The results of the Part I of the Qualifying Examination (QE I) – a critical measure to becoming a Chartered Accountant [CA(SA)] – released today by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) yielded interesting information about South Africa’s tertiary landscape.
Johannesburg, Friday, 17 December 2010 - Young women dominated the first national SAICA/Pastel Accounting Olympiad – the country’s premier inter-school accounting competition. Learners from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal were named joint national winners of the inaugural Olympiad which aims to recognise young accounting talent and encourage interest in accountancy.
As consumers’ demand for sustainable business practice gains momentum, the global focus on sustainable development is rapidly increasing. While issues such as climate change and emission reduction dominate the local and international media, it is becoming more obvious that corporate leaders need to understand the increasing importance of adapting to the pressure to ensure their entities’ sustainability and profitability. In these changing times, sustainability reporting is rapidly gaining credence. Equally important, however, is understanding the legislation around it.
Decision makers who consider a review engagement simpler and cheaper than an audit are earnestly advised to think again, urges Theashen Ashley Vandiar, Project Director: Auditing and Members’ Advice, at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
The world’s accountants are vocal advocates for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as for the adoption of global accounting and auditing standards. These are the principal findings of the third annual global leadership survey of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), which also highlighted corporate governance enhancements in jurisdictions around the world.
The upcoming national budget should facilitate and fund initiatives for government to access business skills to promote accountability, transparency and enhance service delivery across all levels of government. “That’s one of my several tips for Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan,” Muneer Hassan, project director: tax at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), said in Johannesburg yesterday.
With the growing awareness of the need to boost tertiary education, South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training has responded to a call to help fund the studies of 150 prospective chartered accountants [CAs(SA)].
A single set of globally accepted and principles-based accounting standards focusing on transparency and capital market needs would be ideal for all stakeholders. This is the primary conclusion reached by the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), which yesterday issued a report summarizing its New York, Beijing and London roundtables discussing financial reporting, Making financial reporting simpler and more useful.
Tributes have been pouring into the offices of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) following the announcement of the retirement of South Africa’s Bob Garnett as member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and of chairman of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC).
Good risk management practices are essential in reducing risk to shareholder value. Indeed, the market shows zero tolerance to lapses in risk management, says Dr Astrid Jaekel, a Senior Manager in multinational consultancy Oliver Wyman's Insurance Domain.
Yusuf Dukander, Project Director for Financial Services at The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), says that the global financial crisis highlighted the importance of individual aspects of risk management.