The entries for the SAIPA National Accounting Olympiad will officially close on the 4th of May 2016, leaving schools that have not yet entered a window of 6 working days, says Zobuzwe Ngobese, Marketing and Communications Executive at SAIPA, the South African Institute of Professional Accountants.

“Teachers are encouraged to invite Grade 12 accounting learners who wish to follow a B.COM degree as further study to enter for the competition. Entries are open until 4 May 2016 and a registration fee of R50 per learner applies. There is no limit on the number of entries per school, and schools not able to pay the registration fee are invited to send a motivation letter for consideration. Entry forms as well as information on sponsorship opportunities can be requested from saipa@proverto.co.za,” he says

Great careers start long before learners finish their schooling. Participating in events that show abilities not tested in prescribed curriculum is therefore of utmost importance.

These types of events also provide learners with an additional foot in the door with future employers. It is for this reason that the SAIPA invests substantially in its annual National Accounting Olympiad.

The first round of the 2016 competition is scheduled for 18 May 2016 at the learners’ respective schools. All learners who qualify for the final round will be invited to participate in the final round on 27 July 2016. The final round will determine provincial and national winners in two streams: government and private schools.

The logistics of managing this national competition can be daunting in terms of ensuring that everything runs smoothly. SAIPA has been using the services of Proverto, Educational Publishers, to manage the logistics of the National Accounting Olympiad.

The aim of the SAIPA National Accounting Olympiad is to make Accounting as a subject a preferred choice to all students, and to promote the option of professional accountancy as a sound choice for further study and the pathway towards a financially and personally rewarding entry into employment.

“The SAIPA National Accounting Olympiad 2015 was a great success with the winners excelling on many levels and walking away with valuable prizes. In 2016 the competition will generate provincial and national winners to whom prizes will be awarded during a formal Gala Awards evening towards the end of the year. We always endeavour to keep track of the winners’ progress throughout their tertiary education to ensure that our intervention is continuous and sustainable and not just a once-off event,” concludes Ngobese.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, juanita@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants

The leaking of information relating to secret offshore accounts and companies from the files of a Panamanian law firm—now known as the Panama Papers—has already occupied many column inches in the media, mostly focusing on the famous names implicated. The assumption is that anybody who is named in the Papers is culpable in some way but that’s not necessarily the case, says Ettiene Retief, chairperson of the National Tax and SARS Stakeholders Committee at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA).

“Having offshore accounts, funds or companies is not in and of itself illegal, provided the correct taxes are being paid and properly disclosed, all necessary permissions have been obtained from the Reserve Bank or similar regulations,” says Retief.

“The real implication of this leak, which comes on the heels of the HSBC Swiss leak  last year, is that secrecy pertaining to your financial affairs is increasingly elusive. More than ever, individuals and companies need to assume that their financial affairs are going to come under scrutiny. Leaks will continue to occur and, more important still, revenue authorities around the world are sharing information about taxpayers. In today’s digital, connected world, information access is the great leveller.”

The Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters, also known as the Common Reporting Standard, was endorsed by the G20 in 2014. South Africa is one of a group of early adopters of this Standard, which means that from 2017, SARS will be sharing information about accounts held in its jurisdiction by foreign nationals, and receiving similar information about accounts held by South Africans overseas. Ninety-six countries have committed to implement this information-sharing framework. South Africa has already concluded information sharing agreements with many other jurisdictions.

Information sharing between governments in this manner, says Retief, will make it increasingly difficult to avoid scrutiny by tax authorities. And even if information about questionable transactions is successfully hidden, the greater prevalence of leaks makes such information increasingly vulnerable.

Retief notes that while structuring one’s financial affairs to avoid paying excessive tax is perfectly legal (within the letter of the law), trying to evade paying tax is both illegal and unethical, and in some cases even fraud. The trouble is that offshore accounts and companies shrouded in anonymity and complexity lend themselves to tax evasion, either by individuals seeking to hide money from the tax authorities, to harder ill-gotten gains, terrorist activities, or by companies seeking to reduce the corporate tax they are due to pay.

