CIBA Member Egeniah Remwa followed an unconventional route to becoming a tax professional. One that’s made her skill set as diverse as it is strong.

“I never saw university as a priority because of my position in the family as the firstborn,” explains Egeniah Remwa. “The first thing that came into my mind was, ‘If I pass matric, I need to look for a job. That’s how I got into the working industry so early. I started working in 1999 while waiting for my matric results.”

Egeniah started working at a bank in Zimbabwe as a messenger. 

“I would always be on time. Nothing was missing. Everything was accurate.” Egeniah was promoted from messenger to switchboard to clerk and eventually to an office position. 

“Then my mum said, ‘Now you’re in an office, it’s time for you to study.’ That’s when I did a short course in banking.” The course included accounting, which she enjoyed, and public relations, which captured her heart.   

Egeniah was retrenched due to the economic situation in Zimbabwe, moved to South Africa, and used her banking certificate to get a debtors accounting clerk job. 

How to convince your clients to pay you - an expert’s guide

Egeniah would spend five years as a debtors clerk and accountant at a law firm before joining her current employer Empowerdex, where she worked as a debtors clerk for another eight years. She is an expert at getting money from reluctant clients. 

“Being a debtors clerk is taken as a general clerical position whereby you just call people, and they give you money as if it’s that easy. But it’s not easy.”

“For instance, during COVID. It’s very hard to get somebody to pay you, but at the same time, you need that money to sustain yourselves. So how do you approach a person in a worse situation than you? You have to be very articulate and know your game.”

So how should accountants, especially those without debtors clerks, approach clients with outstanding invoices? 

1. Don’t threaten

“You’re trying to take a difficult moment and make it friendly in a letter. 

In the first letter, you don’t say demand because the moment you do, you’re already aggravating that person, and they’re likely to ignore you.”

Egeniah gave this example:

Hi XX 

Kindly note this amount is still outstanding, and I cannot locate it on my bank statement. 

Kindly send me proof of payment.

“In other words I’m trying to tell you, pay up!”

2. Give the debtor  some agency

“The second time, I’ll now email:”

Hi XX

I’m just following up on the matter below. 

Kindly advise, when will it be settled?

“Now I’m asking for a date from you. If you respond, I’ll call you on that day or a day later. I’m no longer emailing you because more emails might be redundant, and you may be bored from reading them.”

“I’ll call you and say, ‘Hi XX. I’m just following up on the day that you promised. Has anything happened? Has anything surfaced?”

Calling also gives you a chance to make the interaction more personable. “By hearing my voice, it might change your perception. At the back of the debtor’s mind, they’re trying to recall, ‘Who’s this lively person? How does she know me? That’s where knowing your customer aspect comes in.

“The debtor is then in a friendly mood, perhaps open enough to share their payment problems. That’s where I would now suggest, ‘Are you open to flexible payment arrangements’?” Egeniah explains that when it comes to payment arrangements, it’s essential to hint at them, but leave the agency debtor to suggest amounts and a schedule. 

Gradually climbing the career ladder

During her time as a debtors clerk, Egeniah completed a financial accounting course with the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and Accountants (ICBA). When ICBA deregistered, Egeniah joined CIBA.

"When I joined CIBA, it exposed me to other levels of accounting that I’d never seen before. Especially tax.” 

She attended tax happy hour Zoom sessions, which engrossed her. “I managed to understand tax from another level. The beauty of it is that it incorporates advisory, which appeals to my love for public relations. It incorporates accounting and finance, and it includes law. 

“With tax, you’re getting four things in one, whereas previously, I could not decide which of these four I should study further.” 

Egeniah now saw a future career in tax, which had the potential to be diverse enough to match her dynamic interests.  

Egeniah qualified, first as a Business Accountant and later as a Business Accountant in Practice. The BAP(SA) qualification allowed her to study through CIMA. Egeniah recently moved from the debtor’s office to work as an accountant with tax exposure. 

“These days, I’m the happiest person ever with my choices even though ithas taken me a long time.