Following a clear rise in interest in the South African Institute of Professional Accountants’ (SAIPA’s) National Accounting Olympiad (NAO) last year, the institute has again invited entries from Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners that are currently taking Accounting as a school subject, and who wish to follow a B.COM degree as further study.
 
The entries will officially close on 25 April 2018 with no limit on the number of entries per school and a registration fee of R50 per learner. However, it will be free for any learner from a no-fee school.
 
Zobuzwe Ngobese, Marketing and Business Development Executive at SAIPA notes that since the competition’s inception in 2002, the Institute had opened it to Grade 11 pupils for the first time last year.
 
The aim with the Olympiad is to make Accounting a subject of choice for learners and to expose them as early as possible to the Accountancy profession. SAIPA also invests substantially in positioning the NAO to provide learners with a foot in the door with future employers.
 
“We want to reach even more schools to make the subject of accounting popular again because our economy needs more accountants in order to grow,” Ngobese adds.
 
Competition schedule
The first-round exam paper of the 2018 competition is scheduled for 16 May 2018at the learners’ respective schools. All learners who qualify for the final round will be invited to participate on 1 August 2018. The final round will determine the top provincial and national winners.
 
The top performers, as well as their teachers and schools will receive great prizes of which more information will be communicated at a later stage.
 
Ngobese further points out that SAIPA plans to open the Olympiad to pupils from Grade 10 to Grade 12 in the future. He says in many instances pupils have already made their career decisions when they reach their final school year.
 
For more information on the National Accounting Olympiad, or to request an entry form, please send email to saipa@proverto.co.za, or visit the SAIPA website https://www.saipa.co.za/saipa-national-accounting-olympiad-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

Juanè Cronje from Die Hoërskool DF Malan in the Western Cape secured the number one spot in the Grade 12 division of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA’s) 2017 National Accounting Olympiad with a score of 92.5%.
 
With the differences being very little between the top learners, Adam Melnick from Yeshiva College in Gauteng came in at second place with 92%, followed by Philip Visagè from Huguenot High School in the Western Cape who achieved 90.5% and secured third place. Special mention also has to made of Lenasia Muslim School in Gauteng’s Sara Seleh who scored 90%.
 
“I want to thank SAIPA for investing in advancing accountancy at school level, we learnt a lot with this competition and really enjoyed it”, said Juanè after being announced the top student in this year’s competition at a Gala Awards evening in Johannesburg on 10 October.
 
This year SAIPA opened the competition to Grade 11 pupils for the first time since its inception in 2002, with Deandre De Meyer of Stellenberg High School in the Western Cape, achieving first place with a mark of 96%, followed by Sean Scorer from Amanzimtoti High School in KwaZulu-Natal and Nabeel Fazluddin from King Edward VII School in Gauteng, in a joint second place with 94%. The third place was also shared by Alet Muller from Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof in the Western Cape and Felicia Makondo of EPP Mhinga Secondary School in Limpopo both with a score of 92%.
 
Gauteng had the most schools participating in the Olympiad, accounting for 145 of the 390 schools that took part.
 
There has been a marked increase in the number of schools and learners participating in this year’s National Accounting Olympiad due to a growing interest in the Accountancy Profession as well as massive awareness drive initiated by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), says Zobuzwe Ngobese, Marketing and Business Development Executive at SAIPA.
 
“The increase from 310 to 390 schools and 3510 to 7069 learners is quite encouraging and is also due to the fact that in 2017 we introduced the Olympiad to grade 11 for the first time. Next year we want to reach even more schools to make the subject of accounting popular again because our economy needs more accountants in order to grow,” he says.
 
Performance indicators
The competition is divided into two rounds and Grade 11 pupils had to achieve a score of 60% or more to advance to the second round and Grade 12 pupils had to score 65% or more to qualify for writing the second paper.
 
The top performers received, among others, bursaries valued between R10 000 and R35 000 in school/university fees.
 
“This year the bursary is subject to the recipients pursuing studies in the Accountancy profession. The main aim with the competition is to grow the numbers in the profession,” remarks Ngobese.
 
