Careers insights

Have you ever considered a career in accounting, auditing, tax or financial management? Do you share the dream of many others of having those admired four letters at the end of your name someday – CA(SA)? Do you know the rules of the game to get there? Here is the low-down on how to qualify as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa.

Congratulations on choosing the path to becoming a Chartered Accountant and holding the prestigious title of CA(SA). You have probably envisioned your first career move would be to receive a Training Contract at a reputable audit firm.

COVID19 has brought numerous changes to the workplace.  The way we conduct interviews is one of them.  Gone are the days where you arrive at the doorstep of a potential employer with sweaty hands.  You will now be interviewed in the comfort of your own safe environment.

The journey of a trainee accountant is filled with trials and tribulations, especially so when you choose to work and study at the same time

As a trainee, I was always aware that the supervisors, managers and directors had oceans of work that we could scarcely perceive while attempting to fight our own battles, but one never understands the scope of such things until they are on the other side of the veil.

For those who are studying, thinking about studying and especially those thinking about studying again…

I was seconded from the RSM South Africa offices to the RSM Australia Canberra office for a period of 3 months. It was a real eye opening experience. Here are some of the reasons why I applied for the secondment opportunity and why I think other trainees should apply as well.

Trainees at RSM are often given the opportunity of going on secondment to a number of countries around the world, including Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK, to name a few.

Once your CV catches the eye of a recruiter, all you are really left with is to test that there is mutual compatibility. The problem with interviews, aside from being an inherently flawed way of selecting talent, is that it’s easy to get nervous, and it’s even easier to turn it into a complete social disaster.

I recently wrote an article on How not to get an increase, which surprisingly went down pretty well.  I decided to continue the theme and suggest a few things that should never, ever, be found on a CV.

The beginning of February each year brings with it new adventures and challenges for so many hopeful CA(SA) candidates.

I, like most HR professionals, have a natural interest in human behaviour and observing awkward conversations is like an ice-cream on a hot summer day - amusing but doesn’t usually last very long. I am often asked by friends, family and sometimes even by strangers, how to go about asking for an increase.

Time management. What do you think of when you hear the phrase?

“A chartered accountant is not working just to add and subtract these numbers between 0 to 9, but he should feel that he is playing an important role in building the economic infrastructure of this nation” – Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Trainees from RSM are often given the opportunity of going on secondment to number of countries around the world. Since I started working at RSM we have had employees travel to various cities in the USA, the UK and Australia.

After the first two weeks of induction training, heading to my first audit, I felt as if I had been thrown into the deep end.   This year was about adjusting to the audit environment and learning new skills, and by the end of that first year everything didn’t seem as overwhelming as it did at first.

RSM South Africa provides international secondment opportunities to trainees. The qualifying candidates stand to benefit from the opportunity to work abroad for 3 to 4 months, with exposure to a different auditing methodology, while exploring a different country. This was one of the many reasons why RSM South Africa was my employer of choice.

At RSM, trainee accountants are trained to interact with clients in a professional, ethical and timely manner while ensuring the client is receiving a high level of professional service.

The road to qualifying as a Chartered Accountant is not as easy as it may seem. To the public who are not in the accounting profession, they may ask themselves: “How hard can it be?” It only entails a three-year B Com degree, an honours (CTA) year, three years of training on the job and two board exams all completed over roughly a seven-year period.

“We are what we repeatedly do therefore excellence is not an act but a habit” – Aristotle

The journey from an aspiring business professional at varsity to an Audit Manager in public practice has probably been the most daunting and taxing period of my life to date. In the 4 years and 3 months between receiving my degree and being promoted to Manager, there were numerous struggles, set-backs and obstacles.

RSM recently spoke to the first year accounting students at the University of Johannesburg. Below follows information on the suggested study timetable we discussed.

I’m from RSM in Auckland, New Zealand, and in 2017 I was offered the opportunity to go on a secondment to the RSM office in Cape Town to work in the audit department. The secondment was over a period of 3 and a half months, concluding at Christmas time.

Doing a secondment abroad has been a long term goal from the first year of my studies at RSM UK. Back when I started in London, the firm was called Baker Tilly, and I was lucky enough to qualify at a time when we’d just rebranded and joined a large international network of firms. Riding that wave, I put my hand up to do a slightly longer than usual secondment.

Beautiful, strange, amazing, tough and awesome are few of the many words that spring to mind when reflecting back on my secondment experience to New Zealand.

Employee secondments can benefit employers through developing good business relationships on a global level and sharing and enhancing employees' skills. At the same time, they can offer employees a valuable career development opportunity, with the chance to make new contacts and gain experience within a different working environment.

Performance reviews are a part of being a trainee accountant and are important to ensure you develop into a skilled professional. One of our trainees takes a look at how best to handle the performance review.

A big decision that any aspiring CA faces is deciding where to complete their three year training contract. There are so many options, making it a difficult and sometimes overwhelming decision. Here are some considerations to take into account when making your decision:

The new intake of trainee accountants who started in February 2016 have just completed the first few months of their audit training contract.

If you’re praying for rain, make sure that you prepare your fields to receive it.  This statement is what I feel got me through the last leg of the CA (SA) gauntlet and to where I am today.  I feel very privileged to be standing here at the finish line with more gained than I could ever have imagined, and certainly not worse for wear.

Once you get to the end of your high school life, one of the most important decisions that you need to make is what to do once school is over. For the lucky few, it is all planned out and they know exactly what they want to do or what they want to become. For the majority however, it is a much more difficult decision.

Training in Public Practice (TIPP) with a medium sized firm as an alternative to the "Big 4" When deciding where you should work and who you should sign your training contract with, a number of factors need to be considered: