Republikein Newspaper

Elizabeth Joseph





Monika von Flotow qualified as a chartered accountant after obtaining a B.Comm (Management Accounting) degree from the University of Stellenbosch and an Honours B. Accounting Science degree from the University of South Africa.

Her work experience, although a mouthful, sets her apart in many ways. Von Flotow served at PricewaterhouseCoopers for approximately nine years, ending in 2010. After completing her auditing articles there, she also provided various advisory and international tax services.

After that, she joined the Development Bank of Namibia where she spent approximately eight years. At the bank her accolades grew exponentially as she continued her career as the bank’s management accountant, followed by a shift in focus towards business process management and then working as risk and compliance manager until her resignation.

Von Flotow then joined Retirement Fund Solutions in 2018 as project manager and has been there to date. In her new role, she predominantly focuses on preparing Retirement Fund Solutions as fund administrator and the Benchmark Retirement Fund for compliance with the expected Financial Institutions and Markets (FIM) Bill.

Passion in her line of work

“Passion is what makes me do my job with enthusiasm; and enthusiasm energises me to master what seems a difficult task at first. The satisfaction coming from attained milestones and goals feeds my passion towards achieving new goals,” she says.

Von Flotow further mentions that her most valuable life lessons didn’t come from her achievements, but rather from the failures and disappointments that she experienced. “Hardships are essential for growth,” she says.

The next step

“Project work is fairly unpredictable and difficult to plan ahead with certainty. I allow myself to enjoy the diversity of project work as it offers opportunity for learning about new things with every new project. At the same time, it also allows me the flexibility to balance my career and my personal life,” she says.

One piece of advice she has for young people is that a positive attitude can make all the difference.

“No matter how unfavourable the circumstances may seem, there is always something to be thankful for – you just need to start looking for those things. As your focus shifts towards the things you’re grateful for, you slowly start to lose sight of those things that you lack. It’s all about what you nurture your mind with that determines how happy you are,” she concludes.