The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) intends to fundamentally
re-imagine the way the accountancy profession is perceived, developed and utilised.
 
This was announced at an online media briefing presented by Shahied Daniels, the Institute’s Chief Executive, on Thursday, 3 September.
 
“We have begun thinking differently about what accountancy is and needs to be in a world marked by advanced technological capabilities and extreme socio-economic conditions,” he said.
 
Daniels outlined how SAIPA will approach these requirements.
 
Ethics
Daniels said that in the 18 years since the Arthur Andersen and Enron incident, and in the wake of other major accounting scandals since, the profession has come under increasing public scrutiny. Accountants are expected to be ethical flag bearers, by providing quality information used to make business decisions which impacts the socio-economic well-being of people, and SAIPA’s objective is to regain the public trust.
 
“Adding additional regulations to existing regulations has proven ineffective, because regulations seldom change behaviour which drives ethical and professional conduct” he said. Rather, it is critical that ethics is continuously reinforced through regular training, awareness and professional bodies holding their members accountable.
 
SAIPA has therefore made ethics a compulsory part of its continuous professional development (CPD) programmes, aligning with SAQA’s current professional accreditation criteria. In addition, SAIPA members must now confirm their commitment to ethical conduct by signing an annual pledge.
 
4IR
SAIPA acknowledges that the accountancy profession is being radically re-imagined by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and plans to prepare its members accordingly.
 
“SAIPA will ensure its members rapidly transition from merely performing mechanical and repetitive tasks to become value creators and to be seen as trusted strategic business advisors by their clients and employers,” said Daniels
 
SAIPA’s premier designation, Professional Accountant (SA), will become a fusion of human competencies and digital capabilities to facilitate effective and ethical decision-making, he said. It would also expand into auxiliary services that extract greater value from accounting data.
 
This means they must acquire new skillsets, such as digital proficiency, data literacy, critical thinking, and strategic assessment of business development initiatives.
 
SAIPA’s response
To improve secondary and tertiary accountancy education, SAIPA is developing an educational roadmap and curriculum that embraces data science, data analytics and digital proficiency as essential competencies for the profession.
 
SAIPA has also grown its National Accounting and Maths Olympiad competition to encourage school leavers to shift their focus from memorisation to cognitive development.
 
Further, the Institute has established a Centre of Future Excellence (CoFE) to ensure its competency framework aligns with an increasingly digital world, both in and beyond 4IR.
 
Small-to-medium accounting practices often build value by collaborating with non-accountants. To assist them, SAIPA has established the Centre of Business Advisory (CoBA) where non-accountants who meet its professional requirements can become affiliate members.
 
According to Daniels, the Institute’s long-running Project Achiever programme, which prepares candidates for its Professional Evaluation, and is funded by the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset), has received much attention for its lasting effects on broader proficiencies and soft skills.
 
Conclusion
Daniels said SAIPA’s initiatives are critical to ensuring the profession is prepared for a digital-driven future.
 
“They will also enable it to evolve its value proposition and service offerings for demands in business and society by creating value,” he said.
 
The date of the briefing was significant in that it marks the 14th anniversary of the Institute’s historic name change to depict the role SAIPA has been fulfilling in the profession over the past 38 years.
 

The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) invites all universities to enter their Tax & Accounting Thesis competition, by submitting the top three completed thesis/dissertations for 2017/2018 in fulfilment of the Honours, Masters or Doctoral degrees in either accounting or taxation on or before 30 June 2018.
 
“The competition is aimed at promoting good research in accounting and taxation by rewarding candidates whose thesis/dissertation have been selected through an adjudication process as the best in their degree level,” said SAIPA’s Technical and Standards Services Executive Faith Ngwenya.
 
Requirements

• The candidates should have successfully completed their relevant degree; however, it is not a requirement that they should have graduated;
• The thesis/dissertation should only be in English;
• Entries for the Honours and the Masters should only be sent by the university;
• The entry for Doctoral thesis could either be directly submitted by the candidates themselves or by the university.

 
SAIPA reserves the right to verify with the university the eligibility of the candidate.
 
