The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) recently announced its latest Project Achiever Extended Programme, which runs from 11 November 2017 to 28 April 2018. The initiative is designed to prepare candidates for the SAIPA Professional Evaluation exam, allowing them to become a Professional Accountant (SA).
 
The course builds on the success of the Institute’s original Project Achiever programme, but strives to make SAIPA’s professional designation accessible to a wider set of applicants. “We acknowledged that a large number of students study accounting through universities of technology,” reports Professor Rashied Small, Executive: Education and-, Training for SAIPA. “By opening up this opportunity to them, we can bolster the accounting ranks in South Africa.”
 
The Extended Programme improves on Project Achiever in a number of ways. The entry requirements for the latter included an NQF Level 7 degree, as well as three years of learnership or 6 years of work experience or completion of a training programme with another accredited professional accounting body. The new requirements remain the same except that candidates only need an NQF Level 6 diploma. However, they must pass an entry assessment to prove their ability to meet SAIPA’s high standard of competency.
 
The new programme is also longer, held over five months instead of three like its predecessor, and focuses more on soft skills development, like planning, time management, reading, critical thinking, reporting and analysis, in addition to the usual technical abilities.

Empowerment drive
Like Project Achiever, candidates of black African descent, or coloured African descent from the Western and Northern Cape regions only, are fully funded by FASSET (Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority). Other applicants may attend the course at a cost of R4000. Professor Small notes that SAIPA is the first professional body to offer such a programme in the Northern Cape, with 100 people from that area attending. “Of the 490 attendees, about 400 are fully funded, so it bodes well for our empowerment goals,” he says.
 
“We found that Extended Programme attendees fared far better in their Professional Evaluation exams than those who did not participate or even Project Achiever graduates,” observes Small. He attributes their success to the greater focus on soft skills and the longer time they had to develop them in combination with technical competencies.
 
Of the total number of 680 candidate who wrote the November 2017 Professional Evaluation assessment 561 were classified as being competent.  210 of the total number of candidates who wrote 201 were Project Achiever attendees with a pass rate of 83% and 250 were Extended Programme attendees with a pass rate of 90%. The pass rate for non-attendees was around 77%.

The top 10 scoring candidates comprised four from the Extended Programme and two from Project Achiever.
 
SAIPA’s Project Achiever Extended Programme was developed to make a career in accounting more accessible to a greater number of people while maintaining the quality and standards of the qualification and designation, and offer a better chance of passing the Professional Evaluation exam the first time. “And, thanks to our partnership with FASSET,” concludes Small, “SAIPA can contribute positively to the transformation agenda for the industry.”

November Professional Evaluation results

The November PE exam, which was written by 680 qualifying applicants, yielded 561 new professional accountants.
 
Two of the top 10 candidates were from the Project Achiever initiative and four from the Project Achiever Extended Programme.
 
The top ten candidates for this examination were:
Ranking            Name                                  Region

1                         Singh Ashrika                    Durban

2                         Snyman Riette                  Midrand

3                         Steyn Lente                       Bloemfontein

4                        Boshoff Christelle             Midrand

5                       Skosana Mehluli Qaba       Midrand

6                        Wayiza Nomakorinte         Durban

7                        Oleastro Maria                   Midrand

8                        Snyders Tracey-Lee            Upington

9                        Nieuwenhuizen Alana        Bloemfontein

10                      Bux Ridhwana                     Durban

 
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

South Africa is richer by 282 professional accountants, according to results released by SAIPA – the South African Institute of Professional Accountants – from the latest professional evaluation exam written by 328 qualifying candidates.
 
“Prior to writing the exam, candidates need to prove compliance to a strict set of academic and practical requirements,” said Rashied Small, Education, Training and Membership Executive of SAIPA. “Passing the professional evaluation exam is the final requirement for earning the designation of Professional Accountant (SA).”
 
The designation is one of the few authorised by SARS to provide services as a tax practitioner. A professional accountant can also perform numerous functions and issue reports in terms of the Companies Act, Close Corporations Act, and Micro lending industry regulations, Sectional Titles Act, Non-Profit Organisations Act, and Schools Act.
 
The professional evaluation examination was aligned with the International Education Standards 6 (IES 6) Assessments, with an emphasis on the principles of competency-based assessment. 
 
“The benefit for future employers or clients is that they will benefit sooner from the combined competence and expertise of the Professional Accountant (SA) beyond the preparation of financial statements for compliance purposes,” explained Small.
 
 Those who passed the professional evaluation examination were tested on the application of technical knowledge, cognitive skills with the focus on analysis and synthesis, and attributes or soft-skills with greater emphasis on analytical reading skills, critical thinking skills, and writing skills.
 
Small also extended a word of special congratulations to Nadia Gouws and Stephanie Williams, the candidates that achieved the two top scores. Both Gouws and Williams were part of the Project Achiever intervention funded by the Financial & Accounting Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset).
 
The Project Achiever joint venture was initiated in 2015 to address the question of transformation in the financial services industry by providing the assistance where it is most needed – among black professionals. The initiative is funded in majority by Fasset – one of the 21 Seta’s that have been established by the South African government in terms of the Skills Development Act, in order to helps bridge the skills gap, particularly the gap between having a qualification and building a successful professional career.
 
Four of the top 10 candidates were from the Project Achiever initiative.
 
The top ten candidates for this examination were:

Ranking         First name                     Region
1                     Nadia Gouws                Midrand
2                     Stephanie Williams      Cape Town
3                     Travis Hofman              Pretoria
4                     Sean Reynolds              Pretoria
5                     Benjamin van Coller     Bloemfontein
6                     Stacy van Eyk                Port Elizabeth
7                     Aradhna Deepchund     Durban
8                     Maarten Potgieter         Bloemfontein
9                     Daniel Strachan             Pretoria
10                   Wisdom Zimuto             Midrand

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