Dr. Susan Sundai Charowedza-Muzorewa

Dr. Susan Sundai Charowedza-Muzorewa is a tenured Associate Professor of Accounting at Delaware State University, USA. She holds a PhD in Business Administration (Accounting) from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. She is a CPA (inactive), certified by the state of Pennsylvania. Her research interests are in Financial Reporting, Earnings Management, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance and Sustainable Economic Development. She has published articles in Journal of Business and Behavioral Science, Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Review of Accounting and Finance, Journal of Business, Economics and Technology. Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Muzorewa worked in the industry as an Accountant, an Auditor, a Market Researcher and as a Management Consultant in the economic development area. She sits on the boards of several companies. Dr. Muzorewa is actively involved in empowering members of her community.

If you recall, what influenced your decision to become a member of the International Atlantic Economic Society?

Sustainable economic development has always been an area of interest in my research agenda. Being an accountant made it somewhat difficult for me to be fully engaged in economics research. I like being a member of the International Atlantic Economic Society because the society provides a platform that allows economists and non-economists to communicate. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to fare among economists, I am comfortable at accounting conferences. I had a wonderful time at the IAES 2023 Philadelphia conference. I felt welcome, I was encouraged, and I received valuable feedback from the participants including from distinguished economists. I have learned a lot from interacting with economists on this platform. I am now pursuing an area that interests me and that’s why I decided to join the IAES. I look forward to attending future conferences.

What types of projects/research are you currently working on and what inspired/motivated you to pursue these interests?

The increasing level of poverty in Africa contrasted with the economic growth in other parts of the world is what motivates me to pursue this type of research. Growing up I wanted to become an economist. Economics was the major that I declared when I enrolled in college. However, accounting was much much easier for me so I switched to accounting and minored in economics. Working as a consultant on poverty alleviation projects funded by The World Bank, The UN, USAID and other European countries reignited my interest in economics. This also exposed me to a variety of tools that can be employed to alleviate poverty. I believe sustainable economic development and poverty eradication is achievable. Some of the tools involve training managers and entrepreneurs and providing technical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The literature notes that 90% of businesses worldwide are SMEs making them major contributors to the economic growth of their countries through job creation. The cutting-edge resources and programs used for economic growth are often not available to the SMEs in developing countries. Access to finance, for example, is still very limited due to the costs associated with providing financing to the SMEs. Thus, there is need to design and implement new and disruptive ideas and business models to enable meaningful access to the resources needed for sustainable economic growth.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering entering your line of work/field of study?

I would advise anyone to find their true passion and follow it. Sometimes you make this discovery after studying a different discipline. Do not confine yourself to the studied discipline. Be brave enough to transition to your passion. However, you need to get a true intellectual mastery of the area of your passion which may mean going back to school. This will allow you to leverage a skill set and passion to make a meaningful contribution to society. I think this is an exciting time for personal growth in international economics and business. The barriers to entry to so many opportunities have been lowered, opening up areas for creativity in building practical sustainable business models in every society. There are so many tools out there and so many areas where the systems are broken. That presents opportunities for remodeling. One should actively seek seasoned mentors in the area of interest who will provide advise on how to navigate the field.

Going forward, what other projects/research are you planning to or hoping to pursue?

My interests are now focused on sustainable economic development, and I will continue to work in that area. Education and information are key to sustainable development as well. Areas of business education and training are some of the areas I am planning to work on.

What’s your favorite hobby?

I have many interests. I am an avid reader whose favorite genres have changed as I progressed through life. Once upon a time, I loved crime and mysteries, then moved on to romance, then classics and biographies. Currently, I am on “peoples’ stories”, self -help books and business magazines. Thank God for Audibles, as I am now able to read and listen to more books than I have been able to do in recent years. I also enjoy flower gardening and travel.