The fearless Amorie van Zyl blazes through unchartered territory.

Amorie van Zyl tells Careers about her journey of following her heart across the border.
Michelline Nawatises
Desiree Gases

“Even though the road may feel long, be content in the phase of the journey you are in currently as you will never get that specific moment or phase back.”- Amorie van Zyl

Amorie van Zyl was born and raised in South Africa. She matriculated from High School Transvalia in 2016 and completed a Bcom Chartered Accountancy degree and Postgrad Dip in Accounting (CTA) at the North West University in Potchefstroom in 2020. Van Zyl lost her heart to a Namibian in the famous Lovers Lane in Potchefstroom, they got married at the end of last year when she moved to Namibia.

Van Zyl was fortunate to receive a partial bursary from PwC during her first year of studies. Since the first day Van Zyl set foot at PwC during her vacation work she knew that this is the company that she wants to work for. Van Zyl could immediately align with their values and it made a significant impact to see what difference PwC makes in their communities. Van Zyl joined PwC Namibia in January 2021. “It was an incredible learning experience to actually put all the theory in practice and to learn from the best in the business,” said Van Zyl.

Careers asked Van Zyl what her day-to-day workload looks like.

“Each audit engagement is thoroughly planned so that we can compile an individual plan of action where you have deadlines for when specific tasks need to be completed. With each new client new challenges arise, and new skills are required as each client differs from each other and that requires one to continuously think outside the box. Besides the formal routine of the day-to-day tasks we have fun with team building events that ensure a motivated work environment and team,” said Van Zyl.

Van Zyl is inspired by this specific line of work because, it continuously challenges her in all aspects and requires of her to keep on growing as she realized there will always be something new to learn.

“I always loved entrepreneurship and how businesses operate, this line of work exposes you to different industries,” adds Van Zyl. As much as Van Zyl is inspired by her work It was a big challenge to adapt and acclimatise in a new country as well as becoming part of the workforce, but ever since she found her feet, with the help of a good support system and caring colleagues, she really enjoyed the journey.

Van Zyl recently passed ITC and she could not be more thankful as it was a challenge because it was postponed from January until April, which forced her to manage her time properly to ensure that she still stayed up to date with her studies whilst working. Van Zyl says: “I gained a lot of respect for people that study while they work, since I was a full-time student.”

Another challenge she faced was to adapt to the remote working environment since a first year still requires a lot of guidance, but Van Zyl is thankful for a team and team members that would really go the extra mile for her to ensure she is confident her work and what is required from her.

“Even though the road may feel long, be content in the phase of the journey you are in currently as you will never get that specific moment or phase back. Always give your best and remember hard work always pays off. It is not how you start but how you finish.” says Van Zyl.

Amorie van Zyl’s hobbies

“I love spending quality time with my family and friends and playing board games, I also love gardening even though I might not have green fingers, yet it is my future goal.”