WELL AWARE transformation of the accounting profession is of paramount importance to South Africa and the country's economic growth, the profession has over time committed itself to various initiatives to get more black CAs into the system - and will unwaveringly continue doing so, says Sizwe Nxasana, chairman of the trustees of the Thuthuka Bursary Fund (Thuthuka) and FirstRand CEO. A respected accountant for many years, Nxasana is passionate about the profession and actively assists in raising funds for Thuthuka.

To address the problems and gaps that exist in SA's current schooling system, Saica, its staff and the profession as a whole joined forces to establish the Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund to organise and offer much-needed school camps where students can hone their maths and English skills. In another initiative, students who fail (especially the CTA exam) before they write the board exam receive assistance and support.

"Then there was Eden Trust, to address the training of accountants, an initiative that taught us a number of lessons of what works and what doesn't. Thuthuka emanated from the realisation we needed a more integrated approach to training accountants from the underprivileged community, especially children with potential but who'd been handicapped by the circumstances under which they grew up - socially as well as the education system in certain areas," says Nxasana.

"This approach didn't just assume students had all the necessary capabilities and support to pass as CAs: it also recognised they needed both decent academic support as well as assistance in other areas, including life skills and skills to cope with the work load at university, especially where students work under very limited supervision and really have to do things on their own."

Thuthuka was very specific in terms of its objectives. "First and foremost it wanted to identify students with potential. As matric results were found to be an insufficient indicator of potential, a whole battery of tests are run to identify potential even among students with poor pass rates," Nxasana says.

Thuthuka was also promoted in certain targeted rural areas and townships to bring an understanding the fund wasn't trying to find the easy way out by targeting students who had already had good schooling.

When Thuthuka launched in 2005, partnerships had already been formed with three universities (Cape Town, Johannesburg and Wits) that had been invited to submit proposals, which included certain key criteria. Each university had to provide a programme manager, fully dedicated to supporting the Thuthuka students, as well as full-time accommodation on campus.

"Clearly, the programme attempted to fix problems created over 13 years of schooling in a very limited period of time so that the Thuthuka students could be placed on the same, if not better, footing than students who had passed through a sound and efficient education system," says Nxasana. As the programme bedded down more universities came on board so that, currently, eight universities proudly participate in Thuthuka.

The same criteria and success factors of the programme are still in place, says Nxasana, and still work extremely well. "That's why we've managed to raise funding from the private sector, Government and the profession. The average pass rate over a three-year university programme is more than 70% - significantly above similar students who don't receive the Thuthuka support. Thuthuka has become a flagship programme in all the universities where it runs."

Nxasana adds: "One can't underestimate the role the staff at Saica and those at the transformation unit have played in making Thuthuka such a success. Their commitment and energy are exemplary and have helped a great deal in selling the concept.

This year saw the first 25 out of 28 "Class of 2005" students pass Part 1 of the qualifying examination towards becoming CAs. This translates to an 89% pass rate and a 10% contribution to the black African passes in Part 1 of the CA examination. Thuthuka currently supports 936 students at eight partner universities. The intake of new students is now more than 300 a year.

"I honestly believe we'll see a significant number of Thuthuka graduates remain in SA so they can fulfil their responsibilities, acting as role models, adopting social responsibility initiatives and making a contribution as future leaders of the country," says Nxasana.