Are you considering a career as an accountant? Accountants communicate financial information about a business to users. To do this they need to analyse what has happened and present it in an appropriate manner.
If you love numbers, problem analysis and solution and you are comfortable around people and around computers, you might consider accounting. Accountants assist firms to manage their finances so that they meet legal requirements and enable good financial planning and management. They must be good communicators with sound judgement and high levels of integrity.
To be considered for more advanced tertiary courses in accounting you must have maths. There are also some options if you have Maths Lit at University of Johannesburg (BCom extended year program) or National Diplomas at TVET Colleges or a University of Technology. You do not need to have studied accounting at high school to study at a tertiary institute however some institutes allow you to use your accounting mark in place of your maths mark which can help if you haven’t done so well in maths.
The highest accounting qualification is Chartered Accounting. A Chartered Accountants undergoes rigorous training and often rises to senior positions in companies however being a CA is not the only accounting option out there. Associate General Accountants and Associate Accounting Technicians also undertake academic plus practical components to their training however it does not take so long and the study is not as demanding.
To be registered with SAICA as a Chartered Accountant you must complete a BCom (Accounts) degree at a registered institute and then pass the board exams and gain practical experience. For a list of registered institutes look here. If you are not able to start a BCom at a registered institute there is still a registration pathway open to you via the National Diploma and BTech, however it will take a little longer. It will help if you do a bridging course at a registered institute after you complete your BTech.
| Institute | Course Offered | Minimum Requirements |
| TVET (Cape College) | National Diploma Financial Management: 3 years consisting of 18 months course work, 18 months practical | Matric Certificate with Accounting or Maths and English competency |
| Cape Peninsula University of Technology | Accountancy National Higher Certificate: 2 years.Optional 3rd year –National Diploma Accounting/ National Diploma Cost and Management Accounting/ National Diploma Internal Auditing | English 50-59%
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| University of Western CAPE | B Com (Financial Accounting): 3 yearsB Com (Finance): 3 years | UWC Points=30, English 50-59% FAL 40-49% Maths 50-59% Accounting 60-69% OR Maths 60%+ |
| Stellenbosch University | B Acc: 3 years Optional M Com: additional year
BCom (Management Accounting or Financial Accounting) | Aggregate 70% Maths 70% OR Maths 60% and Accounting 70% Enlglish or Afrikaans Home Language 50% or FAL 60%
Aggregate 60% Maths 60% English or Afrikaans Home Language 50% or FAL 60% NBTs must be written |
| University of Cape Town | B Com: General Accounting: 3 yearsB Com: Chartered Accounting: 3 yearsOptional Post Grad Dip, Accounting | Aggregate at least 70%, Maths 60%, English 60%, FAL 50%, NBTs must be written |
Other courses you might be interested in include Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Events Management, Economics, Actuarial Science and Information Systems.