Future expansion
Ngobese notes that part of SAIPA’s future strategy is to open the Olympiad to pupils from Grade 10 to Grade 12. “If we can expose pupils as early as possible to Accountancy as a profession the more likely it is that they will choose it as their career path.”
 
Accounting is a critical skill and with the threat of Mathematics no longer being compulsory at high school, the numbers may start dwindling, says Ngobese.
 
PHOTO CAPTION: Grade 12 winners - Adam Melnick, Juane Cronje, Sara Seleh and Philip Visagè.

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

There has been a marked increased in the number of schools and learners participating in this year’s National Accounting Olympiad due to a growing interest in the Accountancy Profession as well as massive awareness drive initiated by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), says Zobuzwe Ngobese, Marketing and Business Development Executive at SAIPA.
 
“The increase from 310 to 390 schools and 3510 to 7069 learners is quite encouraging and is also due to the fact that in 2017 we introduced the Olympiad to grade 11 for the first time. Next year we want to reach even more schools to make the subject of accounting popular again because our economy needs more accountants in order to grow,” he says.
 
The top four Grade 12 learners nationally, in no specific order, are Adam Melnick from Yeshiva College in Gauteng, Juanè Cronjè from Die Hoërskool DF Malan in the Western Cape, Philip Visagè from Hugenote High School also in the Western Cape and Sara Saleh of Lenasia Muslim School in Gauteng.
 
Gauteng had the most schools participating in the Olympiad, accounting for 145 of the 390 schools that took part.
 
SAIPA has this year opened the competition to Grade 11 pupils for the first time since the inception of the competition in 2002, with the top five national candidates in this division, in no specific order, being Alet Muller from Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof in the Western Cape, Deandre De Meyer of Stellenberg High School located in the Western Cape, Felicia Makondo of EPP Mhinga Secondary School in Limpopo, Nabeel Fazluddin from King Edward VII School in Gauteng and Sean Scorer from Amanzimtoti High School          in KwaZulu-Natal.
 
On October 10th, SAIPA will be announcing the Grade 11 and Grade 12 winners at a Gala Awards evening in Johannesburg.
 
Broadening the scope
In addition to including Grade 11 pupils in the competition, SAIPA has also partnered with Gauteng with Future Forward, which specialises in developing youth orientated intervention programs. The institute’s regional administrators have this year purposefully targeted additional schools in their areas.
 
The aim with the Olympiad, which is open to pupils studying Accountancy or Mathematics in private and public schools, is to make Accounting a subject of choice for learners and to expose them as early as possible to the Accountancy profession, says Ngobese.
 
Performance indicators
The competition is divided into two rounds and Grade 11 pupils had to achieve a score of 60% or more to advance to the second round and Grade 12 pupils had to score 65% or more to qualify for writing the second paper.
 
Out of the 1 750 learners in Grade 11, 255 progressed to the second round and 1 095 out of 5 319 in Grade 12 went on to write the second paper. The overall result for the 5 319 learners in Grade 12 shows that the majority – 2 495 learners - scored 40% or more.
 
In the case of Grade 11 pupils, only 14.5% of the 1 750 pupils scored 60% or more in the final round. The majority – 955 pupils – scored 40% or more.
 
The top performers will receive a bursary, valued between R10 000 and R25 000, which is paid to the tertiary institution of their choice.
 
“This year the bursary is subject to the recipients pursuing studies in the Accountancy profession. The main aim with the competition is to grow the numbers in the profession,” remarks Ngobese.
 
Maintaining high standards
Ngobese says both papers in the competition have been moderated. “They are challenging, but doable,” he says, adding that the results of the Grade 11 pupils are a reflection of the fact that this is the first time they have been exposed to the competition.
 
“We are confident that the results will improve. The Grade 12 pupils have had access to a study guide, compiled by SAIPA, with past examination papers. The Grade 11 pupils will have access to that in the Olympiads going forward.”
 
