The University of Pretoria (UP) has conferred an honorary Doctorate in Commerce on Terence Nombembe, a chartered accountant and leader in the public and private sector who served as Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) from 2006 to 2013.
He was also the first black South African to hold this position in the organisation’s century-long history. Nombembe received the honour at UP’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences graduation ceremony. The ceremony forms part of UP’s Autumn 2025 graduation season, which runs from 2 to 29 May and will see over 12 000 students graduate.
From 2014 to 2019, Nombembe served as Chief Executive Officer of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). In 2018 he served on the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (Zondo Commission) as Head of Investigations, until the Commission’s term ended in June 2022.
He also served on the board of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), with his term ending in 2023. In 2024 he completed his term as the Chairman of the Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council (GEAC).Throughout his career, Nombembe’s ethics, integrity, leadership, innovation and opposition to any form of corruption have guided the organisations he has served. He has often been referred to as the commercial equivalent of former Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela. He has spoken out about how corruption and wasteful expenditure affect the entire society, and particularly the poor. In his role as Auditor-General he stressed that every staff member had to be professional, honest, and combat corruption and maladministration, particularly in areas such as procurement. Under his leadership, the Office of the Auditor-General made significant strides in enhancing the effectiveness of public financial management and combating corruption.
“We should not have a situation whereby there is no knowledge of where money was spent by any government entity or department,” he said. He emphasised the need to “get the fundamentals right”, and that people should feel committed to achieving clean, accurate audits,not only in terms of financial statements but in the quality of service delivery.
Nombembe started his career in the private sector, which equipped him with invaluable experience as an accountant and both external and internal auditor. His roles in organisations such as KPMG, Unilever, Gobodo Incorporated and BP Southern Africa gave him a solid foundation in management and leadership.He has also made invaluable contributions to academia, sharing his expertise and insights with the next generation of accounting professionals. His dedication to education and mentorship has had a lasting impact on countless students, young chartered accountants and financial managers, inspiring them to strive for excellence and ethical leadership in their careers, and to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.
“South Africa is a rich mine of young, bright and talented youths. It is our task to help unearth and polish this latent talent,” he said.His own education began in Qumbu, Transkei, where he was born and raised. From a young age he pursued education with determination, attaining a BCom degree from the University of Transkei in 1982, followed by a BCompt (Hons) from the University of South Africa in 1986. He served his articles with Alex Aiken & Carter (now KPMG) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990.Currently, Nombembe serves on the boards of listed companies, including Nedbank Limited and Sibanye-Stillwater Limited; and two non-profit companies, the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) and the AfricaHealth Research Institute (AHRI).
His contributions to the accounting and auditing profession extend beyond South Africa’s borders, as evidenced by his involvement in professional bodies such as the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) and the African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI), where he served as President. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and accolades.
