UCT retains excellence in the education of professional accountants

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has retained its excellence in the education of professional accountants through the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Initial Test of Competence (ITC) results announced on Friday, 31 March. The news followed  week of celebrating excellence at the university’s graduation ceremonies.

The ITC, written in January 2023, aims to assess candidates’ technical knowledge and is the first of two professional examinations prospective chartered accountants (CAs) must pass to register with SAICA. 

The pass rate in this exam for the UCT Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting (PGDA) students is 97% – a notable improvement from 89% in January 2022 – with the pass rate for the UCT first-attempt candidates at 100% and 78% for repeat candidates. Of 183 UCT students who wrote, 178 passed (including repeats).

The head of the UCT College of Accounting, Associate Professor Ilse Lubbe, lauded the performance of the university’s students, noting that these outstanding results were attained against the backdrop of challenging circumstances.

“The students displayed immense tenacity, given the impact of COVID-19 during their undergraduate and part of their postgraduate studies.”

“We are extremely proud of the performance of our UCT students in the ITC exam. The students displayed immense tenacity, given the impact of COVID-19 during their undergraduate and part of their postgraduate studies,” Professor Lubbe said.

The national pass rate for the January 2023 ITC is 75% (2022: 59%). The national pass rate for first-attempt candidates is 93%, and 44% for repeat candidates. Of the first-attempt candidates, African candidates achieved a 91% pass rate, with the UCT African first-attempt candidates being 100% and an overall 96% for UCT African candidates, including repeats. This demonstrates UCT’s consistency in the success rate of its African candidates in line with Vision 2030’s pillars of excellence and transformation.  

Exceptional performance

Five UCT PGDA students achieved the commendable feat of being on the SAICA Honours Roll, which consists of candidates who demonstrated exceptional performance and showed remarkable insight in this strenuous exam. The five UCT candidates are Majeff Mphahlele, Jade Honey, Caroline Koen, Leila Chin and Eloise Wilton.

Mphahlele and Evan Walker (who completed the PGDA at the University of Pretoria) are currently academic trainees in the College of Accounting.

Professor Suki Goodman, the dean of Commerce, congratulated all UCT academic trainees for passing the ITC and commended academic staff members for their integral role in this tremendous attainment.

The College of Accounting offers the UCT Board course for candidates preparing for the ITC. In preparation for the first sitting of the ITC in January 2023, 976 candidates registered for the UCT Board course. These candidates represent most universities in South Africa (residential and distance learning).

The UCT Board course has prepared ITC candidates for this strenuous examination for more than 10 years. The College of Accounting is working closely with SAICA to provide additional support to repeat candidates, and applications to enrol in the UCT Board course for June 2023 are now open.

Candidates can visit the College of Accounting website for more information and to register.