Ngobese notes that part of SAIPA’s future strategy is to open the Olympiad to pupils from Grade 10 to Grade 12. He says in many instances pupils have already made their career decisions when they reach their final school year.
 
“If we can expose pupils as early as possible to Accountancy as a profession the more likely it is that they will choose it as their career path.”
 
Accounting is a critical skill and with the threat of Mathematics no longer being compulsory at high school, the numbers may start dwindling, says Ngobese.

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 future bodes well for the South African accountancy profession as the top six learners achieved an average of more than 90% at the National Accounting Olympiad run by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). Interestingly, the six came from four different provinces with the top pupil coming from KwaZulu Natal.
 
Muza­ar Ahmed Malani from the Orient Islamic School in Durban, achieved the highest score, followed by Rhulani Ndlala from Merensky High School in Tzaneen and Simonè Balt from Hoërskool Linden, in Johannesburg. 
 
“As the South African Institute of Professional Accountants we are pleased with the results of the National Accounting Olympiad because they continue to show that there are pockets of excellence in our schools and that public schools continue to perform on par with private schools. This is an encouraging sign for the future of the Accountancy profession,” says Bongani Coka, the Chief Executive at SAIPA.
 
The top three learners were followed by three learners who scored the same mark, namely;
 
- Liam Roubach from De Kuilen High School in Cape Town.
- Husnaa Motala, a pupil at Westville Girls High School, in Westville.
- Raadiyyah Seedat from the Lenasia Muslim School in Lenasia. 
The annual Olympiad is open to all Grade 12 pupils in public and private schools studying Accountancy or Mathematics and aims to increase awareness among them of the importance of accounting to the South African economy, as well as the range of career opportunities available to them.
 
The competition consists of two rounds, each consisting of a two-hour examination. The first round of 2016, written in May, saw 3510 pupils from 310 schools competing. A total of 980 learners, consisting of the top three learners in every region, qualified to enter the second round that took place on 27 July. 
 
“One of our key strategic objectives as the South African Institute of Professional Accountants is grow and transform the industry and the NAO provides us one of the platforms to do this in a sustainable way by investing in young talent. Next year we aim to raise the bar in terms of the number of high school students that we touch with the Olympiad and as such we will revamp the format to encourage more participation and we will work more closely with the Department of Basic Education,” adds Coka.
 
The final round required candidates to deal with calculations, case studies, scenarios, financial statements, recording and posting procedures and more.
 
Zobuzwe Ngobese Marketing and Communication Executive at SAIPA says those who achieved 65% or more during the first round of the Olympiad and qualified for the second round also received a printed exam study guide sponsored by Sage One, which also provided learners with valuable career and bursary information.
 
“The exam guide is curriculum based and will therefore help learners to prepare for their matric accountancy exams later in the year. More importantly, as SAIPA we have been using the results of the Olympiad to also assist the poor performing schools because we do not only focus on those learners who have done well – our members who are professional accountants – have been using their time to provide extra classes to the struggling learners,” explains Ngobese.
 
The competition has been running since 2002, with SAIPA’s focus being to provide papers and literature that can be used by all South African students, including those for whom English is a second language. It is an approach designed to lead to the abstract, higher order thinking required to solve problems – exactly the kind of issues accountants face in real life.
 
The national and provincial winners will be honoured at a formal National Gala Awards Evening on the 12th of October.

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: Bongani Coka, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants
 
Nelson Mandela was clear that the purpose of living was to make a difference in the lives of others and driving positive change in the country is the best way to truly honor his legacy.
Against this backdrop I want to motivate South African business, our members and the country’s citizens at large to give serious thought as to how they want to mark 18 July.
 
In my view, we can best achieve this by looking at what the national imperatives are and then consider how we can use our special skills to further those imperatives. By taking this approach, our individual efforts are multiplied by the work others are doing, and we are using our limited resources most intelligently.
 
The first point of call should be to interrogate the National Development Plan (NDP) and the information put out by Stats SA. That way, companies and individuals can see what the key levers for driving social change are. The vital second step is to look at how to bring one’s particular skills to bear on the identified challenges.
 
