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IAEA Profile: Balancing Numbers and Dreams – A Career in Finance and Accounting

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Carmen Kibonge is the Unit Head of Accounting at the IAEA. (Photo: A. Barber Huescar/IAEA)

The IAEA profiles employees to provide insight into the variety of career paths that support the Agency’s mission of Atoms for Peace and Development and to inspire and encourage readers, particularly women, to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or STEM-adjacent fields. Read more profiles of women at the IAEA.      

Hailing from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Carmen Kibonge has taken a path shaped by a passion for numbers, a supportive family and a commitment to make a difference, which eventually led her to the IAEA.  

Kibonge was raised in a family that encouraged educational aspirations for both girls and boys, which is not always the case in her central African home country, where economic constraints often lead families to prioritize the education of boys. “In my family, it was expected that a girl would go to school. I know I was privileged, and I really appreciated the access to education,” she reflects. She was also inspired by her mother, an HR manager who was one of the few women in her community to pursue higher education.  

From an early age, Kibonge was captivated by mathematics and loved “cracking numbers”. Because of her mental arithmetic skills, her nickname at school was Ordi, after the French word for computer. But maths was not part of her original career aspirations. When she contemplated her future, a desire to help others and the work of international organizations in low and middle income countries like her own led her to consider a career in medicine. Her dream of becoming a paediatrician, however, shifted when she was confronted with the sight of blood in biology class. Nevertheless, the seed of wanting to work internationally had been planted. "I wanted to help people, not just in my country, but globally," she says.  

Kibonge decided to pursue higher education in Austria, motivated by stories from friends who had lived there, as well as her love of classical music. Following her passion for numbers, she enrolled at the University of Vienna to study business administration with a focus on finance and accounting. Meanwhile, she supported herself by giving maths lessons.  

The move to Vienna was not without its challenges, as Kibonge had to first learn German before starting her degree programme. She dedicated the first two semesters to intensive language study. “Those early days in Vienna were really challenging, but I really put my mind to it,” she recalls. “If you really want something, you can manage it.” Living in the city of classical music had its upsides though, and she often attended performances at the opera and philharmonic, impressed by how accessible they were even for students of modest means.  

Multinational to international experience

After completing her undergraduate studies, Kibonge moved to France for a master’s degree in business administration. She later embarked on her first job as a financial auditor at a multinational accounting firm. However, her aspiration to help others remained, and this drove her to explore job opportunities in the UN system. “I wanted to give back, to do something that felt meaningful,” she explains.  

This led to her first role in the international system as a programme and budget officer at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in Vienna. At CTBTO, she found a sense of purpose that aligned with her aspirations. “I really appreciated the opportunity to be part of an organization dedicated to global good, rather than profit,” she asserts.  

In 2009, she joined the IAEA as a financial auditor in the Office of Internal Oversight Services, where she reviewed financial processes impacted by the introduction of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), which align financial reporting at intergovernmental organizations with global standards in the private sector. Kibonge then returned to CTBTO, where she also worked on the implementation of IPSAS and later took on the role of head of payroll and payments. “The transition to IPSAS was important, as standardizing financial reports facilitates decision making for Member States,” she notes. 

Kibonge returned to the IAEA in 2021 to lead the accounting unit in the Division of Budget and Finance. Her team is responsible for producing the IAEA annual financial statements, which publicly report the Agency’s financial performance across all programmes, promoting transparency, accountability and trust that resources are being used responsibly. One of her priorities has been to drive improvements in efficiency and productivity through automation. She proudly notes that, with the support of colleagues in the Division of Information Technology, processing times for certain financial reports have been reduced by nearly 70 per cent. Her current focus is a project to centralize the IAEA’s financial process documentation to enhance knowledge management. 

Personal and professional balance

Throughout her career, Kibonge has been inspired by many role models, including a senior colleague from whom she learned about achieving a balance between professional excellence and family life. “She was brilliant at her job and also a very good mom. It showed me that it’s possible to excel in both areas,” Kibonge recalls. 

Kibonge’s advice to young people, especially girls and young women from backgrounds similar to hers, is to work hard and persevere. “If I could talk to my younger self, I would tell her not to give up and to continue to work hard for your dreams.” She emphasizes that there are many pathways to making a difference and that organizations like the IAEA offer diverse occupations and opportunities.  

“You can help people in many different ways. The IAEA offers a range of roles that my younger self didn’t know existed. There are many different paths,” she concludes. 

The IAEA’s commitment to gender equality 

The IAEA is committed to gender equality and to supporting the ability of all individuals, regardless of gender, to equally contribute to and benefit from its programmes and activities. To this end, the IAEA strives to achieve gender balance in the Secretariat and to implement gender mainstreaming in its programmes and activities.     

Additionally, the IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme supports the next generation of women nuclear professionals by offering scholarships for master’s degrees in nuclear-related fields, and  the Lise Meitner Programme offers early- and mid-career women multiweek training visits to nuclear facilities.     

Read more about the IAEA’s work on gender equality, and apply for vacancies, internships or career pipelines.   

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