Pathways to Relevance
Pathways to Relevance defines the post qualification roles and competence requirements which can be used as guideline when undertaking the require self-reflection for the CPD policy.
Chartered accountants (CAs) are professionals who, having completed a rigorous qualification process (i.e., having completed the required education, training, professional and assessment programmes and being eligible to register as a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) in order to use the CA(SA) designation), fill a diverse range of roles in the economy.
The underpinning principle from the SAICA Code of Professional Conduct is that a member is able to demonstrate their professional competence relative to their specific role. These roles are changing as we encounter the digitisation, exponential changes in technology and the advent of what is commonly known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
A CA’s professional competence therefore extends beyond specific accounting technical expertise includes development of competencies that include those attributable to responsible leadership and sustainable value creation. Professional competencies continue to be refined and proficiency levels increased to support the wide variety of roles taken up by the CA, over the span of their career. It will become more common that CAs will change roles five or more times during their working careers.
This requires that CA’s, as lifelong learners, undertake relevant continuing professional development (CPD) activities and intervention to ensure that they maintain and develop the competencies required to continue to perform their roles competently.
This future-focused competency framework identifies and describes the professional competencies as an integration between:
- Professional values and attitudes,
- Enabling competencies, and
- Technical competencies in the value creation process) that a CA should demonstrate for different roles over the life cycle of their career.