Passing on skills
For Professional Accountants, the decision is relatively easy. Maths and Accounting are generally recognised to be critical in creating a vibrant economy—but the educational system remains unable to produce them. In 2015, for example 140 474 pupils wrote Accounting and only 59.6 percent of them were able to achieve a score of 30 percent or above.
 
Surely we should be directing our efforts towards growing the pipeline of talented young people who choose accounting as a career. By passing on skills or even inspiring a young person to take a particular path, we can change his or her life and contribute to the country’s transformation. This is a better use of an accountant’s time than, say, painting a school, I believe.
 
For this reason, donating time is inherently more valuable over the long term than money or things, important as these are. Thus, for example, a Professional Accountant could consider delivering a lecture or course of lectures to learners at a particular school, and leaving behind a set of notes or some software for educator to use.
 
Further, I’d like to encourage members of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) to look beyond just one day, and treat 18 July to 17 August 2016 as Mandela Month to create opportunities for more ambitious projects that might include some mentoring as well.
 
Carefully thought-out initiatives can help improve BEE scores but, even more importantly, they can improve the image of the profession within the broader community. This has many positive benefits—it will help to increase the number of people wanting to enter that profession, and it will also serve to strengthen its “social licence” by demonstrating that it acknowledges its responsibilities to the broader stakeholder community.
 
Let’s use Mandela Day or, even better, Mandela Month, as a way to share our professional skills in the most effective way to drive lasting, wide-reaching and sustainable social change. Mandela was not just a man of words—he was an action man who wanted results. That’s the best way to honour his memory.
 
National Accounting Olympiad
One of SAIPA’s initiatives include its annual National Accounting Olympiad, which aims to make Accounting a preferred subject 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.
 
Teachers are encouraged to invite Grade 12 accounting learners who wish to follow a B.COM degree in Accounting as further study to enter for the competition
 
The first round of the 2016 competition is scheduled for May 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. The final round will determine provincial and national winners in two streams: government and private schools.

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 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

Uitenhage learner Sumaiya Moses from Uitenhage High School in the Eastern Cape came out tops in the recent SAIPA | ABASA National Accounting Olympiad. Moses is the top female performer in the category for government schools. Run by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), in conjunction with the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of SA (ABASA), the Olympiad is an annual competition that aims to raise greater awareness of becoming a Professional Accountant (SA) as a career choice.

Moses achieved a score of 92.44%, putting her slightly behind fellow government school top performer, Tshepo Phuti Moloto from Pax College in Mashashane, Limpopo, who achieved 92.88%. The top private school performers were Ismaeel Kaka from Pretoria’s Azaadville Muslim School and Dineo Mojapelo from Liberty Community College in Bramley, who scored 88% and 88.88% respectively.

“Winning has made me believe that through hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything,” said Moses, who also credits her teacher, Phillip Joseph, for much of her success.
 
“Mr Joseph is one of the most dedicated teachers I have ever known, always going the extra mile and ensuring that we attend all available accounting programmes, ‘ she said. “If it was not for his constant support and encouragement, I would not have achieved this honour.”

Explaining why he encouraged his students to enter the Olympiad, Joseph says: “I realised that our learners need to be assessed much more. Twelve of the 15 learners decided to enter and most of them paid their own monies.”
 
Regarding the secret to their success, he says: “Whenever there is an opportunity, we do a lot of informal activities and we also ensure that they attend additional classes at the Nelson Mandela University.”

 “In addition to the outstanding results of this year’s top performers, we as SAIPA and ABASA are delighted with the overall performance of the many thousands of learners who took part in this year’s competition,” said Navin Lalsab, Accreditation, Compliance and Development Executive for SAIPA.

As part of the Olympiad, all entrants are given study guides that help the learners in their schoolwork and preparation for final examinations. “Learners who perform well in Accounting are more likely to pursue it as a career option, so part of our aim is to ensure that they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for their exams,” said Lalsab.

