Recruiting newly qualified chartered accountants is an important and challenging process. More than merely looking for skills, you also have to assess candidates’ potential for development and cultural fit in your organisation When recruiting new CAs(SA), you have to get to know each individual’s personality, likes and dislikes, talents and skills. It’s an important decision…
Understanding the dynamics of training offices is important to ensure the spread of incorrect information regarding training opportunities are addressed and to ensure prospective trainees are informed about the industry they are about to enter. I often hear prospective trainees saying, ‘I just want a training contract’, and yes, I was there too. Knowing what…
What is this ‘learning environment’ everybody is talking about? This can be quite confusing: in most cases you walk into a training office as a young, impressionable trainee who is excited to be earning your first salary. You know you are about to embark on a journey to become a CA(SA), but you don’t really…
One of the most powerful quotes by Nelson Mandela, former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is: ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’ These words are equally relevant today. Education remains the proven way of empowering the underprivileged, breaking the poverty cycle, and bridging the…
I was recently involved in a discussion regarding ethical culture in training offices, and specifically some of the feedback we have received from trainees. One of the examples raised was of a trainee who had questioned the ethical behaviour of a client and the manager had responded with ‘don’t open that can of worms’. That…
Over the past few years, we have witnessed an explosion of new technology that borders on what we may once have deemed science fiction. From driverless cars to wireless microneedles that can deliver a precise drug dose in personalised medicine, the world is changing at a rapid rate. And the field of accountancy is no…
Start making a difference to a student’s life today. It all adds up, and you can make a huge difference! What did you do last weekend? And, more importantly, what did it cost you? If you are part of a typical middle-income family, you probably spent between R200 and R400 on takeaways. Do this twice…
Not just reloaded, but renewed for a renowned designation: ‘The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new’ – Socrates As organisations globally embrace the future with efficiencies and the implementation of 4IR initiatives, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has identified a…
The recently approved CA2025 competency framework categorises competencies into three types: professional values and attitudes, enabling competencies or acumens, and technical competencies What are professional values and attitudes? Professional values and attitudes define professional behaviour and identify professional accountants as CAs(SA), AGAs(SA) and ATs(SA) (that is, as members and associates of the accounting profession referred…
Sizwe Nxasana, founder of Future Nation Schools, recently spoke about his chain of affordable schools and whether his innovative methods can be adopted at tertiary and post-CA(SA) qualification levels. There is no denying that the education system in South Africa is deeply lacking. But innovators such as Sizwe Nxasana, founder of Future Nation Schools (FNS),…