​The results of the June 2019 Initial Test of Competence (ITC) of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) released on Friday 16 August 2019, reaffirms the University of Johannesburg (UJ) as a leader in Accounting Education in South Africa.

The ITC is the first of two professional examinations which candidate Chartered Accountants (CAs) are required to pass in order to register with SAICA as CAs, and the result tables compare the performance of all universities offering SAICA accredited degrees. The ITC is written in January and again in June in order to give prospective Chartered Accountants (CAs[SA]) the opportunity to pass the first of the SAICA Qualifying Examinations.

Following the June results, UJ now has an overall pass rate of 92.3% for the 2019 ITC cohort and once again produced the highest number of successful African candidates of all residential universities nationwide. The results confirm UJ’s leadership position in transforming the Accounting profession in South Africa with a combined number of 155 African candidates passing the SAICA ITC exams in 2019. SAICA also acknowledges the significant role that UJ has played in the Thuthuka ITC Repeat programme offered to African and Coloured candidates of all universities, with a pass rate of 66% compared to the national pass rate of 38%.

UJ continues to contribute towards the growth of the Accounting profession with a total number of 278 students passing the SAICA ITC exams in 2019. This represents the second largest number of successful candidates of all residential universities.

“In an ever-changing, dynamic environment, our Accountancy@UJ team is always looking for innovative ways to teach and learn. Our programmes are distinctly focused on the development of well-rounded individuals by preparing graduates to be ethical and critical thinkers and innovative enablers in the 4th Industrial Revolution,” says Prof Ben Marx, Head of the Department of Accountancy at UJ.

“UJ therefore celebrates the success of its candidates in the 2019 SAICA ITC. The results is testimony to the success of the UJ Accountancy programme and the hard work put in by the lecturing team and students alike. The Department prides itself as being at the forefront of the transformation of accounting education in South Africa and the recent SAICA results reaffirms this. Accordingly, we are extremely proud to have over the years, consistently been producing the highest number of African students of residential universities in the annual SAICA ITC exams. As we contribute to the growth of the accounting profession, our key focus areas tie in with the national imperatives of addressing skills shortage and nation building.”