Strategic and global partnerships

SAICA is an active participant in a number of international forums. Interactions with our global partners are an important part of our advocacy role, which provide SAICA with valuable input to our member engagement activities and inform global standard-setting. Our international partnerships also support our strategy, ensuring the continued relevance of the profession and providing member value through a platform where SAICA can promote the CA(SA) brand and the work of the professionals who hold this designation.

Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) was created by the leading international chartered accountancy institutes to promote, support and develop the vital role that chartered accountants play throughout the global economy. CAW currently comprises 15 member groups across the United Kingdom, Africa and Australasia, and creates a community of more than 1.7 million chartered accountants and students in 190 countries who share a commitment to the highest standards of professional and ethical practice. SAICA’s CEO is a board member of CAW.

CAW’s objectives are to:

• Promote, protect and develop the CA brand for the benefit of our members worldwide
• Support and connect our members wherever they are working globally
• Strengthen the CAW family by sharing expertise and experience and maintaining the status and relevance of chartered accountancy

CAW also promotes the alignment of CA curricula to enable associates to become full members and share full reciprocity with founding member bodies.

The CAW member engagement group shares strategic member engagement initiatives to improve engagement across all institutes. CAW members share thought leadership, training and research to provide additional value and the existing reciprocity arrangements allow for members from individual institutes to have access to certain member events at member rates.

Through the CAW Global Identifier members can connect with other members in the global network, expand their professional connections and gain access to global resources. The CAW website is also a useful resource which is accessible here.

In addition, CAW Network USA was established to serve the needs of Chartered Accountants and to promote the CA designation in the USA. It is the first CAW regional network to be established.

The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) is an alliance of ten leading professional accountancy bodies in significant capital markets in North America, Europe, the UK, Asia and Australasia. It represents more than one million members in over 180 countries around the globe and was created to promote quality services, share information and collaborate on important international issues while furthering the interests of a quality accountancy profession in the public interest. The GAA works with national regulators, governments and stakeholders through member-body collaboration, articulation of consensus views and working in collaboration where possible with other international bodies, especially the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). SAICA is represented on the GAA Board, the tax directors’ group, the technical directors’ group, the education directors’ group and the sustainability and integrated reporting groups. The Institute’s membership of the GAA provides SAICA members with professional support when working in another country covered by the GAA through the GAA passport.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is a global organisation for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC comprises over 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost three million accountants.

IFAC serves the public interest and strengthens the accountancy profession by:

• Supporting the development of high-quality international standards
• Working to prepare a future-ready accountancy profession
• Speaking out on public interest issues as the voice of the global accountancy profession

SAICA is represented on the IFAC Board by an experienced finance professional (who is also a SAICA member) as the South African representative and the SAICA COO as technical advisor.

SAICA is a council member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) a global coalition of regulators, investors, companies, standard setters, the accountancy profession, academia and NGOs. The IIRC’s vision is to align capital allocation and corporate behaviour to wider goals of financial stability and sustainable development through the cycle of integrated reporting and thinking. SAICA’s participation in the IIRC allows the Institute to influence international trends in integrated reporting, advocate for its members and build global relationships in providing guidance and thought leadership in this space.

Pan-African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) is the continental body representing Africa’s Professional Accountants. Established in May 2011, PAFA is a non-profit organisation with 55 Professional Accountancy Organisations (PAOs) from 44 countries. Their mission is to accelerate and strengthen the voice and capacity of the accountancy profession to work in the public interest, facilitate trade, and enhance benefits and quality services to Africa’s citizens.

Reciprocity agreements
SAICA maintains reciprocity with 14 institutes around the world. Thanks to these agreements, the value of SAICA’s premier CA(SA) designation enables career progression opportunities into global, strategic roles which increases international recognition and mobility, expediting our members’ pathways to international business networks and success.

IRBA accreditation

IRBA came into being on 1 April 2006, the commencement date of the Auditing Profession Act, no.26 of 2005. The Act established IRBA to provide for the education, training and professional development of registered auditors; accredit professional bodies; register auditors; and to regulate the conduct of registered auditors.