The North-West University (NWU) continues to deliver chartered accounting students of the highest calibre, as is evident from the recently released results of the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia (ICAN), which was written in January.
In total, 99% of the NWU’s SAICA candidates passed the ITC exam, which is – percentage-wise – the second highest of the 18 participating institutions in the country. In addition, 100% of the NWU’s ICAN candidates passed the exam. This is considerably higher than the national pass rate of 75%.
Ten more NWU candidates passed the exam in 2023 than in 2022.
The NWU delivered three candidates who formed part of the SAICA top 10, who all passed the examination with honours (distinction). They are Peter Geeringh (2nd), Carla van Staden (joint 5th) and Susanna Huyser (joint 8th).
Overall, the NWU delivered 17 SAICA candidates who passed with honours. Of the more than 3 000 candidates who wrote the exams in the country, only 65 passed with honours. The NWU also produced two of the top five ICAN candidates, with both passing with distinction.
“I am extremely proud of these excellent results, but allow me first of all to congratulate our chartered accounting class of 2022 with their outstanding performance. Their continued hard work and dedication to their studies paid off, and I hope that they will always strive for excellence in their future endeavours. This would also not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of our lecturers, who all share a passion for our students and the profession,” says Heleen Janse van Vuuren, director of the School of Accounting Sciences at the NWU’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.
Janse van Vuuren ascribes the success of the School of Accounting Sciences to the standards they set for themselves: “We pride ourselves that our programmes are of an excellent quality and our staff are very committed to facilitating our students through their academic journey. We regularly evaluate our programmes to ensure that the outcomes remain relevant and of a high standard. We also enjoy the support of our NWU management, who ensure that we create a conducive environment for our staff and students to flourish.”
According to her, South Africa is in dire need of economic growth and this is an area in which chartered accountants are invaluable.
“Without growth, the current unemployment rate as well as the other financial difficulties our country faces will remain a challenge. To assist with this, accountants are critical to our economy to help make important financial decisions, such as investing in new projects, determining profitability, and helping businesses to identify areas of improvement and cost-cutting in order to improve their financial performance.”
This is just one of the many ways in which the NWU is contributing to building a better future for all South Africans.
