SA accountants can’t afford slip-ups after exams blunder

It takes years and years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication to become a chartered accountant (CA).

South African chartered accountants are in high demand the world over, with a recent report by Moneyweb revealing there is a spike in young, qualified South African chartered accountants leaving for the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Middle East and tax haven islands “in search of not only better earnings, but also greater job security, and political and social stability”, according to financial recruitment consultancy Blue Recruiting.

The consultancy also revealed the UK, in particular, is hiring more South African accountants more now than ever.

With this in mind, the profession cannot afford any slip-ups.

ALSO READ: Nowhere to hide: Public servants to face lifestyle audits from February

However, the credibility of SA’s CA qualification is in question after outrageous scenes from this month’s exams saw some candidates spend as much as 15 hours sitting in exam venues and writing an eighthour exam by hand after they were handed broken laptops and had no working Wi-Fi connection.

Becoming a CA doesn’t come cheap, even if you ignore all the costs associated to getting to your final exam over the years.

Candidates pay R15 000 to enrol for the board course and another R6 000 for the Assessment of Professional Competence exams.

It looks as though candidates will now have to rewrite these exams – a waste of time and money.