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06 April 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo Sonia Small
Students on Campus
UFS accounting students are flying the Kovsie flag high.

The School of Accountancy is proud to announce that 55 (74%) of the 2019 graduates for the BAcc Honours and Postgraduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy programmes have passed the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examination for the Chartered Accountant (SA) designation, compared to the national average of 68% for first-time candidates.

The results were recently released by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). The ITC examination is the first of two professional examinations required for qualification as a chartered accountant (SA), and is written shortly after completing formal university studies, with two sittings of this examination annually, i.e. in January and June.

Of the 2019 Thuthuka Bursary Programme, seven out of eight graduates passed, translating into an 88% pass rate for this group.

Prof Frans Prinsloo, Director of the School of Accountancy, said: “I am pleased to report that these results confirm the quality and excellence of our CA programmes – a point repeatedly noted by the SAICA monitoring team during their formal feedback session last week.  These results are also testament to the hard work and dedication of the academic staff in the school.”

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UFS Ground Studies Laboratory receives accreditation to international standard
2016-03-18

Description: IGS Tags: IGS

Lore-Mari Deysel, Deputy-Director of the institute for Groundwater Studies.
Photo: Charl Devenish

The Institute for Groundwater Studies (IGS) Laboratory at the University of the Free State is on equal footing with international testing labs. With its accreditation in March 2016 by SANAS (South African National Accreditation System), the IGS Laboratory now officially meets global standards.

Quality of water

The IGS Laboratory mainly analyses the quality of water samples. When it was originally established in 1989, the lab’s central function was to conduct testing for researchers at the institute itself. “After the public and water boards realised their need to analyse water samples, the IGS Laboratory expanded to deliver a service to these clients,” says Lore-Mari Deysel, Deputy-Director of the institute.

Since suppliers and regulatory authorities will not accept test or calibration results from a lab that is not accredited, the IGS initiated the accreditation process.

Accreditation to international standard


In order to be deemed technically competent and able to receive accreditation, labs must meet the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. ISO/IEC 17025 was first issued in 1999 by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission).According to Deysel, this is the single most important standard for calibration and testing laboratories around the world.

“Laboratories that are accredited to this international standard have demonstrated that they are technically competent and able to produce precise and accurate test and/or calibration data. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the university has the capacity to supply valuable and reliable services alongside the academy,” Deysel says.

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