• “As a country, we can only succeed if we adhere to the principles of transparency and accountability. Accounting professionals are the counterbalance to corruption.” – Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, Principal and Vice-Chancellor.
• “It is our duty to ensure that we deliver enough accounting professionals of the highest quality, with the ethical and leadership frameworks to stem the tide of corruption.” – Prof. Tyobeka.
Chartered accountancy (CA) students from the North-West University (NWU) have delivered an outstanding performance in the January 2026 Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC), achieving a 97% pass rate compared to the national average of 65%.
The results, released on Friday, 10 April by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the Namibian Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAN), also saw 100% of NWU’s ICAN candidates pass. In addition, 95% of NWU’s African, Coloured and Indian (ACI) SAICA candidates were successful.
In total, 122 NWU candidates passed the SAICA and ICAN exams. The January 2026 IAC also reflects SAICA’s new CA of the Future Competency Framework, which emphasises digital capability, integrated thinking and real-world decision-making to prepare candidates for a rapidly evolving profession.
“Although I am extremely proud of the outstanding achievements of our staff and students, we remain humble and never rest on our laurels based on past success. We approach each year’s cohort as if it were our first, with the same level of focus and commitment in preparing them for the CA examinations,” said Prof. Heleen Janse van Vuuren, director of the NWU’s School of Accounting Sciences.
Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU, congratulated the university’s chartered accountancy students, as well as academic staff of the School of Accounting Sciences, saying: “Through your commitment to this vital field, you are changing the course of history and perceptions about the capabilities and abilities of students in accounting. Our country needs qualified chartered accountants more than ever. We are constantly confronted with news reports of financial mismanagement in all spheres of our society that hamper our economic growth and enrich a select few while the majority of our people suffer.
“We can stop this with rigorous, qualified oversight. As a country, we can only succeed if we adhere to the principles of transparency and accountability. Accounting professionals are the counterbalance to corruption. We can only move forward if the numbers add up, so there is an immense responsibility not only on their shoulders, but on ours as public universities as well.
“It is our duty to ensure that we deliver enough accounting professionals of the highest quality, with the ethical and leadership frameworks to stem the tide of corruption, and in this regard I am immensely proud of the work being done by our Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, our School of Accounting Sciences and our students. This is where change happens; this is where we make a difference.”