Adjudication process
All thesis/dissertations that have been submitted will be marked by a panel of experts in line with an agreed rubric. Each paper will be marked by at least two independent markers and further independently moderated.
 
Ngwenya points out that the submitted thesis/dissertations will only be used for the competition and will not be published otherwise.
 
There will be one winner in each of the degree levels for accountancy and taxation. Altogether, six winners will be awarded prizes as follows:
 
Doctoral degree winners                             R20 000   
Master’s degree winners                             R15 000    
Honours degree winners                              R10 000   
 
Electronic copies of the thesis/dissertation must be emailed to: thesis@saipa.co.za.
 
The winning thesis/dissertations will be announced at the SAIPA Top Achievers Awards 2018 ceremony no later than 31 August 2018.

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: Ragiema Thokan-Mahomed. Legal, Ethics and Compliance Executive, South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA)
 
The 12th to 18th of November is International Fraud Awareness Week, an initiative established to educate the public on the threat of fraud and ways of combating it. It’s therefore a good time for professional accountants and business people alike to take pause and consider what role they can play in driving fraud from the market.

New NOCLAR standard
However, fraud is only one element of corruption. A bigger war is being waged against what has become known in the accounting industry as NOCLAR (Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations). The threat is so real that the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) created a new standard called Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations to address the issue.
 
The standard, which became effective on 15 July 2017 and is the result of six years of labour, will be integrated into the organisation’s globally-recognised Handbook of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Several existing clauses in the Code have been amended to accommodate its provisions.

Memorandum of understanding
In light of such developments, the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), in collaboration with other regulating bodies for the accounting industry, is working to develop a memorandum of understanding to enable greater cooperation between these parties to fight NOCLAR. As one of the few internationally recognised professional accountancy organisations, SAIPA has taken the lead in pioneering a solution that will work for everyone.
 
While the final terms of the memorandum must still be established, several suggestions have been put forward. For example, member information of each body is and always will be protected as required by law and will never be shared between them. However, where members have been found guilty of gross misconduct related to NOCLAR or any deviant behaviour within their professional body, we look to acknowledge the recommendation of participating Institutes and act as guardians for the profession to keep unethical practitioners out.
 
This record will be available to other regulators, allowing them to determine if an applicant for their own designation is still in fact associated with that professional body. This would be an effective response in cases where, for instance, a discredited accountant attempts to carry on business under an alternative designation or uses a deceased practitioner’s membership number as their own.
 
It will also be important to investigate the principles and processes each body applies to combat corruption within its ranks. Where these are determined to be sound, consensus will be sought on how to make them universally applicable or to adapt them for the collective good.
 
SAIPA believes that cooperation and communication between regulators is the only way to provide robust defense against NOCLAR and promote the main goal of the Code of Ethics, which is always to protect the public interest. This interest extends to upstanding accountants who adhere to the principles of ethical conduct, organisations and individuals who administer their affairs honestly, and the reputation of the profession itself. It is in this spirit that the memorandum will be drawn up and made effective.

The accountant’s role
It’s also vital that professional accountants know and understand the Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations standard, which was developed for three reasons. Firstly, it makes provision for disclosing potential NOCLAR to public authorities, where appropriate, without breaching client confidentiality.
 
Secondly, it arms the accountant with better alternatives than simply resigning from a matter without NOCLAR issues being resolved. Thirdly, it provides direct guidance on how to respond to potential NOCLAR in various contexts, allowing the practitioner to act with confidence when approaching these difficult situations.
 
While the standard was created to enhance ethical conduct, and offer protection to stakeholders and the general public, it also gives the professional accountant the freedom to play a significant role in the global fight against NOCLAR. It is therefore the duty of all practitioners to know what steps to follow and when to act if corruption is detected, and SAIPA encourages them to familiarise themselves with its requirements.
 
The concerted and cooperative efforts of the various professional bodies in South Africa and guidance provided by the new standard will provide a robust defence against NOCLAR. It is SAIPA’s vision that, by working together, we will hold the name of the profession high and continue to fulfil our obligation to the public good.
 
Photo caption: Ragiema Thokan-Mahomed

​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