South African university students and academics in the commercial space are in jubilation following the results of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (SAICA) January 2016 Initial Test of Competence (ITC) released on Friday, 18 March 2016. One of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) students, Zahir Mayet, obtained the number one position in South Africa.
The results confirm UJ’s leadership position in transforming the accounting profession in South Africa. Professor Alex van der Watt, Head: Department of Accountancy, says that “there can be no argument that performance against transformation indicators has become the most important yardstick when evaluating the performance of universities in the ITC.”
In this context, UJ is delighted to share the following highlights of its performance in the examination:
- UJ remains the biggest residential university contributor to successful black African Chartered Accountants (CAs) in the country; [Black CA’s with 18,8% of total and 25,8% of residential providers];
- UJ achieved the third highest pass rate when the performance of Black candidates in the examination is considered [79%]; and
- The University again achieved the lowest differences in success rates between black African and White passes when compared with other universities – [pass rate between Black and White candidates is only 9%, compared to other institution with higher percentages – (national differential is 19%)].
The ITC is the first of two professional examinations which candidate 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.
UJ uses five key performance indicators in the ITC to measure its success rate. These include:
1. Number of successful candidates, also in relation to other universities,
2. Number of successful African candidates, also in relation to other universities,
3. Pass rate of first-timers (the 2015 UJ class),
4. Top 10 positions, and
5. Difference in pass rate between our White and African students and the percentage gap in relation to other universities.
According to Van der Watt, UJ’s success in the ITC is not limited to its leadership position in terms of transformation. The University continues to contribute to the growth of the accounting profession with an impressive 12 percent of first time passes. He adds that UJ also continues to achieve excellent overall pass rates with an overall pass rate of 83 percent in the 2016 ITC.
UJ celebrates the success of its students in the 2016 ITC and is proud of the confirmation of the Institution as a leader in accounting education, as well as its reputation as a world-class teaching and learning facility
