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UFS celebrates 96% South African Institute of Chartered Accountants IAC pass rate

01 September 2025 | Story Tshepo Tsotetsi | Photo Dr Reabetswe Parkies

BAccHons and PGDip graduates — Prof Frans Prinsloo, Head of the UFS School of Accountancy, with some of the proud 2024 BAccHons and PGDip (Chartered Accountancy) graduates who contributed to the School’s outstanding 96% pass rate in the June 2025 Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC).

The University of the Free State (UFS) has once again affirmed its position as one of the country’s leading institutions in accounting education. In the June 2025 Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC) by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), UFS graduates from the 2024 BAccHons and PGDip (Chartered Accountancy) programmes achieved an exceptional 96% pass rate. This performance stands well above the national throughput of 76% across both the January and June sittings, confirming the university’s reputation for producing work-ready Chartered Accountants (CAs).

This achievement in the IAC – previously known as the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) – not only showcases the quality of teaching and learning at UFS but also echoes the recent SAICA endorsement visit, during which evaluators commended the School of Accountancy for cultivating confident, competent graduates ready to contribute to both the profession and the South African economy.

Driving excellence through vision and innovation

Reflecting on the results, Prof Frans Prinsloo, Head of the School of Accountancy, emphasised that this success confirms the School’s long-standing commitment to excellence and innovation. “Exceeding the national average by such a significant margin reinforces that our programmes are developing highly competent and sought-after Chartered Accountants. This achievement places UFS among the leading institutions in South Africa for producing high-quality graduates,” he said.

Prof Prinsloo attributed the outcome to the unwavering dedication of staff who, as highlighted by SAICA’s endorsement team, “go above and beyond” to support student success. He also pointed to a range of initiatives that have created an enabling environment for achievement, from a humanising pedagogy that prioritises student voices and dynamic learning communities, to early intervention strategies and an academic trainee programme that provides peer support through consultations and small-group sessions. “We are not just delivering a curriculum; w are fostering a culture of learning, growth, and achievement,” Prof Prinsloo added.

Prof Phillipe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, said the results reflect the faculty’s broader vision of preparing leaders who can excel in both business and society. “We are preparing leaders for tomorrow, and education is the key to that. Corporate leadership requires technical expertise, but also resilience, adaptability, and the ability to work as part of a team. All of this we pack into our CA programme,” he explained.

Prof Burger also highlighted the faculty’s national role in shaping the profession through ongoing collaboration with SAICA and industry, ensuring that graduates remain relevant and highly employable. He noted the remarkable growth in the faculty’s accounting programmes, with the BAcc enrolling four times as many new first-year students this year compared to five years ago, alongside a significant increase in the average Admission Point (AP) scores of incoming students. “This growth, combined with rising admission standards, is testament to the quality of our programmes and the confidence that students and parents have in what we offer,” Prof Burger said.

As UFS celebrates this milestone, both leaders agree that the achievement belongs not only to the graduates but to the entire learning community. The outstanding 96% pass rate signals the university’s continued success in producing Chartered Accountants who are academically excellent, ethically grounded, and ready to make an impact in South Africa and beyond.

News Archive

UFS receives R13,7 Million for Research into Prehistoric Organisms

2007-03-27

Some of the guests attending the launch of the research contract are: Dr Siyabulela Ntutela (Deputy Director: Biotechnology at the Department of Science and Technology), Dr Godfrey Netswera (Manager of Thuthuka and the Support Programme at the National Research Foundation (NRF)), Dr Esta van Heerden (Platform Manager and lecturer at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS), Mr Butana Mboniswa (Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD), and Mr Vuyisele Phehani (Portfolio Manager for BioPAD).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been awarded a massive R13,7 million contract to conduct research into prehistoric micro-organisms which live under extreme conditions, for example in mineshafts.

This is one of the biggest research contracts awarded to the UFS in recent years.

The biotechnology research contract was awarded to the UFS by BioPAD, a South African biotechnology company that brokers partnerships between researchers, entrepreneurs, business, government and other stakeholders to promote innovation and create sustainable biotechnology businesses.

The project is endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF), which contributes to the bursaries of the 17 postgraduate students on the programme.

The contract involves the establishment of a Platform for Metagenomics - a technique which allows researchers to extract the DNA from microbes in their natural environment and investigate it in a laboratory.

“Through this platform we will be able to understand deepmine microbial populations
and their potential application in the search for life in outer space. It is most likely
that, if life were to be found on other planets in our solar system, it would probably
resemble that which existed millions of years ago on earth. Apart from all this, these
organisms have unique properties one can exploit in biotechnological application for
South Africa and its community,” said Dr Esta van Heerden, platform manager and
lecturer at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.
She is assisted by her collegues, Prof. Derek Litthauer and Dr Lizelle Piater.

“The platform aims to tap into the unique genetic material in South African mines
which will lead to the discovery of new genes and their products. These new and unique products will find application in the medical field (anti-cancer, anti-bacterial en anti-viral cures), the industrial sector (nanotechnology, commercial washing agents and the food industry), environmental sector (pollution management, demolition of harmful metals and other toxic waste),” said Dr Van Heerden.

According to Dr Van Heerden, the Metagenomics Platforms stems from the Life in
Extreme Environments (LExEN) programme which was started in 1994 by Princeton
University in the United States of America (USA) in South African mines with grants
from among others the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA. Other international collaborators
on the project include Geosynec Consultants Inc. (USA), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (USA), the University of Tennessee (USA) and in South Africa the
Universities of the Witwatersrand, North West and Limpopo and companies like BHP
Billiton, MINTEK and mining companies like Harmony, Gold Fields and AngloGold
Ashanti.

The research field laboratory of the Metagenomics Platform, which was situated in
Glen Harvey, was moved to the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein. “In this
way the university has become the central hub for all research programmes. We are
also the liaison between the LExEN programme and the various mining companies
involved,” said Dr Van Heerden. The new laboratory was introduced during the
launch of the research contract.

“Our decision to commit BioPAD to this project stems from the company’s commitment to advance human capacity development to strengthen South Africa’s research infrastructure. It is also part of our aim to create and protect intellectual property,” said Mr Butana Mboniswa, Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD.

Talking on behalf of the UFS senior management, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector
of Academic Operations, said that the university shares the excitement to be part of
the exploration of unknown forms of life, the discovery of new genes and
their products and in applying newly gained knowledge to better understand our
universe.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
27 March 2007

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