It was the sort of aspirational daydream most young South Africans might have indulged in at one point or another—except Patricia Stock wasn’t just indulging. She was observing, absorbing, already co-authoring the script of a life that had not yet begun.
Prior to joining University of Pretoria as an accounting student, she participated in an AGSA bridging course at Denel’s training facility in Centurion. Something caught her eye each morning as the bus rolled past was the neat rows of manicured lawns and houses nestled behind a high, silent wall. An estate—out of reach, unspoken for, but quietly calling her. ‘One day, I’ll live there,’ she told herself.
Years later, long after the articles were done, the corporate ladder climbed and the credentials earned, Patricia and her husband began house hunting. They weren’t targeting Centurion. They weren’t even chasing a particular postcode. But when the agent pulled up in front of the house that would eventually become their home, Patricia paused. This was the same estate. She hadn’t sought it out, not deliberately, but here it was.
Centurion was a giant leap from where she grew up. When Patricia’s parents separated, the children and their mother had to move from Atteridgeville to their grandmother’s yard in Mamelodi. It was a quiet upheaval, with the family shack being hoisted onto a truck and trundled down the road like an unwilling passenger. She was six at the time, the third of five children, tucked into that peculiar middle space where you’re neither eldest nor youngest, but often expected to mediate, manage, and mature quickly.
Mamelodi was a township, brimming with linguistic diversity and unspoken hierarchies, that Patricia first learned how to adapt, how to read a room, how to find order in disorder. She wasn’t the child who complained of being overlooked. Instead, she became the one everyone turned to when things fell apart—a reluctant fixer, honing skills she wouldn’t realise were leadership traits until much later.
Love for accounting
‘I loved accounting from the start,’ Patricia confesses. ‘I remember being in Tsako-Thabo high school and asking our teacher, ‘What’s the highest qualification you can get in accounting?’ And she said, ‘You can become a chartered accountant.’ When they explained what CAs do, I was sold because it sounded like becoming a doctor of business. But as I went on, especially when I got to varsity, I had to really ask myself why I wanted to be a CA.’
‘And the answer was clear: it wasn’t just about the title or the prestige. It was about changing the narrative for my family. I didn’t want to see the generations that came after me go through the poverty I had experienced growing up. I even wrote a letter to God at that time. I still have it. In that letter, I said I wanted to build a home for my family, to break the cycle. That was my why,’ she adds.
Knowing your why is one thing, living long enough to fulfil it is another. Patricia had an accident that could have ended everything. It was 2001, not even a year into her marriage, when an incident sent her car rolling and left her with a spinal injury that still marks her body—and her memory. She speaks of it without dramatics, but the weight of it sits just beneath her words. ‘It was a near-death experience,’ she says simply. ‘When I look at the scars on my spine, I see a reminder that God chose for me to live and still have purpose to fulfil.’ For Patricia survival wasn’t just mercy—it was mandate.
‘I always say, life is about waking up in the morning and asking yourself, ‘what problem am I solving for today?’ What opportunity needs to be turned into reality? What needs to evolve—and am I the one who’s meant to drive that? I’ve come to understand that purpose isn’t this one big thing you chase forever. No, it unfolds. It shows up differently in different seasons. And in each season, there’s a specific calling—something you’re meant to do right then. That’s how I live.’
Importance of identity
Patricia believes that identity is the cornerstone of personal and professional growth. To her, it’s not about outward appearances, but about having a clear, internal understanding of who you are, what you’re worth, and what you’re capable of achieving.
When teaching to young people at her local church and as part of her lead group coaching sessions, she emphasises that without a strong sense of identity, people are more likely to accept poor treatment, miss opportunities, or align themselves with the wrong influences. Identity allows setting meaningful goals and plays a critical role in choosing the right mentors and coaches—those whose guidance genuinely aligns with one’s path. In her words, not everyone who is impressive will be the right fit for your journey, and only by knowing yourself can you recognise who truly is.
‘I believe as a certified leadership coach, leaders should be learners,’ Patricia says. ‘We never stop learning—there’s always something new to discover, something to improve. And with that, it’s so important not to be hard on yourself, especially when things don’t go your way. I’ve had moments of failure—real, painful ones. In my career path, I remember failing Commercial Law 100 at varsity, my first ever failure, and later failing again my second board exam just before qualifying. But I had to remind myself: failure doesn’t define me. It’s part of the journey. It’s feedback. And if you take the lesson, it becomes growth.’
She continues to develop by investing in learning, benefitting both the organisation and the individuals she leads.
‘Another thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to be everything to everyone. You can’t be great at everything—and that’s okay. I believe in recognising the strengths in others and surrounding myself with people who are better than me in certain areas. That’s how we grow, together. As a leader, it’s not about being the smartest in the room—it’s about creating a space where everyone’s gifts can shine. And in doing that, you elevate others, but you also elevate yourself. That’s how real impact happens.’
