At its recent Annual General Meeting (AGM), the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) elected Shafiek Dollie as chairman, while Kantha Naicker was named vice-chairman.
 
Speaking after his election, Dollie said that he was looking forward to encouraging more member participation in the organisation. “An organisation like SAIPA is all about its members, and I am committed to fostering member engagement, particularly as our new constitution is fully in place.”
 
He added that, “We have a very diverse membership, something that I see as a source of strength, and I am very much looking forward to helping to strengthen efforts to empower all our members.”
 
A born-and-bred Capetonian, Dollie has been a lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for many years. He is a Professional Accountant (SA) and holds a Bachelor Degree in Accounting Science (B.Compt) and a National Higher Diploma in Education.
 
He explains that his passion has always been focused on helping young people to make the transition from student to professional accountant. “My active involvement with SAIPA over the years has been driven by my quest to empower young people, in particular, with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed as professional accountants,” he said.
 
“Professional accountants have a great contribution to make to the country, and under my leadership I hope SAIPA will step up its efforts to help them maximise their potential.”
 
Dollie said that the SAIPA National Conference later this year will mark its 35th anniversary, and will be an opportunity for the professional accountancy community to come together to celebrate, but also to set goals for the next 35 years.
 
In welcoming the appointment of Dollie, Cindy Debete, outgoing Chairperson of the SAIPA board, said that he brought an unusual combination of academic and professional experience to the organisation: “Shafiek has spent much of his life helping young people to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to become successful professional accountants — and nobody who meets him could fail to see the enthusiasm he brings to everything he does. I believe he will be an inspirational and effective leader as SAIPA moves into its next 35 years.”
 
2016 in review
In his report, he presented at SAIPA’s AGM, Bongani Coka, the Chief Executive, said that in the last year the Institute had resuscitated its growth and transformation committee as part of the secretariat. “This means we are committed to constantly focus on ensuring our organisation and offerings to our member remain relevant and change as the economies and environment change.
 
In addition, the industry body’s membership had also grown by 6% over the last year from just over 8 400 to over 8 900.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@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

Author: Professor Rashied Small, Education, Training and Membership Executive, South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA)
 
The local accountancy industry has gained 271 new professional accountants, following the South African Institute of Professional Accountants’ (SAIPA’s) professional evaluation (PE) exam that was written in May by 363 qualifying candidates, of which 235 or almost 65% were black.
 
Out of the black candidates, 163 passed, which equates to just over 69%.
 
This translates to a 75% overall pass rate, this year the focus shifted to assessing the competence and business knowledge rather than the technical knowledge.
 
The top ten
Three of the national top ten candidates were participants in SAIPA’s competency-based training programme called Project Achiever, while seven were SAIPA trainees:
 
Cheryl Smith - Midrand
Crushaan Pieterse - Cape Town
Janus Joubert - Pretoria
Gerda Leone Bear - Midrand
Minolen Govender - Midrand
Hilda Afonso - Midrand
Sannelie Peens - North West
Bianca Treiber - Cape Town
Khatija Khan - Durban
Verna De Bod - Cape Town
 
The quality and competence of the candidates should be revered, as they demonstrated the ability of providing simple, but technically sound solutions for integrated and complex business scenarios. Congratulations to the successful candidates, and for those who did not, I want to emphasise that the lessons you have learnt form part of the road to success.
 
Transformation
Project Achiever is considered to be at the root of the increase in the pass rate of the professional evaluation exam. Geared towards advancing transformation in the professional accounting industry, the programme is a joint initiative by SAIPA and the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset).  The programme yield four candidates in the top 10 for the May 2017 exam, including the 2nd best candidates
 
To date, four groups have attended the Project Achiever program, totaling 577 candidates achieving pass rates between 74% and 89%.
 
The importance of competency-based training in the work environment
 
Many professionals will agree that there is a big difference between academic learning and successfully applying the knowledge in the work environment.
 
Competency-based training, which is the foundation of Project Achiever, is developed to assist candidates with the integration of academic knowledge with the softer skills required to build a successful career where the market require “thinking professional accountants”.
 
These skills include communication (both written and verbal), problem solving skills, and critical thinking.  Soft skills are not generally focused on during academic programmes, but they are crucial in the workplace.
 
SAIPA’s competency-based training programmes
 
The Project Achiever programme involves training on Saturdays over a period of 12 weeks prior to the professional evaluation exam.
 
For students who don’t have access to the major centres where face-to-face training is provided, an online version of the Project Achiever training programme was launched earlier this year.
 
The training is not subject-based, focussing instead on guiding the candidates in scenarios where they should apply their knowledge in an integrated manner to come up with the best possible solutions to business problems.  Candidates will be guided in how to use the required soft skills like communication with clients, colleagues, and employers, decision making, team-working skills, creativity and problem solving skills and time management.
 
In addition to the competency-based training, the candidates are also provided with guidance in exam technique.  In the past, this was only provided in the face-to-face sessions, but webinars will be integrated into the online course to provide online candidates with the same assistance to pass the professional evaluation exam.
 
Objectives of SAIPA’s competency-based training
 
The competency-based training’s most important objective is to ensure the candidates are competent to perform the duties and responsibilities of professional accountant in terms of international benchmarks.
 
The training aims to develop the applicants to apply their academic knowledge, not rigidly, but in a manner that enables them to come up with solutions to problems they might have to deal with in their coming career.
 
The training also aims to teach candidates how to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams.
 
Career prospects for candidates
 
Although all candidates are employed when they come onto the programme, their success in job offers and promotions are significant because of the soft skills and cognitive skills developed during the programme.
 
