Thuto Masasa

Experience

Thuto is the Head of BDO Advisory Services and is a qualified chartered accountant with extensive experience established over 15 years of working in commerce, assurance and corporate advisory services.

She has worked on engagements within the transportation, aviation, telecommunication, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, media and development finance sectors, and her past experience includes working for Cummins, a Fortune 500 company, Deloitte and was the Head of External Audit at Nkonki Incorporated, before establishing Phakisa Incorporated a company she founded which later merged with BDO. She has worked in London for a big four firm and has facilitated training in various countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.

She is a member of the Integrated Reporting Council (IRC) Working Group in South Africa and of the IRBA Integrated Reporting Standing Committee. Thuto has actively contributed to integrated reporting thought leadership initiatives, which include the JSE Top 100 Listed Companies and State-Owned Companies’ Integrated Reporting Awards since their inception in 2011. She has spoken at a global level on the topic including presenting at the IIRC International Convention in 2015.

She won the prestigious Young Accountant of the Year at the 2016 International Accounting Bulletin (IAB) and The Accountant (TA) Awards. The occasion in London was followed by an industry forum, at which she chaired a session on the global accountancy landscape.

Thuto has held various Non-Executive roles and chaired Audit Committees in the past.

One of her passions is building and developing South Africa’s youth. Thuto participated as a volunteer facilitator in the Spirit of the Youth Programme, a youth dialogue and leadership programme headed by the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) for three consecutive years in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2012 and 2013 she also participated in some of the entrepreneurship programmes of the African Leadership Academy to assist in mentoring young people with entrepreneurial potential. In 2013 she served as a board member of Beyond the Lemonade Stand, a non-profit organisation aimed at changing the mindset of young people and creating experiential learning opportunities that unleash game changers in Africa.

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Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant South Africa

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Other

Thuto is also holds professional membership with a number of organisations, namely, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), International Regulatory Body for Auditors (IRBA) Integrated Reporting Standing Committee, the Institute of Directors (IoD), National Council at the South African Institute International Affairs (SAIIA), Integrated Reporting Council (IRC) Working Group in South Africa, African Women Chartered Accountants Board (AWCA) and Beyond the Lemonade Stand (2013).

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