Corporate tax evasion via base erosion and profit shifting has become a particular concern over the past several years, and has seen several high-profile corporates revealed to have been paying very low taxes through the use of tax havens and complex multi-national structures. Retief explains that this is done by routing transactions through shell companies located in various jurisdictions with favourable tax regimes, or jurisdictions that have strong secrecy, and in some cases little to no disclosure required in those jurisdictions. In each jurisdiction, high charges are made for non-existent services, or greatly inflated values are levied in order to reduce the ultimate profit reflected in the country where the transaction actually took place, and where it should properly be taxed.

Great ingenuity is used to make these routes as meandering as possible in order to make obtaining proof hard, which is why confidential accounts and anonymous companies are so popular.

“The tax authorities can deem this kind of financial manoeuvring to be tax evasion if nothing of value is added within each jurisdiction or where there is a lack of economic substance—but they first have to know that the activity is going on. Getting the information is critical,” says Retief. “That’s why the real significance of the Panama Papers is that information is increasingly hard to conceal. One should structure one’s financial and tax affairs accordingly. There are many legitimate reasons why companies and individuals would like to have offshore accounts and companies, but their confidentiality is no longer guaranteed.”

The Minister of Finance introduced a voluntary disclosure program that will be initiated later this year to allow individuals and companies to come-clean with regards tax and exchange control contraventions.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, juanita@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants

South Africa is richer by 457 professional accountants. The results from the latest professional evaluation exam regulated by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) indicates that a record 91% of applicants passed and subsequently earned the designation of Professional Accountant (SA).

Rashied Small – Education, Training and Membership Executive of SAIPA – said the record result was due in large part to the Project Achiever intervention funded by the Financial & Accounting Sector Education and Training Authority (FASSET).

“Project Achiever was implemented for the first time during August 2015 in preparation for the professional evaluation examination written in November 2015,” explained Small. “The Project was implemented as part of the transformation strategy of SAIPA and therefore targeted Black African candidates. SAIPA however provided an opportunity to its total constituency by funding 20 candidates who did not meet the fund requirement.”

According to Small, 90% of the total candidates who registered for Project Achiever were unsuccessful in attempting the professional evaluation examination previously. A large proportion of the candidates attempted the examination more than once and gave up their goal of earning the Professional Accountant (SA) designation.

“Through the intervention 107 out of 129 candidates – approximately 83% – now managed to qualify as a Professional Accountant (SA),” said Small. “The Project increased the number of Black African candidates writing the examination from an average of 24% over the past 10 years to 37% for the November 2015 examination.”

Part of the premise of Project Achiever was to prepare the candidates for a more competency-based assessment, as recommended by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). To achieve this, SAIPA commenced with the phasing in of application based assessments incorporating practical and real live case studies and scenarios. The focus of the assessment also shifted from computations and recall of theoretical knowledge to discussion based questions. This took the form of providing advice and contextualising the theoretical framework, and integrating questions combining the core academic knowledge areas into a case study.

“The benefit for future employers or clients of the shift towards competency-based assessments place greater emphasis on the thinking and analytical skills of the Professional Accountant (SA),” said Small. “The employer or client will benefit sooner from the combined competence and expertise of the Professional Accountant (SA) beyond the preparation of financial statements for compliance purposes.”

The top ten candidates for this examination were:
1    Deloshnie Govender, Midrand, Bcompt, UNISA
2    Nhlanhla Mkhonza, Midrand, University of Limpopo
3    Eduard Nel, Cape Town, Bcompt, UNISA
4    Vicki Jacobs, Potchefstroom, NWU
5    Garry Rademan, Durban, Bcompt, UNISA
6    Yasheen Singh, Durban, Bcom, UNISA
7    Susanna Maritz, Pretoria, Mcom Taxation, UP
8    Vaughn Healy, Bloemfontein, Bcom, UOFS
9    Liezl Richter, Potchefstroom, Bcom Chartered Acc, NWU
10  Christa van der Walt, Pretoria, Bcom Inv, UP

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, juanita@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants