Teresa Wolmarans (54) is a certified senior bookkeeper in Springs and has been in this profession for 37 years.
“A bookkeeper is a person who gets all accounts and paperwork from a company and puts it into a financial statement, formulating the financial position of the business,” she says.
“Bookkeepers also submit tax returns to SARS for companies and individuals.”
Teresa explains that a person in this field would need to be computer literate.
“Accounting, computer technology application and business studies as subjects in matric will aid you towards getting further qualifications,” she says.
After matric, students can do a full-time course in bookkeeping at a tertiary institution for a full year and receive a diploma.
“Or you can study part-time, which takes a little longer, but you can already start your career at a bookkeeping company,” she adds.
Individuals then have to register with the Institute of Registered Bookkeepers.
According to Teresa, there are many advantages to this career.
“You can operate from home as there is no need to constantly be in your office, it’s a nice working environment and your time is flexible, but it’s different when working for a boss,” she says.
She adds that loyal clients will follow a good bookkeeper when they have chosen to leave a company and start on their own.
“The only negative I can think of is the deadlines that have to be adhered to as they can be very strict,” she says.
She adds that: “You definitely need to have good people skills.”
