SAICA applauds 2017 APC graduates, announces Honours Roll

Mandi Olivier, senior executive of Professional Development at SAICA

For successful candidates, passing the APC is the final hurdle in their seven year (minimum) qualification marathon. For the country, every aspiring CA(SA) who qualifies helps to close the skills shortage gap that exists in South Africa’s finance industry.

"On behalf of SAICA, I’d like to congratulate the class of 2017! To succeed, one must work hard, be dedicated, be determined and always give the very best of oneself. By passing the APC, these 2,168 successful candidates have done just that. We look forward to watching them develop into the future business leaders of South Africa," says Mandi Olivier, senior executive of Professional Development at SAICA.

What is the APC and what does it measure?

The APC assesses a candidate’s ability to use and apply their technical knowledge in a real world context by setting tasks that entry level CAs(SA) are expected to be able to complete in the working world. Candidates become eligible to write the APC after passing the Initial Test of Competence (ITC), successfully completing an accredited professional programme and completing a minimum of 20 months in a registered training contract with a SAICA accredited training office.

For this reason, the APC, which takes the form of a written competency-based assessment, places emphasis on pervasive skills (ethics, personal attributes and professional skills) and assesses whether candidates demonstrate their professional competence through the application of their acquired skills and technical knowledge in a multi-disciplinary case study as well as assesses their behaviour during the case study period.

"While many still see 'accountants' as traditional bean counters, the role CAs play in the world of business is an ever evolving one. To this end, SAICA has continued to make changes to the focus of the CA(SA) qualification, which includes changes to the way prospective CAs are assessed. SAICA is delighted that 66% of candidates who wrote the November sitting opted in to do so via SAICA’s e-writing option – using a computer with a secure software package to 'write up' their responses to the assessment tasks. This further goes to illustrate the real life workplace environment that the assessment simulates," explains Olivier.

14 candidates honoured for their aptitude and skill

On releasing the results, Olivier also delivered a special word of congratulations to the 14 candidates who earned a place on SAICA’s prestigious APC Honours Roll*. Those candidates, in alphabetical order (by surname), are:

*SAICA’s APC Honours Roll is made up of candidates who perform exceptionally well and show the greatest insight into the way they complete the case study tasks.