Futhi Mtoba, past president of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants in Southern Africa (ABASA), spoke to the DOF administrator about challenges and opportunities for black accountants in South Africa. Mtoba, who is retired from Deloitte, said that the primary challenge for black accountants is "increasing the number." She explained that the standards for educating black children are "not high enough" and that the "traditional areas where black people live still lack resources." She said those resources are both infrastructure and human, and that there is a lack of teachers for subjects that qualify students to become accountants. "Because of this, there is a low number of students who qualify for entrance into universities, which require STEM subjects," she said. In terms of the policy of the government, Mtoba said, "After our democracy has opened up, every child has a right to education, but to exercise your right you must have the

ability to exercise that right."

Gwendolyn S. Evans, CMI, focuses on one of the certainties of life: Taxes.

 

She has gained expertise and put it to work at the state government level, as a business owner, in the corporate world, and now, again, as the owner of her own firm, RyanWest LLC. Though based in Dallas, Texas, RyanWest is a multi-state consulting firm with a diverse clientele.

 

Evans was exposed to tax accounting while working for Club Corporation of America in Dallas after graduating from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Less than a year later she began working in tax accounting at the Florida Department of Revenue, where she stayed for 10 years.  

 

Her next move was into the corporate world, working for The Raytheon Company,  with duties that included managing tax compliance and audits, handling tax legislation and policy matters, and overseeing the implementation of tax-related systems.  

 

While at Raytheon, she started a sole proprietor business (Unique Financial Services) and subsequently incorporated under the name A&G Evans Management. "I operated the business for 10 years before deciding to focus 100 percent of my time on my corporate career," she said.

 

She later left Raytheon for Ryan LLC, specializing in multi-state and local tax legislative and regulatory analysis among other things. Her success there, where her duties also included executing tax policy strategies and providing advocacy services, helped in the creation of RyanWest. The impetus for striking out on her own again: "Missing the feeling of managing my own firm."

 

At RyanWest, Evans brings her wealth of experience to other businesses. "Many companies have small tax departments and do not have the bandwidth to manage state audits, pursue tax overpayments, and other tax-saving opportunities," she said. "My firm acts as an extension to these tax departments to add value and minimize their tax cost, when appropriate." To do that, she said, RyanWest analyzes, researches, plans, and implements state and local tax solutions.

 

To promote her business, Evans uses sponsorships at state and local tax events and participates in events of the Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council. "The DFW MSDC chapter does an excellent job of matching buyers to minority suppliers," she said. RyanWest's clients "consist of companies with revenue in excess of $1 million," she added.

 

Evans has no plans to slow down. "In three years, RyanWest will grow and expand its business by 20 percent by increasing its brand awareness and name recognition; and in five years, will achieve at least 95 percent positive customer feedback by providing consistent and quality service."

 

Her advice to other accountants wanting to establish their own tax services practice: "Develop a five-year business plan and an effective marketing plan. Before going to market, it is important to have a capability statement and an active website." She also stressed having the proper resources with the right skill set, whether by having employees or teaming with other independent contractors.

 

Evans said that the RyanWest plan goes beyond five years: "My ultimate long-term goal is to grow the firm to be the best-in-class minority-owned state and local tax establishment by building my credentials in the industry." 

 

Click here to learn more about RyanWest LLC. 

 

 

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