The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), in partnership with Sage Pastel Accounting, today announced that the National SAICA Sage Pastel Accounting Olympiad winner is Sumaiya Jeewa from the Middelburg Muslim School in Mpumalanga,. Sumaiya scored an impressive 95%.

Thembelihle Mzila from Ladysmith High School (KZN) was second with 94%, and the third place was a tie between Joshua Gonggryp from Westville Boys’ High (KZN) and Naushaad Maharaj from Rondebosch Boys’ High School (WC), who both scored 93%.

The Accounting Olympiad, which began in 2007 in Bloemfontein as a regional competition driven by Sage Pastel Accounting, has been a national competition since 2010. Focused on recognising youthful accounting talent, and nurturing an interest in accounting as a profession amongst young South Africans, the Olympiad attracts the country’s top accountancy minds from schools nationwide. In line with SAICA’s strategy to transform the profession and grow the number of chartered accountants in South Africa, the Olympiad plays a key role in making a clear link between accountancy as a subject at school and a possible career in an accounting or other business field.

This year’s results are notable for being among the best since the inception of the national competition.

Gugu Makhanya, SAICA’s Project Director for Transformation, Growth and Professional Development, has welcomed the exceptional results, saying that ‘these results reflect the quality of the entrants and the fact that the competition is attracting the very best accounting learners in South Africa. The results also reflect the high level of commitment shown by the accounting teachers at all the schools that enter the competition:  their work makes all the difference in the world and helps spark a lasting passion for accountancy in their learners.’

Daryl Blundell, General Manager for Sage Pastel Accounting, agrees: ‘The Olympiad is one of our most important annual initiatives because of the role it plays in identifying and building young accounting talent. It also helps to popularise accounting as a subject, and highlights the opportunities a career in accountancy offers for the youth. We are always impressed by the passion, dedication and skill we see among the participants and by how the competition grows every year.’

This year’s Olympiad attracted 4170 grade 11 and 12 learners from 322 schools from around the country.

September 2015 will see a Junior Accounting Olympiad for learners in grade 9 take place for the second year running. The separate competition allows those learners who are still deciding if they want to choose accounting as a subject for grades 10 to12, to stretch their skills.

The Junior Olympiad came as a product of SAICA’s involvement with the capacitating of economic management sciences teachers focusing on accounting better to master both the content and methodology for their subject.