Claim OwnershipThe Road to CA Podcast
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© Copyright 2026 Alunga Madala
Description
Many of us hope and believe that "it will end in CA(SA)". However, we forget that the destination is only the tip of the iceberg; and that the journey is an integral part of the dream.
This journey is what differentiates us, it is what defines us, and it is what binds us.
It is what transforms us into CAs(SA).
But what lies on the trail to the summit of CA(SA)? Undoubtedly, inspiring stories, heartfelt passion, and trailblazing perspectives. There is still so much more to showcase and uncover...
Hence, this is an exploration of the mountainous and arduous path towards CA(SA).
This is The Road to CA.
This journey is what differentiates us, it is what defines us, and it is what binds us.
It is what transforms us into CAs(SA).
But what lies on the trail to the summit of CA(SA)? Undoubtedly, inspiring stories, heartfelt passion, and trailblazing perspectives. There is still so much more to showcase and uncover...
Hence, this is an exploration of the mountainous and arduous path towards CA(SA).
This is The Road to CA.
91 Episodes
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Once more are joined by KC Rottok Chesaina, CA(SA), Chief IFRS Officer at Financial Minds, best-selling author and co-founder of CFO East Africa.We chat about lessons he has learnt interviewing JSE-listed executives for young professionals to thrive.We also chat about:How your books ACTUALLY make you money through networking;How he got JSE accreditation as an IFRS specialist;Doors that opened because of his CA qualification;What it truly means to go beyond the beans; The book launching strategy of one of his latest books, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Check out KC's books_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by KC Rottok Chesaina, CA(SA), Chief IFRS Officer at Financial Minds, best-selling author and co-founder of CFO East Africa.We chat about how he became a published author and journalist through the CA designation so you can too.We also chat about:Founding a Pan-African magazine;Pros and cons of self-publishing vs house-publishing;How to get your writing published to the world;Lessons in persistence to get what you desire, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Check out KC's books_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
What a year 2025 has been! Incredible highs and equally incredible lows...After passing CTA, here are 10 lessons that every traveller walking into the great academic crucible needs to know before walking in and beyond it:Advanced is never not doing the basicsIf compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world, compound execution is the 9thGoing pro is the pinnacle of all pursuitsNetworking is a matter of pass and fail (and even life and death)Discipline is nothing but a tiny choiceIn a 50/50, they will always choose the man (or student) in the ring who walks tallLife is always life – even in CTABeauty is truth and truth beauty. The struggle is real and true, therefore can always be beautifulAnswer the question, the whole question, and nothing but the questionThe road to CA(SA) is not a game of winner takes all but of last man standingEnjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
In this solo episode, we explore the reason behind the typical identity crisis experienced by newly qualified CAs and aspiring CAs as they experience failure on the road to CA(SA).We also chat about:The way to avoid this trap by diversifying your identity;The psychological concept of self-complexity;5 practical ways to prevent identity crisis in advance, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are back with another solo episode after some time.We chat about why the trainee salary is notoriously so low, how we can respond to this as aspiring CAs, and how to get the greatest squeeze out of your training years.We also chat about:Why the CA traineeship is better than an MBA;Preventing the pitfalls of workplace politics;Ways to love your articles and have fun along the way, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
Once more, we are joined by Liron Leiboff, CA(SA), senior financial analyst at Osiris Trading.We chat about how to see the incentives in any scenario, whether as an employee or consumer, to see the second-order consequences that follow in advance of any situation and make better informed decisions.The rationale behind the modern monetary system;Why long hours are lazy hours;How to be a better creative thinker according to Picasso;What it takes to be a 10x CA through technology and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 2:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 3:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 4:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined once again by Liron Leiboff, CA(SA) and senior financial analyst at Osiris Trading.We chat about the Africa opportunity and why it is the last frontier of growth in the world.We also chat about:Why money earned is better than money given;The great fallacy called luck;Why investing in yourself is the greatest hedge against inflation, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 2:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 3:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Liron Leiboff, CA(SA) and senior financial analyst at Osiris Trading.We chat about six lifechanging mental models to gain clarity of thinking, to understand the people, to make better decisions and harness the chaos of life.We also chat about:How to cultivate a visionary mindset;Why re-reading books & notes is underrated for personal development;The Jeff Bezos Two-Doors decision-making model, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to our episode with Pieter Pienaar:Your Models Are Just Mental ModelsSpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 2:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Liron Leiboff, CA(SA) and senior financial analyst at Osiris Trading.We chat about his hard-earned business lessons from banking articles and running a 7-figure e-commerce venture.We also chat about:His experience as a TOPP trainee at Nedbank;How an accelerated book build and other equity capital offerings work;Why AFSs are the key to making your entrepreneurial venture fundable;When he had Dricus du Plessis as an influencer for his product, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Liron Leiboff, CA(SA) and senior financial analyst at Osiris Trading.We chat about what it takes to become a worker in any organization that is not only valuable but irreplaceable.We also chat about:How The Wolf of Wallstreet led him to the CA designation;Value creation vs value capture;Costco’s 'scaled economies shared' business strategy, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Check out the high agency article_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Vidhya Jayawardena, CA(SA) and cofounder of The Blackbox SA.We chat about how to maximise your three years of articles through a fundamental paradigm of extreme curiosity.We also chat about:How her upbringing drew her to the world of business;Why people problems are the most common in her practice;The importance of critical thinking when surfing social media;Why people in the same class are at significantly different stages of the journey, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