“Given the scarcity of those who’re qualified as Professional Accountant (SA) and the importance of mathematics and accounting, SAIPA and ABASA commit to continuing, through the Olympiad, to promote professional accountancy as an attractive option for school leavers.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Sumayia Moses received her award at the SAIPA | ABASA NAO Gala Awards Evening

ENDS
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@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

Limpopo learner Tshepo Phuti Moloto from Pax College in Mashashane, came out tops in the recent SAIPA | ABASA National Accounting Olympiad. Moloto is the top male performer in the category for government schools. Run by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), in conjunction with the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of SA (ABASA), the Olympiad is an annual competition that aims to raise greater awareness of becoming a Professional Accountant (SA) as a career choice.

Moloto achieved a score of 92.88%, putting him slightly ahead of fellow government school top female performer, Sumaiya Moses from Uitenhage High School in the Eastern Cape who achieved 92.44%. The top private school performers were Ismaeel Kaka from Pretoria’s Azaadville Muslim School and Dineo Mojapelo from Liberty Community College in Bramley, who scored 88% and 88.88% respectively.

“Never did I think that I could ever be among the best,” said Moloto of his score of nearly 93%. “It has made me believe that if one puts effort into one’s studies, one can become a success. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of greater things to come.”

Moloto credits his teacher, Mr LP Ledwaba, for much of his success: “He has always had faith in me and has been guiding me throughout the year,” he said. “It is because of his guidance and my efforts that I am able to produce good results. I always aimed at 70s in my subjects, but since he came along I no longer limit myself.  It is without doubt that Mr Ledwaba is the best and most inspiring teacher I could ever have wished for.”

“I believe that success comes through self-sacrifice, perseverance, decisiveness, and proper planning, hard work, spiritual and emotional intelligence,” said Ledwaba. “The quality of the fruit a person produces depends on the amount of effort put into preparing the ground. That’s why I encourage learners to make use of all the opportunities given to them, working with different material including textbooks and question papers.”

“As a teacher, God have given me the opportunity to plant a seed in someone’s life.  I strive for the good fruit and I always enjoy seeing my learners counted amongst the very best.”

“In addition to the outstanding results of this year’s top performers, we as SAIPA and ABASA are delighted with the overall performance of the many thousands of learners who took part in this year’s competition,” said Navin Lalsab, Accreditation, Compliance and Development Executive for SAIPA.

As part of the Olympiad, all entrants are given study guides that help the learners in their schoolwork and preparation for final examinations. “Learners who perform well in Accounting are more likely to pursue it as a career option, so part of our aim is to ensure that they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for their exams,” said Lalsab.

“Given the scarcity of those who’re qualified as Professional Accountant (SA) and the importance of mathematics and accounting, SAIPA and ABASA commit to continuing, through the Olympiad, to promote professional accountancy as an attractive option for school leavers.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Tshepo Phuti Moloto received his award at the SAIPA | ABASA NAO Gala Awards Evening

ENDS
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@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

Johannesburg student, Dineo Mojapelo from Liberty Community College in Bramley, came out tops in the recent SAIPA | ABASA National Accounting Olympiad.  Majapelo is the top female performer in the category for independent schools. The Olympiad, run by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), in conjunction with the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of South Africa (ABASA) is an annual competition that aims to raise greater awareness of becoming a Professional Accountant (SA) as a career choice.

Mojapelo achieved a score of 88.88%, putting her on a par with fellow Gauteng private school top male performer, Ismaeel Kaka from Pretoria’s Azaadville Muslim School, and slightly behind government school performers Phuti Tshepo Moloto From Pax College in Mashashane, Limpopo, who scored 92.88% and Sumaiya Moses from Uitenhage High School in the Eastern Cape who achieved 92.44%.

“There is a perception that Olympiads are challenging,” said Mojapelo. “Well that is exactly what I wanted - a challenge - and the National Accounting Olympiad was simply a perfect platform for me to prove I can do it! Winning has given me a lot of courage. Now I feel like a different person, I have self-confidence and I believe more in my abilities.”

