South African Institute of Chartered Accountants - South African Designations - CA (SA) - The Chartered Accountant

The Chartered Accountant

See also Chartered Accountant: South Africa

Members of SAICA are entitled to use CA(SA) designation after their names. The designation is associated with someone who has considerable expertise in the theory and practice of accountancy. The requirements for qualification as a Chartered Accountant are:

• Education:
  • Obtain a Bachelor of Accounting (B.Acc/B.Acc.Sci/B.Rek/B.Compt), or a specialised Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Business Science recognised for this purpose.
  • Obtain an additional postgraduate Honours degree or postgraduate diploma in Accounting.
  • Obtain a "Certificate in the Theory of Accounting" (CTA) in conjunction with the postgraduate qualification (only awarded if all courses are passed in one sitting).

• Completion of a three year training contract ("internship") selecting either of two routes:
  • Training Inside Public Practice ("TIPP"): "Articles" with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), a firm of Chartered Accountants in public practice (such as Deloitte, PKF, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, or Ernst & Young);
  • Training Outside Public Practice ("TOPP"): "Articles" with an Approved Training Organisation (ATO) in commerce and industry, typically at a large bank or corporate (excludes practice as an auditor).

• Pass, in sequence, the two "board examinations" set by the IRBA. The Qualifying Examination (QE) has two parts, and the second may only be written after passing Part 1 and after the candidate has undergone at least 18 months' training:
  • the first in accountancy, auditing, tax and financial management;
  • the second in auditing for TIPP candidates, and in financial management for TOPP candidates.