Becoming a Chartered Accountant in South Africa: The SAICA CA(SA) Pathway

Four Stages to the CA(SA) Designation

Qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa runs through a fixed sequence set by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) : an accredited undergraduate degree, a postgraduate qualification, a supervised training contract, and two board exams. Skipping or shortening any stage is not possible, since SAICA checks each one before it lets you register as a member.

The Pathway at a Glance

Step 1: A SAICA-Accredited Undergraduate Degree

Start with a BCom in accounting from a university whose programme SAICA accredits. Accreditation status differs by university and changes over time, so confirm your specific programme against SAICA's current accredited list before you enrol rather than assuming a general commerce degree qualifies.

Step 2: The Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (CTA)

After your undergraduate degree, complete a postgraduate qualification commonly called the CTA, short for Certificate in the Theory of Accounting. This stage deepens your technical accounting, auditing, and tax knowledge to the level SAICA's board exams test.

Step 3: The Training Contract at a Registered Training Office

Sign a training contract, commonly called articles, with a SAICA-registered training office (RTO), typically an audit firm or approved company. The contract runs three years, during which you rotate through client and technical work under supervision, building the practical competencies SAICA requires alongside your academic knowledge.

Choosing a Registered Training Office

Not every employer can sign you as a trainee. Only firms and companies SAICA has approved as registered training offices can offer valid training contracts, and the large audit firms are not the only option, since some corporates and public sector bodies also hold RTO status. Check an employer's RTO status with SAICA directly before you accept a training contract offer.

Step 4: The Board Exams: IAC and APC

SAICA's board exam structure changed under its CA2025 competency framework. The exam long known as the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) is now the Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC), testing core technical competence built on your CTA. Write the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC), the final exam, once you have completed at least 20 months of your training contract. The APC focuses less on technical recall and more on applying that knowledge to workplace scenarios, ethics, and judgment.

Registering as a CA(SA)

Once you pass both exams and complete your three-year training contract, apply to SAICA for membership and the CA(SA) designation. From that point, maintain your membership through SAICA's continuing professional development requirements.

Why the Pathway Changed

SAICA introduced the CA2025 competency framework to align training and exams with the skills the profession expects from newly qualified CAs, including stronger data and technology competence alongside traditional accounting, auditing, and tax knowledge. The rename from ITC to IAC reflects that shift in what the exam measures, not a name change on the same content.

What the Training Contract Actually Involves

Trainees rotate through different functions during the three-year contract rather than staying on one type of engagement throughout. At an audit firm, this typically means moving across audit teams serving different clients and industries, with structured reviews of your progress against SAICA's competency framework at set points in the contract. Outside audit firms, a training contract at a corporate or public sector RTO follows a similar principle: structured rotation and supervision, mapped against the same competency requirements, rather than audit-specific work.

Balancing Study and Work During Articles

Writing the IAC and APC while working full time under a training contract is demanding. Most trainees prepare through structured study leave their training office grants around exam sittings, combined with self-study and, in many cases, a support programme run by their firm or an external provider. Plan your study time around your firm's leave policy and your own workload well before your exam sitting, since the training contract itself does not pause for exam preparation.

If You Do Not Complete an Accredited Undergraduate Degree

Not every accounting student starts on a SAICA-accredited BCom. If your undergraduate degree does not carry SAICA accreditation, ask your target CTA provider and SAICA directly about bridging options before assuming the CA(SA) pathway is closed to you, since accreditation gaps and available bridging routes change between universities and over time.

What the CA(SA) Designation Opens Up in Practice

A CA(SA) designation carries weight across South African auditing, corporate finance, tax, and general management, since the training builds broad technical and business judgment rather than narrow bookkeeping skills. Many CA(SA)s move out of public practice a few years after qualifying, into finance leadership roles in corporates, banks, and public institutions, using the training contract as a foundation rather than a permanent career track in audit itself.