Qualify as an Associate General Accountant (SA)

Qualifying as an Associate General Accountant (SA) usually takes 6 years (3-year degree and 3-years internship) provided you are able to complete the undergraduate qualification in the minimum time. Qualifying as an Associate General Accountant (SA) does not require you to complete a postgraduate qualification or board exams like you need to when qualifying as a Chartered Accountant (SA). It is possible to qualify as an Associate General Accountant (SA) within 4 years by working and studying at the same time.

Your journey to qualifying as an Associate General Accountant (SA) works as follows:

Step 1: Obtain an undergraduate degree accredited by SAICA. Visit SAICA’s website (www.saica.co.za) for a complete list of accredited degrees offered by accredited universities. The minimum time to complete this qualification is three years.

Step 2: Enter into an internship at a SAICA accredited training office. The duration of the internship is:

• 3 years if you have an accredited undergraduate degree, CTA or accredited bridging programme by the time you start with your internship;
• 4 years if you have a non-accredited degree, national diploma in internal auditing, cost and management accounting or taxation or national higher diploma in internal auditing, cost and management accounting or taxation; or
• 5 years if you have a matriculation certificate or equivalent

The 4-year and 5-year programmes can be reduced by one year should you obtain your accredited undergraduate degree within the necessary timeframe.

Step 3: You will be eligible to register as an Associate General Accountant (SA) once you have completed your accredited undergraduate degree and completed your internship.

Visit SAICA’s website for more information – www.saica.co.za.