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20 April 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang | Photo Charl Devenish
Dr Carla Serfontein
UFS School of Accountancy Senior Lecturer, Dr Carla Serfontein, obtained her PhD in Management Accounting.
How many chartered accountants do you know who are also PhD holders? Dr Carla Serfontein, Senior Lecturer in Management Accounting in the University of the Free State (UFS) School of Accountancy, challenged the status quo. Dr Serfontein walked across the Callie Human stage during the morning graduation session on Wednesday 19 April 2023.

Obtaining a PhD is a milestone in the career of any academic, attesting not only to being a subject matter expert with proven credibility, but also to many hours of personal sacrifice and commitment to their discipline. Individuals who hold a PhD while also being a chartered accountant (SA) are relatively scarce, but this is an ideal combination for South African accountancy academics – as they have stature both from a professional and academic perspective. The UFS School of Accountancy is fortunate to have three such individuals, including Dr Serfontein, who was recently awarded her PhD in Management Accounting.

Dr Serfontein says obtaining her PhD in her lecturing field has expanded her knowledge in the subject area. “The UFS supported me by giving me the opportunity to be supervised by two truly outstanding academics, Prof Van Aardt Smit and Dr Cornelie Crous. That, to me, was an invaluable contribution, not only in obtaining this qualification but also in the growth that I experienced on this journey.”

Prof Frans Prinsloo, Director of the School of Accountancy, says he is proud of Dr Serfontein’s achievement. “With her thesis, Cost Efficiency at South African Universities, she highlights the flaws of conventional budgeting techniques in ensuring cost efficiencies and maximising input-output relationships at South African universities.  This is indeed a ground-breaking study and holds significant implications for how universities should be managed from a financial perspective. We are proud to have individuals of Dr Serfontein’s stature in the School of Accountancy.”

News Archive

Kovsie gold medalist defeats Olympic champion
2015-07-07

Wayde van Niekerk and Kirani James
Photo: deuxHD DIRECT

Once again, Kovsie Wayde van Niekerk has made history by defeating the London 2012 Olympic Games champion, Kirani James, of Grenada in the Caribbean. 

On 4 July 2015, he surged 0.79 seconds ahead of Kirani in his  number five lane, becoming the first African to cover 400m in less than 44 seconds. The Kovsie student won the race at 43.96, occupying 10th place on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League all-time list.

Kovsies were still celebrating the gold medalist’s South African record-setting time of 44.24 on 13 June 2015, when he dominated the Diamond League meeting. At the previous race in New York, Van Niekerk improved on his own national record of 44.38. With an impressive dash to the finish line at that particular event, he surpassed Christopher Brown’s 400m record.

In addition to the country’s record, Van Niekerk made his name as one of the continent’s record-breakers. On 7 June 2015, he broke the 1986 African 300m record. Van Niekerk replaced Ivorian Gabriel Tiacoh’s best time of 31.74 with a 31.63 championship win at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting.  Simultaneously, he bettered Morné Nagel’s 2006 South African national record.

Following this outstanding performance, he was positioned in 10th place on the world list in the men’s 300m.

Currently, Van Niekerk is preparing for the 14 July 2015 Diamond League meeting to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland. His last Lucerne race was in 2014 where he clocked 20.19 in the men’s 200m. Based on his recent successes, Van Niekerk seems to have launched himself on a history-making spree, and may well set a new personal best.

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