The School of Accounting Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) has once again distinguished itself as an indisputable leader in its field with the recent announcement by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) that the school’s Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Accountancy has been accredited for the purposes of SAICA’s Associate General Accountant [AGA(SA)] designation.

The NWU is one of only two universities to receive this accreditation from SAICA in 2023, with the accredited programmes being the Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Accountancy and the Extended Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Accountancy.

The role of an AGA(SA) is officially described as that of enhancing, driving and measuring organisational value thanks to their broad, future-focused, multi-disciplinary approach to driving operational performance.

According to Professor Heleen Janse van Vuuren CA(SA), director of the School of Accounting Sciences at the NWU, the AGA(SA) designation is recognised professionally for equipping members with the professional values, attitudes and abilities and technical competencies that enable them to drive operational efficiency and quality in the value-creating process, thus enhancing organisational value.

After the completion of an extensive formal accreditation process, Mr Robert Zwane, SAICA’s executive director for Learning, Development and National Imperatives, said that SAICA is confident that the programme at the NWU met the formal regulatory accreditation requirements of the Department of Higher Education and Training and that the NWU has the “appropriate resources to deliver high-quality programmes at the required standard and quality to meet SAICA’s requirements for the AGA(SA) designation”.

Prof Janse van Vuuren concluded by saying: “This accreditation by SAICA is an exciting one for the university, as it provides our BCom Financial Accountancy students with another opportunity to obtain a professional designation from a globally recognised professional body. We believe that the quality of our programmes, together with this opportunity to pursue the AGA(SA) qualification, will ensure that our students are well-equipped to fulfil their prospective roles in the industry.”