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UFS students attain a 94.7% pass rate in challenging SAICA exam

23 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba

UFS Accountancy students — The UFS School of Accountancy is fast becoming one of the best in the country.

Becoming a Chartered Accountant (SA) entails successfully completing the rigorous education and training requirements set by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). As part of these requirements, all prospective CAs are required to write SAICA’s challenging Initial Test of Competence (ITC). A total of 83 graduates from the University of the Free State (UFS) passed the 2019 ITC examinations, making the Kovsie community and School of Accountancy proud.

Prof Frans Prinsloo, the Director at the UFS School of Accountancy, applauded the successful graduates – of whom 39 are African, five coloured, one Indian, and 38 white. “More than 55% of our graduates who wrote the exam are black (African, coloured and Indian), demonstrating that our emphasis on building the pipeline of under-represented prospective Chartered Accountants (SA) is paying off in terms of both racial and gender inclusion.”

Rising above the ultimate test
SAICA released the results of the June 2019 ITC examination on Friday 16 August 2019. The ITC examination is the first of two professional examinations required for qualification as a Chartered Accountant (SA), and is written shortly after completion of formal university studies. There are two sittings of this examination annually, in January and June.

Compared to the national average pass rate of 75.4% for the 2019 ITC examinations, UFS BAcc Honours and Postgraduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy graduates delivered a superior performance. The 94.7% pass show that our graduates are a force to be reckoned with.

Upping standards
More than 10 of the Thuthuka Bursary Programme graduates of 2018 who wrote the 2019 ITC examinations, passed, which translates into a 92% pass for this group. Such an achievement also confirms the success of the bursary programme ‘wraparound support’ interventions, by delivering results well in excess of the national average. These interventions also extend to the development of professional skills essential for the corporate world – thereby ensuring that these graduates are not only technically strong, but ‘work-ready’.

Best in the business of excellence
“These results place the UFS School of Accountancy amongst the best in the country in terms of Chartered Accountancy education, and is testament to the hard work of the academic staff and the quality of our CA programme,” says Prof Prinsloo.

News Archive

UFS law students sit in on exceptional case in the Supreme Court of Appeal

2011-09-21

At the Supreme Court of Appeal were, from left to right: Dr Beatri Kruger, lecturer in our Department of Criminal and Medical Law at the Faculty of Law; Adv. Ann Skelton, Amicus Curiae instructed by the Restorative Justice Centre; Ms Matsepo Soko, post-graduate student in Criminal Law; and Prof. Annette van der Merwe from the University of Pretoria.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Fourth-year and master’s-degree students, from our Faculty of Law, had the privilege of attending the hearing of one of their prescribed cases in the module, Criminal Law, namely the State versus Tabethe, in the Supreme Court of Appeal. Apart from the fact that they could attend the hearing, the students were also addressed by experienced legal experts, Adv. Ann Skelton (amicus curiae, instructed by the Restorative Justice Centre) and Prof. Annette van der Merwe from the University of Pretoria, on the broad outlines of the case.

In this case, the accused was found guilty of raping his fifteen-year-old stepdaughter. The court imposed a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, suspended in full, but with certain conditions. The conditions include 800 hours’ community service and stipulate that the accused has to follow a rehabilitation programme and that he has to give 80% of his income to the family in order to support the victim and her family.

This was the first rape case where, in following a restorative justice approach, exceptional conditions were imposed to address the interests of the victim who wants to proceed with her studies. The State appealed against the sentence.

Dr Beatri Kruger, lecturer in our Department of Criminal and Medical Law, who prescribed this case for the students, said, ‘The law students were indeed privileged to attend this auspicious and enriching occasion, which provided them with an insightful experience of how the law works in practice.’

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