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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 welcomes Prof Francis Petersen as new Vice-Chancellor and Rector

2017-04-02

Prof Francis Petersen takes up office as the 14th Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State today.

“On behalf of the UFS Council and the university community, I would like to welcome Prof Petersen to the university. He brings to the UFS a distinguished academic record, confident leadership, innovative thinking, and an understanding of the extent of the challenges being experienced by universities in the broader South African context,” says Mr Willem Louw, Chairperson of the UFS Council.

“I am excited to join the UFS and look forward to meeting the university community, to get to know the three campuses, and to engage with staff and students. In a way, it was a natural progression for me to be appointed in this position, having been Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and then Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Institutional Innovation at the same university. On the other hand, I believe that universities in South Africa need strong and innovative leadership. I would like to make a contribution to the higher-education system in this regard. Moreover, I regard the UFS as a very good university, and see my challenge in taking the UFS to the next level,” says Prof Petersen.

“Challenges and making a difference motivate me – whether complex or simplistic, the opportunity to be able to provide solutions and taking people with me while developing these solutions, is what ultimately motivates me.”

“It is important that different viewpoints are respected. The UFS must be a place where everyone feels welcome. There must be a strong sense of belonging; staff and students must feel they are making a contribution to the university,” he says.

According to Prof Petersen, the major challenge for the university is its institutional climate. “My focus would be to strive towards creating an institutional climate of inclusivity, respect for one another, valuing diversity in all its forms, and to make the university a welcoming place. The UFS is in the process of developing an Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP) that will serve as the road map to address the institutional climate challenge, but will also assist (if implemented effectively) in excelling the UFS in areas of teaching and learning, research and innovation, and community engagement through scholarship,” says Prof Petersen.

“I am a good listener, I am outcome-based, and my vision for the university includes diversity, inclusivity, and academic excellence,” he says.

Prof Petersen was born in Oudtshoorn and grew up in Malmesbury in the Western Cape, where he also matriculated. He graduated from Stellenbosch University with a BEng (Chem Eng), MEng (Metal Eng), and PhD (Eng) degrees and completed a short course on Financial Skills for Executive Management. He is a recipient of the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Award for research excellence, and was visiting professor at the Cape Technikon and extraordinary professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stellenbosch University. He is a regular reviewer of journals, and member of a range of editorial boards for international journals. He is also a registered professional engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa and a Fellow of both the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and the South African Academy of Engineers.

He brings to the position of Vice-Chancellor and Rector his extensive experience of management in both the industry and academic sectors. He has been the executive head of strategy at Anglo American Platinum and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology). Among others, he previously served as member on the Board of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the National Advisory Council on Innovation, and the Council of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Prof Petersen is married and has two sons. He was appointed by the UFS Council at the end of 2016 after Prof Jonathan Jansen stepped down as Vice-Chancellor and Rector on 31 August 2016, serving in this position since July 2009. Prof Nicky Morgan, Vice-Rector: Operations at the UFS, has been acting Vice-Chancellor and Rector since 1 September 2016.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

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