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Difference Makers Podcast

Difference Makers Podcast

Chartered Accountants Worldwide 81 Episodes Oct 15, 2026

Difference Makers Podcast celebrates people who have transformed communities, businesses, and the wider world. Each episode features Chartered Accountants who have overcome adversity and used their skills to lead and create meaningful change. The series highlights personal stories of resilience, achievement, and impact. It is produced by Chartered Accountants Worldwide.

Episodes

Aisling McCaffrey - The forks in the road that shaped her career
Aisling McCaffrey - The forks in the road that shaped her career Oct 15, 2026 2228 Aisling McCaffrey's first CAO choice was actuarial studies. Her second was Irish music and dance. Today she works at the Impact Investing Institute in London on why capital does not reach the places that need it, work that has recently taken her to the Ethiopian border with UNHCR and to the textile sector in India.In this episode she talks to Sinead Donovan about the two hour conversation in
Kingsley Aikins - Why your next opportunity is hiding in your weakest connection
Kingsley Aikins - Why your next opportunity is hiding in your weakest connection Oct 1, 2026 1196 Networking is neither an art nor a science. It is a process, and Kingsley Aikins has spent a career proving it.In the second part of his conversation with Sinead Donovan, the founder of Diaspora Matters explains why 305 million people now live outside the country they were born in, how 120 countries have built strategies to engage them, and what the philanthropist Chuck Feeney meant when he said t
Difference Makers Discuss - Best of Season 4
Difference Makers Discuss - Best of Season 4 Sep 25, 2026 2384 Season 4 of Difference Makers Discuss took us from Sydney to London, from Olympic tracks to the maize fields of Mozambique, from online exam halls in South Africa to audit rooms in Zambia. In this special episode, host Sinead Donovan brings the best of those six conversations together in one place.You will hear Kingsley Aikins on how a 12 person dinner club in Sydney became the largest Irish busin
Remote working across borders: The hidden risks businesses need to understand
Remote working across borders: The hidden risks businesses need to understand Jul 2, 2026 2864 Someone asks to “work from another country for a few weeks” and it feels like an easy yes. Then the questions start: does a visitor visa change tax status, when do workdays become taxable, and could a single remote worker accidentally create a permanent establishment abroad? We sit down with Carla Wilson, the Chairperson of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide UAE Committee, international tax speci
Kingsley Aikins - Good work doesn't speak for itself... But you can!
Kingsley Aikins - Good work doesn't speak for itself... But you can! May 28, 2026 1841 Your career is not a solo sport, and pretending it is can quietly stall your progress. We’re joined by Kingsley Aikins, widely known for his work on professional networking and relationship building, to talk about what networking really looks like when it’s done with decency, curiosity, and intent.Kingsley shares the stories that shaped his outlook, from rugby and the “five people you spend time w
Aster Thackery - What If your REAL skill is connecting people?
Aster Thackery - What If your REAL skill is connecting people? May 14, 2026 1940 A Chartered Accountant from New Zealand ends up advising global investors on Italy’s value proposition, and somehow that’s only the start. We sit down with Aster Thackery to trace the real career mechanics behind a “non-linear” path: why her Chartered Accountancy qualification travelled further than a law degree, how London changed her access to international business, and what foreign direct inve
Liswaniso Namatama, Auditing Is a Human Business
Liswaniso Namatama, Auditing Is a Human Business Apr 30, 2026 870 A global summit can feel like a once-off highlight, but for Liswaniso Namatama it becomes a turning point. I’m joined by the Lusaka-based chartered accountant and auditor to talk about what changes when you walk into a room of 2,000 young leaders and realise every person has a story of impact. The biggest lesson he brings home is disarmingly simple: you don’t need to wait for the “right time” to s
Manuel Rodrigues, Merging Commercial Success with Social Impact
Manuel Rodrigues, Merging Commercial Success with Social Impact Apr 16, 2026 1389 A rural village where income arrives once a year is hard to transform, unless you change the rhythm of cash, supply, and trust. That is what Manuel Rodrigues has been building through EDP Mozambique: a practical, for profit system that links tens of thousands of small scale farmers growing maize and soya to real buyers, then reinvests that supply into poultry so families can earn again and again r
Caitríona Jennings, From PwC to World Records
Caitríona Jennings, From PwC to World Records Apr 2, 2026 1645 A 100-mile world record time sounds like something from another planet, until you hear how Caitríona Jennings actually built it: not with superhero secrets, but with structured habits, a trained mindset, and the same calm problem-solving you’d expect from a top Chartered Accountant. Caitríona is an Irish Olympian who moved from triathlon into marathon running, qualified for the 2012 Olympics while
Nick Riemer, Embracing AI and Tech in Financial Careers
Nick Riemer, Embracing AI and Tech in Financial Careers Mar 19, 2026 1917 Online exams are meant to make learning easier, but most proctoring tools still assume perfect Wi‑Fi, constant power, and a pricey laptop. That leaves too many students behind. We sit down with Nick Riemer, a South African chartered accountant and co-founder of Invigilator App, to unpack how an offline-capable, low-data approach to remote invigilation can protect academic integrity while widening
Young Difference Makers: Laura Mason on aligning purpose and performance to ensure that profit fuels justice
Young Difference Makers: Laura Mason on aligning purpose and performance to ensure that profit fuels justice Mar 18, 2026 722 Start with what you’re good at and point it at a real problem—that’s the thread running through our conversation with Laura Mason, a chartered accountant who turns financial modelling and data analytics into public value. From multi‑billion‑pound transport contracts to net zero initiatives and social innovation tools, Laura shows how rigorous finance can deliver human outcomes people feel every da
Young Difference Makers: Excel is eating audit, and Christiaan Coetzee brought the fork!
Young Difference Makers: Excel is eating audit, and Christiaan Coetzee brought the fork! Mar 10, 2026 601 Ready to discover how a chartered accountant turns risk literacy into a founder’s edge? We sit down with Christiaan Coetzee—CEO and co‑founder of Audit Toolbar and SAICA Top 35 Under 35 overall winner—to unpack the mindset shifts and practical levers that help small firms run with the giants. Christiaan shares how starting articles straight out of high school gave him a front-row seat to hundreds

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