Nkuhlu Department of Accounting is growing and celebrating success

Thirty-three (33) students obtained their Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting at UFH in 2014. Twenty-nine (29) of these passed the South African Instituted of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examination written in January this year. This is an 88% pass rate which is above the national average of 82% for candidates attempting this exam for the first time. In 2014 UFH had twenty-five (25) candidates writing the ITC with a pass rate of 77%.

This increase of over 30% in the number of candidates is very positive for UFH - the size of our class is growing whilst maintaining very high standards as seen in the increased pass rate.  This compares favourably with other universities in the Eastern Cape. Nationally 18 candidates passed with honours that are with a final mark of 75% or more. One of these candidates is a UFH student, Majury Chada (pictured on the left with lecturer Mr Daylan Staude). This is the second time that UFH have had a student pass the ITC with honours. UFH was the first previously disadvantaged institution to be accredited by SAICA in 2007. The Nkuhlu Department of Accounting has matured and proudly takes its place amongst those institutions that have been accredited for many years.

Nkuhlu Department of Accounting – bears the name of Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu - the first black person to qualify as a Chartered Accountant in 1976. SAICA has a number of initiatives to transform the demographic composition of the Chartered Accountancy profession. Nationally black South Africans made up 31% of the candidates writing the ITC. At UFH 45% of the candidates are black South Africans and they achieved an 87% pass rate.

The accounting department at UFH is hosting an international accounting conference at the ICC in East London in July this year - the South African Association Accounting Association (SAAA) in conjunction with the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER). Academics from South Africa and around the world will attend this 3 day conference. Prof Lana Weldon of UFH is currently the chairperson of the SAAA.

Ntombi Mnconywa HOD Nkuhlu Department of Accounting congratulated all the candidates who passed their ITC examination in 2015. “My heart is full of praises to the Almighty for such an outstanding performance by our students and staff at large, especially at this stage where UFH will soon be celebrating her centenary”.