High schools have until 29 March 2013 to register Grade 11 and 12 learners for the SAICA Pastel Accounting Olympiad

Issued by Lingo Communications for Sage Pastel Accounting
Johannesburg, 05 Mar 2013

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), together with Softline Pastel, is calling on high school learners to participate in the 2013 Accounting Olympiad, which takes place on 15 May 2013.

The Accounting Olympiad is open to talented Grade 11 and 12 learners in South Africa. In 2012, the Olympiad attracted 4 247 Grade 11 and 12 learners from 369 schools across the country and it is hoped the number and quality of entrants will increase this year.

"More learners and educators are beginning to appreciate the impact the Olympiad has in improving accounting skills," says Gugu Makhanya, Project Director for Transformation, Growth and Professional Development at SAICA. The Olympiad, which began its life as a regional competition in Bloemfontein with long-time sponsors Pastel Accounting, was expanded to a national competition in 2010. It has grown to attract top young accounting minds from schools across South Africa. The main objective of the Accounting Olympiad is to recognise young accounting talent and encourage interest in accounting as a subject among high school learners.

Joanne Van Der Walt, Marketing Manager at Pastel Accounting, says: "We were delighted with the increased number of participants in last year's programme. Pastel is included in most school curriculums, so this long-standing partnership with SAICA is a perfect fit. We hope to generate further interest in the competition this year."

The competition identifies accounting talent at school level, popularises accounting as a subject, and draws the link between accounting at school and a possible career in an accounting or business field. This is in line with SAICA's strategy to grow the number of chartered accountants as well as to transform the profession.

The total prize value for this competition is R 155 000, and the national winner will go home with an iPad. The accounting teacher of the national winner will receive a cash prize of R5 000 and the best schools in each province will also receive prizes, such as desktop computers preloaded with Pastel software.

South Africa has a shortage of more than 5 000 chartered accountants, while the public sector is faced with a vacancy rate of over 40% in the financial fields. According to a study by SAICA, there were already more than 22 000 vacancies in the fields of financial services and accounting as far back as 2008. Skills shortages at postgraduate and masters levels amount to almost 6 000 required accountants. Both the public and private sectors face an uphill battle in retaining qualified accounting staff.

For more information, contact your accounting teacher and visit the SAICA Web site (www.saica.co.za).

SAICA media contacts:

Yuven Gounden
Project Manager: Transformation and Growth, SAICA Communications & Marketing Division
Tel: (011) 621 6621
(083) 297 1214
E-mail: yuveng@saica.co.za

Nkolola Halwindi
Project Director: Communication
SAICA Communications & Marketing Division
Tel: (011) 621 6713
(082) 884 8927
E-mail: NkololaH@saica.co.za

SAICA

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa's pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world's leading accounting institutes. The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 33 000 members who are chartered accountants and hold positions as CEOs, MDs, board directors, business owners, chief financial officers, auditors and leaders in their spheres of business operation. Most of these members operate in commerce and industry, and play a significant role in the nation's highly dynamic business sector and economic development.

SAICA serves the interests not only of the chartered accountancy profession, but also of society in general through its key objective of upholding professional standards and integrity. The pre-eminence of South African chartered accountants [CAs(SA)] nationally and internationally attests to the successes achieved by SAICA on a broad global canvas. SAICA's members enjoy the privilege of using the highly regarded and prestigious CA(SA) designation. Members of SAICA are subjected to a Code of Professional Conduct, which provides guidelines for ethical and professional behaviour. Fundamental ethical principles to which CAs(SA) are expected to achieve include:

* Integrity;
* Objectivity;
* Professional Competence and Due Care;
* Confidentiality; and
* Professional Behaviour.

SAICA members serve on international accounting bodies, including: the Trustees of the International Financial Reporting (IFRS) Foundation, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the IFRS Interpretations Committee, the IFRS Advisory Council, and the Council of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). SAICA is also a member of The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA). For more information, visit www.saica.co.za.

Thuthuka Bursary Fund and Thuthuka Education Upliftment Project

One of SAICA's prime goals is to strengthen the country's economy by playing a significant and leading role in transformation and skills development. The Thuthuka Education Upliftment Project, a pioneering initiative to promote transformation in the profession, was launched in the Eastern Cape in 2002 and is fast growing into a national project. Thuthuka's objective is to transform the demographics of the profession to reflect those of the country in terms of race and gender, and provide educational support to African learners and students for the benefit of the profession while simultaneously helping to uplift communities. Therefore, SAICA prides itself on leading the chartered accountancy profession as a socially responsible driver of business and skills development by supporting and encouraging enterprise development initiatives.

Sage Pastel Accounting

Sage Pastel Accounting is South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll and business management software for the small, medium-sized and large enterprise market. Since inception, Sage Pastel has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry, establishing itself as a market leader and the preferred choice of South African business. The numbers speak for themselves as thousands of businesses use Sage Pastel Accounting to run their businesses and trust Sage Pastel to help them achieve their business ambitions.

Sage

Softline was founded in 1988 by Ivan Epstein, Alan Osrin and Steven Cohen. The company was established during the formative years of the business software industry in South Africa, and soon became the leader in the provision of business software and services to small and medium-sized companies. In 2003, Softline was acquired by UK-based company, The Sage Group. Softline officially changed to Sage in February 2013 to align with its parent company, The Sage Group. It continues to provide local expertise backed by the global Sage brand.

The Sage Group is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium-sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. It provides products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use, and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over six million customers and more than 13 500 employees in 24 countries covering the UK and Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil.

For further information, please visit www.pastel.co.za; www.sagesouthafrica.co.za or www.sage.com.

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