“As accountants, we believe that the heartbeat of any organisation is the finance department, so I treat it as such”.
So says Pieter Willem Erasmus, newly appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bergrivier Municipality, who assumed office on 1 February.
He said if the finance department does not execute its functions properly it will limit the municipality’s funds to do the work, as stated in Section 152 & 153 in the Constitution of South Africa. “My role as head of department is to provide the necessary financial guidance and support to the other directorates and, in so doing, make a difference in the communities we serve. It brings me great joy to assist officials to drive service delivery to exceptional standards.”
The 41-year-old was born in Cape Town, but moved to Merweville in the Central Karoo, where he grew up and lived for most of his life.
He obtained a B-Tech degree in internal auditing from Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in 2006. A year later Erasmus began working for PFK South Africa, an audit firm in Cape Town, where he gained three years’ experience in its tax department.
He later moved to a different department at the firm to hone his craft in external auditing and soon after completed his articles through the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica). Erasmus is currently enrolled for an honours degree in public administration at Stellenbosch University, and his main goal is to obtain a master’s in this area.
In 2013, for personal reasons, he had to leave Cape Town and move back to his home town, Merweville, to support his family in their farming operations. Erasmus then started working for a locally-based consulting firm while co-managing the farm until March 2017. Later that year he landed a job at Prince Albert Municipality as the first accountant in its Budget and Treasury Office, which led to its first-ever clean audit.
In 2020, Erasmus became Chief Financial Officer at Living Lands, a non-profit organisation, which specialises in farming activities in the Baviaanskloof and Langkloof areas. “Its biggest contributor of donations was in the Netherlands, and I really enjoyed the collaboration between the sponsors and farmers. I realised that my passion, other than farming, resided in the public sector.”
In March 2022, he became Chief Financial Officer at Prince Albert Municipality at age 39, but his chapter in the Central Karoo came to an end two years later, after accepting the present opportunity at Bergrivier Municipality.
Erasmus still enjoys being part of a farming community, and his first priority is, and will always be, his family. Outside his busy schedule he loves spending quality time with his wife and two daughters. “I grew up on a farm so I regard myself as being fortunate to remain active in the sector. I enjoy being active because I find it as a stress reliever.”
Bergrivier Municipality wishes Erasmus the best of luck in his new position as Chief Financial Officer.
