UKZN Claims Top Spot in SAICA's Accounting Examination

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The School of Accounting, Economics and Finance continues to excel in the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examination as they have scored an outstanding  87% pass rate surpassing  the national pass rate of 76% and putting them in a tie for fifth  place out of 14 Universities. The ITC is one of the prerequisites for registration as a prospective Chartered Accountant CA(SA) after successful completion of the B Com Accounting degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (PGDA) or an Honours Degree in Accounting from a tertiary institution accredited by SAICA.

The test which was taken in January is the first part of two rigorous external examinations that accounting graduates have to pass in order to qualify as chartered accountants. UKZN’s performance in the ITC exam, remains on an upward trajectory as the final year pass rate increased from 36% in 2012 to 39% in 2013 and to 59% in 2014.

The School’s Coordinator of Accounting Programmes, Professor Philip Stegen said they are pleased with the results as they reflect that the various interventions which have been adopted by the Accounting Lecturers to improve the throughputs by ensuring that students are adequately prepared for the board exam, are yielding results.

‘These results represent the efforts of all the Accounting Academics who have implemented the various interventions and put in additional interventions to improve the throughputs, improve the standards and adequately prepare students for the board exams. There is no doubt that the final year students are much better prepared now than in previous years,’ said Stegen

When it comes to the numbers of students writing the board exam, UKZN is the seventh highest but a lot smaller than some of the other bigger Universities.

Stegen congratulated the Managerial Accounting and Finance  (MAF) Academics as the UKZN students writing the board exam got the highest overall average mark in the country in the MAF question, the UKZN students were placed third highest in the Auditing question and in the financial  accounting question they were above the national average in one question and below in the other.

‘The final year lecturers were a bit nervous about the SAICA results, but the outcome confirms that the improvement in the final year results in 2014, reflected a general improvement in the preparedness of the final year students. The various interventions which had been implemented over the years by all the Accounting Lecturers resulted in better prepared and more competent students who could pass the ITC. SAICA prescribe a 70% pass rate for the two ITC exams set each year, so UKZN has  exceeded that target safely in only the first ITC board exam,’ he said.

Ms Mandi Olivier, SAICA’s Senior Executive responsible for Professional Development, congratulated all candidates who have passed their ITC examination in the first of the two 2015 sittings.

She points out that passing the ITC is not the final requirement for qualifying as a CA(SA). Candidates can only qualify as CAs(SA) and become members of SAICA once they have successfully passed the ITC; completed the training contract requirements; completed a professional programme; and successfully passed the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC).

Thandiwe Jumo