Building her career
Before stepping into her role as CEO of SAICA, Patricia built a career defined by both breadth and depth across the public and private sectors. After completing her articles at the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA), she rose through the ranks to senior manager. Her time at AGSA gave her deep exposure to governance, public finance, and policy-making—laying a solid foundation in oversight and institutional accountability. She credits this period with shaping her understanding of how structures should function and the critical role of the United Nations and public institutions in national development.
‘I’ve always believed that every leader, no matter where you are, should understand how the public sector works,’ Patricia states. ‘It’s not just about government—it’s about the country. If the public sector doesn’t function, the country doesn’t function. You can be doing well in business, but if the state is collapsing, we all feel it. That’s why I’ve always been intentional about contributing to that space—whether through audit committees, boards, or oversight roles. We each have a role to play in making sure our systems work, because ultimately, that’s how we build a country that works for everyone.’
Seeking broader exposure, Patricia transitioned to BDO, where she not only engaged with the private sector but also led the firm’s national transformation strategy. This role saw her driving diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organisation while maintaining a balance between commercial goals and social impact.
Later, she co-founded her own accounting firm with the vision of expanding access to the profession, especially for young people from underrepresented backgrounds. The firm eventually merged with others to form MGI RAS, where Patricia continued to lead while gaining valuable global exposure through the MGI Worldwide network, including the start of her offering of ESG advisory. Her extensive board work in both public sector entities and private sector entities including a listed company further sharpened her perspective on governance, leadership, and impact—experiences that would all converge in her leadership at SAICA.
First female CEO
Asked about being the first female CEO of the chartered accountants institute, Patricia says it is not something she carries as a badge for the sake of it.
‘For me, it comes with a deep sense of responsibility,’ she explains. ‘It’s not about being the first and stopping there—it’s about making sure I’m not the last. It’s about creating pathways for others, especially women, to step into leadership and be seen, not just locally but globally. I don’t believe in creating opportunities just for the sake of optics. I believe in giving access—equal access—to the opportunities that are already there. And part of my role is to be a voice of influence, to ensure we’re not just talking about change, but making room for it, and driving it in ways that are meaningful and sustainable.’
As a mother of four—Patricia knows the weight of expectations on both sides of the professional and personal divide. The travel is relentless, the hours long, and the pressure unrelenting. Yet, she has learned that survival doesn’t come from being a superwoman, but from building systems, asking for help, and embracing vulnerability. ‘There are trade-offs,’ she admits plainly. ‘But I’ve learned to be open about them—with my husband and with my kids.’
She loves to cook but when she can’t, meals are planned in advance, her domestic helper trained in the exact way the family likes things done, and check-ins with her children are non-negotiable. Her ten-year-old calls to remind her about school events, her sixteen-year-old son craves more phone calls when she’s away. It’s not perfect, and she doesn’t pretend it is. But in those moments of presence—when she’s home, undistracted—she reclaims what the job temporarily demands. ‘They are my accountability partners,’ she says, not with sentimentality, but with the quiet precision of someone who has counted the cost, and still believes the work is worth doing. She emphasises living to win professionally without losing personally, and her Christian faith is central to her core values rather than a pursuit of perfection.
Leadership style
Another thing Patricia balances is her leadership style, oscillating between care and candour.
‘People often see kindness and think it means I won’t hold them accountable—but actually, I hold people accountable because I care,’ she explains. ‘When I joined SAICA, we were going through a period of transition, and with change comes discomfort. There was noise, resistance—but also support. And I chose to focus on the voices that were for the change, the people who were willing to lean in and help shape the future. Those are the ones I drew close, the champions.’
‘At the same time, I didn’t ignore the pushback. I listened. I gave space for feedback. But I stayed clear about the direction. I believe that building positive relationships at work is not about avoiding conflict—it’s about creating an environment where trust allows for honest conversations. You can’t lead effectively if people don’t know where you stand. So, I lead with clarity, kindness, and the courage to say the hard things when they need to be said.’
In contributing her governance expertise, she is currently serving as a board member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund, Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP), Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) and Global Accounting Alliance (GAA). She is also a council member of the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa (HRDC SA).
Patricia’s story resists neat packaging. It isn’t a tale of triumph over adversity in the usual sense, but rather a quiet, deliberate accumulation of intent. What sets her apart is not the arc of her rise, but the clarity with which she moves through each season of life—rooted, reflective, and relentlessly purposeful. She doesn’t trade in spectacle. Instead, she builds—systems, people, institutions—with the steady hand of someone who understands that real change is rarely loud, and almost never immediate. She highlights the importance of upholding a human-centric approach as the implementation and evolution of AI continue to advance.
A firm believer in unity of purpose, she concludes with the profound African proverb, ‘if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’