Some examples are (a) candidates being promoted to Deputy Director posts in the public sector; (b) candidates receiving employment offers where their salaries are tripled; (c) candidates being promoted to senior positions in accounting practices; (d) candidates being offered junior partnerships in practices; (e) candidates successfully establishing their own practices.  

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@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 South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) broadly supports the move to underpin a proposed repositioning of the Department of Home Affairs via new anchoring legislation. The Department recently gazetted a discussion paper for public comment by 30 September 2017.
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However, SAIPA Technical Executive Faith Ngwenya says that two important areas warrant closer investigation and deeper discussion.

“The Home Affairs mandate to manage and secure identity has always been vital, and is especially critical in the Digital Age, when people transact online and populations are extremely mobile. SAIPA thus supports the repositioning process, and the broad vision as sketched in the discussion paper,” Ngwenya explains. “However, we do feel that a more cautious approach is warranted when it comes to the funding strategy. We also want to express some reservations about the proposed strategy of cadre formation.”

Ngwenya says that the move to reposition the Department and enact anchoring legislation should be seen in the context of a long process to create a robust identity custodian for democratic South Africa. A turnaround programme was followed by the huge effort needed to support the World Cup in 2010. Since 2012, a modernisation programme has sought to replace legacy systems with an automated, secure environment managed by professionals. It is complemented by the Moetapele Programme, aimed at improving processes and service delivery via better training of officials.

Enable to deliver
With these fundamentals in place, the repositioning programme is envisaged as a step change to enable the Department to deliver on its mandate, and to reposition itself as a foundational building block of national economic development and security. It will provide an integrated legislative framework that governs the Department’s work, and addresses key issues like funding, security, systems and capacity.

All of this costs money, and the discussion document proposes that the Department begins to charge for providing biometric identity checks to organisations requiring them. Examples would be banks and telcos complying with FICA/RICA requirements, airlines verifying passenger identity, the social grant system verifying recipient identity, and educational institutions verifying students for registration and when accessing facilities.

“There is little doubt that these costs would be passed on to consumers, and we think that could have negative implications on the poor,” Ngwenya comments. “These services will boost the economy, and thus the tax base; they will also ensure that state services are not improperly accessed, reducing fraud. The fiscus will benefit, and we would argue the fiscus should pay for the repositioning.”

Possible threat and cadre formation
A second caveat is the proposed cadre formation to create a staff with “the same patriotic, service-oriented and security-conscious outlook in terms of their responsibilities and purpose”.

“As currently formulated, the cadre-formation process could be open to abuse, and could be used to build a Department whose primary loyalty is to the ruling party,” Ngwenya comments. “We would support the creation of a cadre that is service-oriented and professional but it is essential that it is also highly ethical as well, and this should be made clear in the document.”

ENDS
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@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

Author: Zobuzwe Ngobese, Marketing & Communications Executive,
South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA)
 
The growth of a country, and an organisation, not only hinges on strategic goals and long-term vision, but on the youth that will one day populate its halls.  The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) recognises the importance of investing in the next generation of accountants and has launched a new student membership platform to support students as they move through university and into careers as professional accountants.
 
To ensure growth and sustainability, it is important to think about the future pipeline and engage with up and coming accountants while they are still at university. Our student membership has been designed to introduce students to the profession so they can grow to understand the landscape, be exposed to what happens in the profession and, most importantly, not have to wait until they qualify to experience the benefits of belonging to a professional body.
 
SAIPA’s student membership has been structured with student needs and limitations in mind. As many are not earning their own income or salary, the fee has been made extremely accessible at only R100 per year. It allows them a full range of membership benefits alongside additional value-added partnerships which have been included specifically for the student market.
 
It is a significant difference in price from the full membership fee paid by a qualified Professional Accountant (SA) which is R5,000 per annum, while still adding immense value to their personal and professional development.
 
The right exposure
Students taking advantage of the SAIPA student membership will be exposed to accounting firms that are looking for trainees, giving them opportunities for networking that would have been previously unavailable to them. Many professional members are accountants in practice and often look for article clerks or trainees to do articles, providing students with a chance to flex their skills and grow their portfolios. To become a Professional Accountant (SA), candidates first have to complete a Bachelor of Commerce degree, or equivalent, followed by three years of articles and then they have to write and pass the Professional Evaluation examination.
 
Our student membership also allows students to attend some of our prestigious events, such as the annual SAIPA Budget Breakfast where experts analyse the national budget. They can go to these events for free and use them as opportunities to network and be exposed to many potential employers.
 
SAIPA student members will receive copies of the two accounting magazines that are sent to full members as part of their membership package. They outline the latest trends in the accountancy profession, from both a local and global perspective and give students some much-needed insight into the profession.  Then, to add even more value, SAIPA has engaged with various external partners and companies to round off its student offering.
 
If you are a SAIPA member, you get a discount when you purchase your prescribed Juta textbooks from selected retailers. These is just one of the partners we have on board at the moment and we are currently engaging with other organisations to add to our student membership as we move forward.
 
Leading the way
We are not aware of any other professional body that is offering student membership at this time so, as far as we are concerned, we are breaking new ground by welcoming students into our fold so early on in their careers. It is a hugely progressive step that will ensure our profession grows sustainably by encouraging students to expand their skills and networks.
 
To introduce students to the SAIPA offering, representatives of the organisation will be visiting various campuses around the country. Those students that are interested in joining will be automatically added to the student membership database and, once they pay the R100 fee, will become members of the organisation.
 
Students interested in joining SAIPA can contact SAIPA directly to facilitate the process by emailing: studentmember@saipa.co.za
 
By introducing this student membership, we are educating students on how broad the accountancy profession can be and that becoming a chartered accountant is not the only option. Students have responded incredibly well to what we are offering and we look forward to welcoming them to our organisation.
 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@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