Mojapelo ascribes much of her success to her teacher, Precious Phida, who realised early on that she needed to be exposed to new challenges. “I said to her two years ago: ‘Dineo, in Grade 12 I want you to register and win the Olympiad.’ It was so prophetic!” he said.

Phida’s classroom approach hinges on the belief that all his learners are exceptionally gifted in some way and that his role is to boost their confidence and make them believe that they can achieve anything they want to as long as they apply themselves fully.

Describing her teacher’s input into her life, Mojapelo says: “A week does not go by without me receiving a motivational talk from Mr Phida. He propels me to work to the best of my abilities. Knowing that he believes in me makes me to want to achieve more.”

“In addition to the outstanding results of this year’s top performers, we as SAIPA and ABASA are delighted with the overall performance of the many thousands of learners who took part in this year’s competition,” said Navin Lalsab, Accreditation, Compliance and Development Executive for SAIPA.

As part of the Olympiad, all entrants are given study guides that help the learners in their schoolwork and preparation for final examinations. “Learners who perform well in Accounting are more likely to pursue it as a career option, so part of our aim is to ensure that they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for their exams,” said Lalsab.

“Given the scarcity of those who’re qualified as Professional Accountant (SA) and the importance of mathematics and accounting, SAIPA and ABASA commit to continuing, through the Olympiad, to promote professional accountancy as an attractive option for school leavers.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Dineo Mojapelo received her award at the SAIPA | ABASA NAO Gala Awards Evening


ENDS
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@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

Pretoria student, Ismaeel Kaka from Azaadville Muslim School in Azaadville, Pretoria, came out tops in the recent SAIPA | ABASA National Accounting Olympiad. Kaka is the top male performer in the category for independent schools. The Olympiad, run by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants, in conjunction with the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of South Africa (ABASA) is an annual competition that aims to raise greater awareness of becoming a Professional Accountant (SA) as a career choice.

Kaka achieved a score of 88%, putting him on a par with fellow Gauteng independent school top female performer, Dineo Nicoline Mojapelo from Liberty Community College in Bramley, Johannesburg, and slightly behind government school performers Phuti Tshepo Moloto From Pax College in Mashashane, Limpopo, who scored 92.88% and Sumaiya Moses from Uitenhage High School in the Eastern Cape who achieved 92.44%.

“Winning this Olympiad has shown me that I can achieve great things with the help of God and those around me,” said Grade 12 learner Kaka. “My accounting teacher, Tasneem Ismail, has put a lot of effort into teaching us accounting. I cannot forget the impact that my parents and all of my teachers have had on my life.”

A long-time supporter of the Olympiad, Kaka’s teacher Tasneem Ismail says she found the experience of taking part in the Olympiad is very beneficial to learners. “I therefore encourage my learners to be part of this. It takes a lot of motivation during the first round to actually get learners to take on this opportunity but it is all worthwhile in the end,” Kaka said. 

On what she did to help produce a top performer like Kaka, she says: “In my classroom I try to develop a good work ethic. I ensure that the classroom time is used optimally and there is constant application of learnt knowledge. That’s why, from an application perspective, the Olympiad is such an important thing for learners to take part in.”

“In addition to the outstanding results of our top performers, we are delighted with the overall performance of the many thousands of learners who took part in this year’s competition,” said Navin Lalsab, Accreditation, Compliance and Development Executive for SAIPA. 

As part of the Olympiad, all entrants are given study guides that help the learners in their schoolwork and preparation for final examinations. “Learners who perform well in Accounting are more likely to pursue it as a career option, so part of our aim is to ensure that they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for their exams,” said Lalsab.

“Given the scarcity of those who’re qualified as Professional Accountant (SA) and the importance of mathematics and accounting, SAIPA and ABASA commit to continuing, through the Olympiad, to promote professional accountancy as an attractive option for school leavers.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Ismaeel Kaka received his award at the SAIPA | ABASA NAO Gala Awards Evening


ENDS
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