Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No. 53 of 2003)

Industry Charters

Chartered Accountancy Charter

Section D : Challenges

Assignment of Activities for Meeting the Challenges

16.2 Employment Equity and Skills Development
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The overall objective of the Sector Code is to promote economic growth and transformation in order to create meaningful participation of black people so as to increase equitable income distribution and equal opportunities. This will find expression in the achievement of a CA membership and sector that reflect the demographics of our country, in the areas of employment by means of skills development, from school level right through to training and Qualifying Exam level for trainee accountants, but also focussing on skills development for other positions, such as administrative and support positions.

 

All major stakeholders who are party to this Sector Code have a very big role to play in this particular section as this is the 'pipeline' to the delivery of the ownership and management section of the scorecard.

 

It will not be possible to achieve the objectives and targets set for the CA sector and the CA profession if the 'pipeline', thus what is brought into the system, is not changed and improved.

 

The responsibility for activities that need to be undertaken to achieve the targets for this section are as follows:

 

Secondary education level

•SAICA will have primary responsibility for undertaking these activities.
•SAICA will be responsible to the Charter Council for the achievement of the objectives in this area.
•The CA sector will also contribute their individual career awareness programmes in this area as well as other projects at school level to ensure good grades in mathematics.
•It is imperative that there is adequate and ongoing consultation between all major stakeholders, and this should indeed form part of the activities, to ensure that no duplication - which could waste resources- occurs.

Tertiary education level

•SAICA will take responsibility for engaging with universities to ensure the appropriate throughput of black students.
•Again SAICA will be responsible to the Charter Council for the achievement of the objectives in this area.
•The CA sector will make a major contribution by providing bursaries and vacation work for students to ensure that they receive exposure to business practice.

Training

•The CA sector has the primary responsibility for training.
•SAICA has the responsibility to create the environment for effective and efficient training within the CA sector, by administration and assessment of an accreditation process for entities in public practice and outside public practice.
•SAICA has the responsibility to increase the training capability, within the CA sector and South Africa as a whole, by growing TOPP and government platforms capable of achieving accreditation status.

Qualifying exam level

•SAICA, together with IRBA will be the major role player with regard to undertaking activities at this level.

At the level of other (administrative support) positions

•These activities need to be undertaken by the CA sector.

 

 

With regard to indirect empowerment, the focus is mainly to grow and empower black enterprises, on the one hand, and to enhance the status of those entities who are indeed adhering to the Codes and comply with B-BBEE, in a sense thus to reward them for their efforts, on the other hand. This is done by giving preference to compliant companies when procuring services and products and in doing so assisting B-BBEE enterprises with their development.