In democratic institutions, trust is not built solely through rhetoric or intention. It is earned through discipline, transparency, and the quiet rigor of systems that work, year after year, under scrutiny, pressure, and public expectation. At the heart of this responsibility stands Andile Dawn Mbatha CA(SA), Chief Financial Officer of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, whose leadership has helped shape one of the country’s most trusted constitutional institutions.

Since assuming the CFO role in December 2019, Mbatha has overseen a period of exceptional financial discipline and institutional credibility. Under her stewardship, the Commission has achieved five consecutive clean audits, a benchmark that reflects not only technical excellence but a deeply embedded culture of accountability. For Mbatha, however, these achievements are not endpoints; they are foundations. “In the public sector,” she reflects, “financial leadership is not just about numbers. It is about safeguarding public trust.”

A Career Rooted in Accountability and Purpose

Mbatha’s professional journey has been defined by complexity, responsibility, and impact. Leading finance within a constitutional body tasked with safeguarding democracy requires more than compliance; it demands foresight, resilience, and ethical clarity. Over the years, she has played a central role in strengthening internal controls, ensuring legislative compliance, and driving operational efficiencies that allow the Commission to deliver value to citizens and stakeholders alike.

Her responsibilities extend beyond the Commission’s core operations to the oversight of Political Funding financial reporting, an area subject to intense public scrutiny. Here too, clean audit outcomes have been consistently achieved, reinforcing confidence in the integrity of South Africa’s democratic processes.

Under Mbatha’s leadership, the Commission’s baseline allocation from the National Treasury has grown sustainably, ensuring the institution is adequately resourced to fulfil its constitutional mandate. Today, the Electoral Commission operates as a multi-billion-rand organisation, managing public funds with discipline, strategic intent, and long-term sustainability in mind.

Redefining the Role of the CFO

While many associate the CFO role strictly with financial reporting and controls, Mbatha’s leadership philosophy is expansive. She views finance as a strategic enabler, one that shapes institutional identity as much as operational outcomes.

This philosophy was powerfully demonstrated through her leadership of the 2025 Annual Report transformation project. Far from a routine compliance document, the report was reimagined in design, narrative structure, photography, and corporate presentation. The result was a publication that elevated how the Commission presents itself to Parliament, oversight bodies, and the public, enhancing accessibility, credibility, and institutional pride.

“This was not traditional finance work,” Mbatha explains. “It was about positioning the institution, strengthening its brand, and reinforcing trust.” The project reflected a core belief that finance leaders must operate beyond silos, contributing strategically to how organisations communicate their purpose and impact.

Governance as the Foundation of Trust

As CFO, Mbatha serves as a critical interface between the Electoral Commission and multiple layers of independent oversight. Her approach to these relationships is grounded in proactive transparency and mutual respect, recognising that strong oversight is not an obstacle, but the cornerstone of public confidence.

She is quick to acknowledge that institutional success is collective. The guidance of the Commissioners, CEO, and Executive leadership has enabled the finance function to uphold the highest standards of accountability while embracing innovation. This collaborative governance culture has been instrumental in sustaining clean audits and operational resilience.

Recognition has followed. In 2025, Mbatha was named AWCA Public Sector CFO of the Year, alongside being a three-time nominee at the 2024 CFO Awards. While appreciative of these honours, she measures success differently, through strengthened governance frameworks, sustainable financial outcomes, and institutions empowered to fulfil their mandates with integrity.

Regional and Board-Level Perspective

Beyond her executive role, Mbatha contributes at a regional governance level as an Audit Committee member of the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC). Representing sixteen Election Management Bodies across the region, this role has expanded her perspective on board oversight, strategic risk management, and governance across diverse electoral environments.

This exposure reinforces a central lesson of her career: accountability frameworks are not bureaucratic exercises; they are protective mechanisms for democracy itself.

Leadership in Crisis: Lessons from Cricket South Africa

One of the most defining chapters in Mbatha’s governance journey unfolded outside the electoral sphere. Between November 2020 and June 2021, she served on the Cricket South Africa interim board during a period of acute institutional crisis. The organisation faced the potential loss of government recognition and funding, eroded public trust, and severe governance instability.

