Tops in accounting Olympiad
LIMPOPO learner, Tshepo Phuti Moloto from Pax College in Mashashane, came out tops in the recent Saipa/Abasa National Accounting Olympiad.
LIMPOPO learner, Tshepo Phuti Moloto from Pax College in Mashashane, came out tops in the recent Saipa/Abasa National Accounting Olympiad.
Moloto is the top male performer in the category for government schools. Run by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (Saipa), in conjunction with the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of SA (Abasa), the Olympiad is an annual competition that aims to raise greater awareness of becoming a professional accountant as a career choice.
Moloto achieved a score of 92.88%, putting him slightly ahead of fellow government school top female performer, Sumaiya Moses from Uitenhage High School in the Eastern Cape, who achieved 92.44%.
The top private school performers were Ismaeel Kaka from Pretoria’s Azaadville Muslim School and Dineo Mojapelo from Liberty Community College in Bramley, who scored 88% and 88.88% respectively.
“Never did I think that I could ever be among the best,” said Moloto of his score of almost 93%. “It has made me believe that if one puts effort into one’s studies, one can become a success. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of greater things to come.”
Moloto credits his teacher, L.P. Ledwaba, for much of his success. “He has always had faith in me and has been guiding me throughout the year,” he said. “It is because of his guidance and my efforts that I am able to produce good results. I always aimed to obtain at least 70% in my subjects, but since he came along, I no longer limit myself. It is without doubt that Ledwaba is the best and most inspiring teacher I could ever have wished for,” said Moloto.
“I believe that success comes through self-sacrifice, perseverance, decisiveness and proper planning, hard work and spiritual and emotional intelligence,” said Ledwaba. “The quality of the fruit a person produces depends on the amount of effort put into preparing the ground. That’s why I encourage learners to make use of all the opportunities given to them, working with different material including textbooks and question papers.
“As a teacher, God has given me the opportunity to plant a seed in someone’s life. I strive for the good fruit and I always enjoy seeing my learners counted among the best.”
In addition to the outstanding results of this year’s top performers, Saipa and Abasa said they were delighted with the overall performance of the many thousands of learners who took part in this year’s competition, said Navin Lalsab, accreditation, compliance and development executive for Saipa.
“As part of the Olympiad, all entrants are given study guides that help the learners in their school work and preparation for final examinations. Learners who perform well in accounting are more likely to pursue it as a career, so part of our aim is to ensure they are as well prepared as they can possibly be for their exams,” said Lalsab.
“Given the scarcity of those who are qualified as professional accountants and the importance of mathematics and accounting, Saipa and Abasa commit to continuing, through the Olympiad, to promote professional accountancy as an attractive option for school leavers.”
