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29 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba
Michelle de Lange
Michelle de Lange was placed fourth in the world in the Chartered Global Management Accountant exams.

A letter from the Vice-President of Examinations at the Association for International Certified Professional Accountants, Stephen Flatman, reads: “The Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Examination Board has determined the highest achievers at this level and I am pleased to inform you that you have obtained fourth position in the world for the May 2019 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Gateway Exam.” The letter was addressed to Michelle de Lange, lecturer at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) School of Accountancy.

This achievement in the tough Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) examination is a step in the right direction for De Lange who has been tasked with assisting in coordinating and presenting a new Financial Management qualification next year. “I want to be somewhere where I can make a difference, change a life, plant a dream in someone’s heart and help guide our future generations,” says De Lange. 

Taking local and global footsteps

Prof Frans Prinsloo, Director at the UFS School of Accountancy, has only praise for De Lange and says he looks forward to her influencing the climate and culture of academics. “It is noteworthy that we will be offering the BCom Honours in Financial Management in 2020 and all course content will be aligned to the CIMA Management Level outcomes in order to prepare students to write this exam next November. De Lange will be one of the lecturers on this programme,” Prof Prinsloo says. 

For the love of Accounting

“When I eventually qualified and started working as a financial manager of a large company in Bloemfontein, I realised just how much I loved the field of management accounting – blending leadership, cost and management accounting and strategic decision-making,” says De Lange. 
Although her passion for the field of accounting can be traced back to high school, it was the corporate world that re-ignited the strong spark. This passion has undoubtedly contributed to her international acclaim.

News Archive

UFS releases draft charter to accelerate transformation
2007-02-02

The University of the Free State (UFS) today released a draft Institutional Charter which is intended to enhance and accelerate the ongoing transformation of the institution towards a non-racial, non-sexist future.

Speaking at the official opening of the university today, the Rector and Vice-chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, said the draft Institutional Charter, was an important milestone in the transformation debate for the university and the country.

“The draft charter acknowledges that black people, women and people with disabilities have been marginalised from job and developmental opportunities, within the higher education sector and at this university,” Prof Fourie said.

The charter commits the university to meeting the challenges of a transforming higher education institution in a developing society, in particular the challenges of nation-building, reconciliation, redress, non-racialism and non-sexism – and ultimately normalisation – within a high-quality academic institution.

The principles of the draft charter firmly signal the university’s commitment to diversity – attaining and maintaining substantive and sufficient diversity (including multiculturalism and multilingualism) – in its quest for quality and excellence. 
Prof Fourie said the draft charter seeks to build consensus among staff and students at the UFS about the ultimate goals of transformation at a higher education institution.

The charter proposes several basic values and principles that should guide the transformation process and at the same time serve as a basis for a future, normalised university - a promised land to transform towards.

The discussion document says academic quality is intrinsically linked to transformation and it commits the university to strengthening the core competencies of research, teaching and learning as well as community service so as to ensure a robust university for future generations.

“Indeed the thousands of matriculants, black and white, who apply to study at the UFS want to study at a good university, and a good university wants to attract the best black and white students and the best black and white staff, male and female,“ Prof Fourie said.

He said the draft charter also seeks to safeguard academic freedom and institutional autonomy as the foundation of critical inquiry and scholarship.

Regarding the critical issue of creating a new institutional culture, the draft charter commits the UFS to creating a sense of belonging for all members of the university – black and white, male and female, of whatever language, religious, cultural or economic background, as well as people with disabilities.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:  (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl@mail.uovs.ac.za
02 February 2007

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