Described at the time as being “millimetres away from going over a cliff,” the mandate was unambiguous: restore stability, rebuild trust, and secure sustainability. Working closely with the Members’ Council, the interim board successfully negotiated and adopted an amended Memorandum of Incorporation, widely recognised as a world-class governance framework. It introduced an independent majority board, clear role delineation, and mandatory independent board leadership.

Navigating this environment required managing intense scrutiny, competing stakeholder interests, and strong personalities, all while maintaining focus on institutional survival. For Mbatha, the experience reinforced enduring lessons in crisis governance: the courage to implement structural reform, the importance of collaboration under pressure, and the necessity of principled leadership when reputational risk is at its highest.

A Foundation Built Across Sectors

Mbatha’s leadership maturity is deeply informed by her early career in audit and advisory roles across both public and private sectors. Her portfolio included complex, high-impact organisations such as Eskom, MTN SP, Transnet, ACSA, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Department of Defence, and Sentech.

These environments sharpened her expertise in corporate governance, risk management, financial reporting, and regulatory compliance, while strengthening her ability to engage senior stakeholders and deliver under pressure.

A standout example of her problem-solving approach emerged during her work with the Department of Defence. Tasked with addressing long-standing inconsistencies in asset governance, Mbatha transformed a dense, 100-page asset management accounting policy into a concise, practical framework using diagrams, decision trees, and simplified guidance. She also corrected the underlying accounting framework by replacing an incorrectly applied GRAP standard with the appropriate Modified Cash Standard. The result was improved compliance, usability, and accountability, demonstrating her ability to translate technical complexity into operational clarity.

Purpose, Representation, and Motivation

Mbatha’s decision to pursue a career in finance and auditing was sparked early. In Grade 4, she read about South Africa’s first African female Chartered Accountant, an encounter that shaped her aspirations. In a profession where African female representation remains limited, this awareness became a source of motivation to pursue excellence, break barriers, and serve as a role model.

Auditing appealed to her sense of fairness and independence, while finance offered a lens into how organisations create value and remain accountable. Today, her motivation is sustained by impact. In the public sector, financial decisions directly affect citizens, voters, and democratic outcomes. For Mbatha, building systems that promote transparency, efficiency, and ethical stewardship is both a professional responsibility and a personal calling.

Equally important is her commitment to people development. She views mentorship, team growth, and creating cultures of excellence as integral to sustainable leadership.

Balancing Performance and Compliance

Reflecting on the evolving role of finance leaders, Mbatha notes that the greatest challenge today lies in navigating complexity. In the public sector, the pressure to achieve clean audits must be balanced against the risk of administrative paralysis. Compliance frameworks such as the PFMA and Treasury Regulations are essential, but they must enable, not inhibit, performance.

Her leadership philosophy centres on ensuring that compliance supports service delivery rather than obstructing it. This requires judgment, agility, and a nuanced understanding of risk.

Technology, Innovation, and the Future of Finance

Technology has fundamentally reshaped the finance function under Mbatha’s leadership. Automation, real-time reporting, and integrated financial systems have elevated finance from a transactional role to a strategic partner. Executive dashboards, data analytics for audit readiness, and digital collaboration tools now support faster, evidence-based decision-making across the Commission.

At the same time, she emphasises the importance of cybersecurity, data governance, and continuous skills development to ensure technology strengthens, not compromises, governance.

Inclusion, Mentorship, and Leadership Legacy

Mbatha believes high-performing finance teams thrive in environments where diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety are embedded. Open communication, equitable development opportunities, and transparent succession planning are not only ethical imperatives, but they are also strategic enablers of innovation and resilience.

As a mentor, her guidance to emerging finance professionals is clear: build strong technical foundations, remain curious, develop emotional intelligence, and lead with integrity. Trust and credibility, she emphasises, are leadership assets earned over time.

A Steward of Democratic Confidence

As she looks ahead, Andile Dawn Mbatha remains guided by integrity, excellence, and a commitment to building sustainable systems that serve the public interest. Her career reflects a rare blend of technical mastery, strategic vision, and ethical leadership, qualities essential for institutions entrusted with democracy itself.

In strengthening financial governance, she is not merely managing resources; she is safeguarding confidence in the systems that uphold democratic life. In this responsibility, her leadership continues to set a powerful standard for public sector finance across South Africa and beyond.

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