, and the different qualities of the genders, if used together, contribute to overall success," she explains. However, Marileen enjoys supporting the progress of women in business. She was involved with the Business Women's Association in East London, providing businesswomen with professional support. She played an active part in the "Coca Cola 5by20 project", mentoring and empowering women entrepreneurs working in rural communities. Most of the women did not have accounting knowledge, and it was fulfilling for Marileen to share her knowledge, teaching them about financial records, bookkeeping, and general financial principles. She enjoys KPMG as a training environment where coaching and mentoring are offered, and finds it fulfilling to help people learn and grow. Being more than your job title Marileen is happy with her accomplishments and where she is, yet adamant that it is far from the end of her journey. She believes, "A job title does not reflect who you are, or what you have accomplished. One's values are more important". She tries to leave any place better than it was when she found it. One of her aspirations is for her teenage children to grow up anchored in their faith, able to handle life's challenges successfully and become responsible adults contributing to society. She comments, "A work-life balance is becoming increasingly difficult in a fast-paced world where immediate results are demanded." For her, the quantity of time available to spend with the people you love and doing things you value is less important than the quality of such time and being present in the moment. As a family they have regular breakaways and participate in Parkruns over weekends, helping them to stay connected. She feels fortunate to have a good circle of friends, and they have an annual 'women only' event. She believes it is important for her as a woman to make enough time for herself, do something she loves and get recharged to be the best she can be. If she could give advice to her younger self, it would be not to take life so seriously and stress less. She would encourage herself to take more chances and constantly look for ways to diversify, innovate and be prepared for changes, "the only constant in life". She would implore herself to value every day and spend it doing the important things with the people who matter most to her. If the vision is clear, the how-to will be invented

Cheryl Govender

CHERYL GOVENDER is the founder and owner of The Cake House in Pietermaritzburg. She is a qualified chef and professional cake artist. The Cake House has become a leading provider of designer cakes including engineered life-size cakes. Cheryl's exceptional cakes, each a masterpiece, have been featured in magazines and on television, and The Cake House is recognised as a leader in new age sugarcraft.

Cheryl is inspired by successful bakeries and cake artists. She explains, "This is a tough industry and requires not only talent, but a business mind, people skills, market insight, tenacity, and continuous learning and growth."

One of her biggest inspirations is Buddy Valastro, an American baker who is the star of the reality television series 'Cake Boss'.

Be clear about what must be achieved

Cheryl believes she got to where she is now and reached her goals by being clear about what she needed to achieve and why she needed to achieve them. She says her career started when she was fourteen when she was handed down decorating tools that her sister no longer needed. "Although I was a real tomboy, beating the boys at their own games in the streets, I did girly stuff when I went home, like playing with cake decorating tools and my dolls," she laughed.

Cheryl learned about sugar art by reading books from the municipal library and often left the kitchen in a mess after experimenting. Her Consumer Studies teacher recognised Cheryl's talent; arranged for her to attend a cake decorating course, and gave her a toolset, which she treasures to this day.
This teacher, now a retired school principal, adopted Cheryl as a daughter, helped her to believe in herself, and became her mentor to this day.
Cheryl won a Consumer Studies Inter School Award in matric due to her passion for cake decorating, but at that time she considered it a hobby, not a career.

After a year at college, Cheryl married and became a mother. She joined the corporate world but kept on making decorated cakes as a hobby to supplement her income. When her son was two years old, Cheryl entered and won the Pietermaritzburg Royal Show sugarcraft competition. This led to her teaching sugarcraft on a part-time basis at the now FET College in Northdale, something she continued passionately for 25 years. This Cheryl said, was fulfilling: "empowering women has always been close to my heart".

Focus on one thing and do it well

Cheryl gained wide experience in the corporate world, including ten years in shipping and international travel, before she started her own export business. This business crashed during the worldwide financial crisis of 2008 and she "fell back on her hands", starting a food catering business that also provided cakes. Cheryl made a few designer cakes assuming there was little market for these due to the high prices, but word of her quality and expertise spread and orders increased.

A traumatic divorce, the demands of being involved in catering, wedding décor, training and making cakes at the same time, made her realise that she needed to streamline her activities. In 2012 she decided to focus on one thing only and do it well and opened The Cake House. Cheryl, a single mom had herself, her mother's assistance, two children, and a house. As she had lost her vehicle, Cheryl went everywhere in running shoes while carrying cake ingredients and other items in a backpack.

Nothing was handed to her; she had no money and could not get a bank loan. Cheryl understood the risks involved but her faith and trust in God helped her. She managed to buy all her industrial baking equipment from a helpful appliance store on a three-month cash basis. Her business remains debt-free to this day.

Business skills are unrelated to gender

In Cheryl's view, women and men need the same business approach, as the skills required for a successful business are unrelated to gender. "Tenacity, hard work, honesty, patience and endurance are equally required from men and women." She does, however, concede that women face more challenges. She has had to face abuse, being a mother, and a divorce.

Achieving a work-life balance boils down to discipline for Cheryl. "It is necessary to make time for your family and yourself, and also to rest, but not working can be scary for a business owner with much to do," she says. "I've had to learn to set boundaries, say no, and cut myself off from work when it's time to relax and unwind." Gardening, time with her family and puppies, and doing things outside of the business help create a balance.

Brand ambassador

Cheryl is happy with what she has accomplished thus far and readily give others credit. Without her mother, she could not have set up The Cake House. Without the help of her husband Alan, her family, and staff members, she would not have been able to grow the business. She feels honoured having recently being appointed a brand ambassador with royal status, for Rolkem Colours, one of the world's largest food colourant providers.

While Cheryl is satisfied with the place she has reached, she is not comfortable about remaining there. Cheryl dreams of making the province proud of The Cake House as a tourism attraction. With a growing support structure in place, she is prepared to take risks within her means and take the business to the next level.

Back