What a time to be an aspiring CA 💙Today, we celebrate 10k LinkedIn followers on The Road to CA Podcast and 20k audio downloads!This was a Q&A special co-hosted with Awela Madala answering some of the questions aspiring CAs had for me and some of my past CA guests.We chat about the CA(SA) designation is still worth it in 2025.We also chat about:What skills are AI resistant in the coming AI revolution;The key to building a business from 0 to 1;Active citizenry and how had it ACTUALLY is;AI blackmailings, AI killings and AI racism, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
Once again, we are joined by Mathabatha Julius Mojapelo – CA(SA), CIA & RA and thought leader for professionals of Africa.We chat about how you can take control of your life and put mission and purpose at the centre of your career.We also chat about:Africa’s untapped army of professionals;The importance of remembering African values as professionals;Responsibility vs accountability;The virtue in lifelong learning, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Listen to Part 2:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Check out Julius' audit certifications article_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
Once more, we are joined by Mathabatha Julius Mojapelo – CA(SA), CIA & RA and thought leader for professionals of Africa.We chat about personal branding strategy and how you can get tactical in building your brand as a young professional.We also chat about:What differentiates the CA(SA) to other CAs globally;His idea of an entrepreneurship articles programme;Why you should focus on the problem, not the solution in personal branding;The importance of choosing your struggle in life, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Check out Julius' enclothed cognition article_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Mathabatha Julius Mojapelo – CA(SA), CIA & RA and thought leader for professionals of Africa.We chat about what you need to know about yourself to follow the right career path.We also chat about:The emotionality of decision-making;Why you should focus on the things that are true to you in your career;The four streams to pursue as a CA, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Check out Julius' speed reading article_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
Once more, we are joined by Gareth Griffiths, Associate at PwC, MCom in Taxation, and UP alumnus having graduated with distinction in all years of his studies. He also placed first in the country in the SAICA ITC of 2024.We chat about learning to run the race against you and no one else on the road to CA(SA).We also chat about:His CTA experience and how he placed amongst the top in his class;Why less is more in CTA;The importance of practicing analytically and performing intuitively;Competition’s role in his academic success, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Gareth Griffiths, Associate at PwC, MCom in Taxation, and UP alumnus having graduated with distinction in all years of his studies. He also placed first in the country in the SAICA ITC of 2024.We chat about how enthusiasm alone was the key to his study success and how you can inject enthusiasm into your life and work.We also chat about:Starting university during COVID;The value of doing a personality test;Why he chose to become an academic trainee in his first year of articles;His FIRE values framework for study and career success, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
Once more, we are joined by Sitholile Sithole, senior associate at a big four firm, Allan Gray Fellow, social entrepreneur and co-founder of NPO Pantsula with a Purpose.We chat about the why making positive change and value must begin before we start making profits and capturing that value we create.We also chat about:The right way to find a mentor;His experience as part of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation;The importance of sustainability reporting beyond financial reporting;Being the champion of your ideas as a young person;Africa as the final frontier, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Listen to Part 1:SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTube_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
Today, we are joined by Sitholile Sithole, senior associate at a big four firm, Allan Gray Fellow, social entrepreneur and co-founder of NPO Pantsula with a Purpose.We chat about starters and pioneers so you can learn to become one yourself.We also chat about:Why the CA designation is just a tool;His inspiration in the profession – Sizwe Nxasana;The impact of representation on your limiting beliefs;SAICAs drive towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);How to be yourself by "removing your corporate tswape", and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
We are joined by Simoné Rosslee, CA(SA) and partner at PKF Octagon.We chat about how her journey through failure throughout her career has been one of the keys to her resounding success.We also chat about:Why the CA designation can be the key to your dreams;Her journey to partnership;Why speed is more important than accuracy in decision making;How to get promoted quicker in your career, and more.Enjoy!_________________________________________Check out the SAICA Women's Blue Table_________________________________________Connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alunga-madala_________________________________________Follow us on Instagram - @the_rdtocaFollow us on LinkedIn - The Road to CA PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube - @TheRoadtoCAPodcast
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