Transformation: success is in results
• Such is the rate of transformation, for the first time the number of African first-time candidates exceeded that of white candidates, writes Penny Haw
While, at 74%, the overall pass rate of the January 2018 Initial Test of Competence (ITC) exam is consistent with the results of recent years, it tells another, arguably more important, story.
The results, says the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica), reveal that significant progress has been made in the chartered accountancy profession’s quest for racial and gender transformation.
On March 23 2018, Saica announced that 2,220 of the aspiring 3,012 chartered accountants (CAs[SA]) who sat the 2018 January ITC examination passed. The significance of this is that, such is the rate of transformation, for the first time the number of African first-time candidates writing the ITC exceeded that of white candidates. Moreover, says senior executive: professional development at Saica, Mandi Olivier, with 60% of the candidates attempting the exam for the first time being African, Coloured and Indian, the proportion of black firsttime candidates has increased from 56% in 2017.
Saica’s drivers for transforming the demographics of the profession are the Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund (TEUF), established in 2002 to provide, among others, academic support and career awareness to high school pupils; and the Thuthuka Bursary Fund (TBF), established in 2005, which helps African and Coloured pupils from disadvantaged communities study towards the CA(SA) qualification at 10 partner universities around the country.
“When analysing the results of all the ITC candidates, including repeats, out of the 1,255 African and 188 Coloured candidates who sat for the January exam, more than a quarter were funded by Saica’s TBF,” says Olivier. “These candidates achieved a 76% pass rate, which is higher than the national average. This illustrates how successful the time, effort and funding the profession directs into the TBF have been in yielding positive results.”
Included in Saica’s drive to promote transformation via Thuthuka is its capacity building initiatives at SA’s six historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs) including the recently accredited Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and University of Zululand (UniZulu).
To date four of the six HDIs have had their undergraduate BCom degrees accredited by Saica. These programmes have not only provided educational support for African students to enter the chartered accountancy profession, but also academic skills development to lecturers at the HDIs. With both WSU and UniZulu’s ITC candidates achieving a 92% pass rate in the January ITC exam, Saica is, says Olivier, proving the success of its capacity building programme and showing that, with support systems in place, the quality of education at these HDIs can be as good as other institutions.
The January 2018 ITC sitting also saw the greatest number of first-time candidates sitting for and passing the exam since Saica changed the qualifying examination process in 2014 (3,012 in January 2018 versus 2,633 in January 2017). Of the 3,012 candidates who wrote this exam, 2,709 wrote for the first time. This is an increase of just over 500 students (24%) from January 2017.
Saica’s membership numbers elucidate the progress in transformation in recent years. In 2017, total CA(SA) membership for the year grew 19% compared to 2012. Of this growth, African membership grew by 102%. Olivier says the increase in racial representation over this time is significant because, with qualification taking a minimum of seven years, it was only in 2012 that the first cohort of TBF beneficiaries qualified as CAs(SA). Since then, more than 1,000 CAs(SA) have qualified thanks to Thuthuka.
“We acknowledge that as a profession, we have a long way to go to in transforming our overall membership body. This will take many years given that it takes at least seven years to qualify as a CA(SA),” she says.
Saica is, continues Olivier, also encouraged to see that the profession’s gender imbalances are also changing: “Our current membership statistics reveal that one in three qualified CAs(SA) are women, yet just over half (54%) of the ITC January exam population was female,” she says.
“Since women make up just over half of the country’s total ITC population, this means that the profession is getting closer to reflecting the country’s true gender demographics.”
WITH SUPPORT IN PLACE, THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION AT THESE HDIs CAN BE AS GOOD AS OTHER INSTITUTIONS