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Badenhorst is passionate about learning and growing

Justicia Shipena



In 2012, Nicoline Badenhorst started her career journey as a CA-stream trainee after completing her honours degree at the Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

After she completed her studies, she spent four months in the United States on an exchange programme and returned in May 2015 as an assistant manager in audit.

“When an opportunity to help out on the risk advisory side arose, I quickly found my passion for IT audit and moved to risk advisory, first provisionally in October 2015 and permanently in February 2016, where I have been working since then together with my colleagues and friends on growing the advisory side of Deloitte,” she said.

Badenhorst is currently the IT audit manager at Deloitte Namibia where she has been working for seven years to date. Her roles include planning, managing and overseeing IT audits for external audit support, ad hoc assignments for internal audit support, and any other IT-related projects in which she directly engages with clients.

She told Careers that she also helps out with anything that looks interesting or where her colleagues run out of hands or need some specialised skills.

“I don’t see my job to be a list of things I should be doing; my job is, at the end of the day, to make sure that all of the people around me can succeed, and if that means handling things that are out of the ordinary, all the better,” she said.

Badenhorst said transitioning from a traditional financial auditor to an IT audit specialist wasn’t easy, as she first had to prove herself to a lot of people, both from a technical skills and managerial perspective. However she prevailed and is now happy in her position.

Badenhorst added her greatest accomplishment is seeing how far those at the company gone, compared to when she started at Deloitte in 2012.

“IT often got the undeserved reputation of just being an additional cost that doesn’t really add value. Now, more and more auditors and clients understand how IT can really drive their business to the next level - be it through cost reductions or through strategic changes to how they operate. We’ve become valued advisors,” she said.

Her typical day in the office includes spending time coaching trainees and consultants on audit methodology or on specific methodology.

She added that she either drafts proposals for clients on projects they’ve requested or delivers some of the more complex engagements herself. When she does proposals, she does not want a one-size-fits-all exercise, but wants to know that what she plans to help her clients with is exactly what they need, so it takes up a fair amount of her time.

Some of the time in the office she spends on planning engagements, doing a bit of problem-solving or ‘fire-fighting’ or otherwise looks for anything that’ll make someone’s life easier.

Badenhorst said each and everyone in the department is unique in their skillset and interests, and that’s what makes the department special.

“We respect each other for our abilities, are quick to jump to each other’s aid and overall we all want each other to succeed. It’s a very inspiring balance of friendly competition and goal-oriented teamwork,” she said.

Badenhorst said she is inspired by the beautiful world and all that she needs each day is to be reminded that no matter what happens, she has friends and family that will support her through the good and bad times. She said everything in her life happens for a reason, which makes her know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God who is looking out for her.

She urges young people out there to decide what they want and stick with it.

“Do whatever it takes to remind them to never give up. Write it down where you can see it when you’re down or when things don’t go your way. Remember that if life were easy, we wouldn’t learn anything ever, so embrace the adversity and make it yours,” she said.

She plans to be the best possible version of herself and seize every opportunity that comes her way to learn, grow and improve.