Cape Town - In an effort to fast track transformation in the accountancy profession, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) on Tuesday made 300 bursaries available qualifying African and Coloured Grade 12 learners who wish to pursue a career as a chartered accountant but do not have the financial resources to do so.
Currently, there are about 34 400 Chartered Accountants (CAs) in South Africa. Out of this number, only: 1 100 are African females, 1 339 African males, 468 Coloured females, 478 Coloured males, 1 347 Indian females, 1 936 Indian males, 7 768 White females and 19 852 White males.
The country remains with a shortage of over 5 000 CAs professionals, with the public sector faced with a vacancy rate of over 40% in the financial fields.
According to a study by Saica there were already more than 22 000 vacancies in the fields of financial services and accounting as far back as 2008. Skills shortages at postgraduate and masters levels amounted to almost 6 000 for immediately required accountants.
Both the public and private sectors face an uphill battle in retaining qualified accounting staff.
The selection criteria for candidates:
- The learner must be a South African citizen
- The learner must be African or Coloured
- The learner must obtain at least 60% in Mathematics
- The learner must be in Grade 12, intending on studying B Comm. Accounting
Learners with the necessary competencies are encouraged to apply for a bursary.
To find out more click here.