Top Accounting Olympiad learners in Lim announced

LIMPOPO – Rhulani Ndlala from Merensky High School took first place in the public schools division, followed by Mmakwena Matlou from Dendron Secondary School in second place and Tebatso Mahasha from Hoërskool Ben Vorster placed third.

Khanyisa Education Centre dominated the private schools division as they took the top three spots. Ntsako Raseropo placed first, Vukosi Chauke second and Ruthy Ntlakuso Mabasa third.

“As SAIPA, we are pleased with the results of the olympiad, the learners continue to show there is excellence by the pound in our schools and that public schools continue to perform just as well as private schools. This is an encouraging sign for the future of the accountancy profession in the country,” says Bongani Coka, Chief Executive of SAIPA. The olympiad is open to all Grade 12 pupils in public and private schools studying accountancy or mathematics and aims to increase awareness of the importance of accounting to the South African economy, as well as the range of career opportunities available to learners.

The competition is made up of two rounds and learners have to complete a two-hour examination in each round.

The first round took place in May and saw 3 510 learners from 310 schools compete. A total of 980 learners qualified for the second round which took place on 27 July.

The final round required candidates to deal with calculations, case studies, scenarios, financial statements, recording and posting procedures and more.

“One of our key strategic objectives is growth and transformation in the industry and the NAO provides us with a platform to reach this objective. Next year, we aim to raise the bar in terms of the number of learners we touch with the olympiad and as such we will revamp the format of the competition to encourage more participation and we will work closely with the Department of Basic Education to ensure it is a success,” adds Coka.

Zobuzwe Ngobese, Marketing and Communication Executive at SAIPA says learners who achieved 65% and higher during the first round of the olympiad and qualified for the second round also received a printed exam study guide sponsored by Sage One, which provided learners with valuable career and bursary information.

“The exam guide is curriculum based and will therefore assist learners in preparing for their accounting exams later this year. More importantly, we have been using the results of the olympiad to assist poor performing schools because we do not only focus on those learners who have done well; our professional accountants have provided extra classes to the struggling learners,” Ngobese explains.

The competition has been running since 2002, with SAIPA’s focus on providing papers and literature that can be used by all South African students, including those for whom English is a second language. It is an approach designed to lead to abstract, higher order thinking required to solve problems – exactly the kind of issues accountants face in real life.

The national and provincial winners will be honoured at a formal National Gala Awards Evening on 12 October.