'Much to be done' in black accountants tally

Transformation in the sector was being slowed down by the low number of black students qualifying to study accountancy at university owing to poor results at matric level, said Tsakani Maluleke, chairwoman of the council.

Executives at two of the big four accounting and auditing companies said that the shortage of black chartered accountants was a historical problem that could not be solved overnight.

Giving a progress report on transformation in the sector, Maluleke said the number of black chartered accountants grew from 322 in 2002 to 2185 last year compared with nearly 27000 white chartered accountants and 3082 Indians.

The number of coloured accountants rose from 222 to 874. Equally worrying was the poor representation of blacks in senior management and partnership positions at the big four accounting companies, she said.

"We are starting to close the gap (between black and white chartered accountants) but much work still needs to be done when you consider that blacks constitute (about) 78% of the economically active population in SA," Maluleke said.

Ajen Sita, the managing partner for Africa at Ernst & Young, said a longterm solution was required at the schools level to produce the entry graduates needed to study accountancy at university.

The other problem was that it took up to seven years to produce a chartered accountant - or longer for those who failed examinations - and it took another three years of postgraduation experience before one could be considered for a senior position such as a partner, he said.

"The reality is that, on average, it takes up to 10 years to get into senior management ranks," Sita said.

He said Ernst & Young was spending R10m a year on bursaries for undergraduates and accelerating the promotion of blacks into executive positions. The company had made progress to transform its ownership and management, with 60% of executives now blacks and 40% black women, while the company had a 28% black ownership, Sita said.

Sindi Zilwa, the CEO of accounting and auditing company Nkonki, said progress had been made but more could be done.

Zilwa said another concern was that qualified blacks were not being given "equal" opportunities when some companies allocated auditing jobs. "If blacks were tested on the basis of their potential we could multiply their impact as they can become role models for other aspiring candidates," she said.

Suresh Kana, the CEO of PwC, said the company was investing R100m over three years to train black accountants.

Mr Kana said the number of black chartered accountants was still low but that progress had been made by accounting companies to train and provide bursaries to students.

"This is a long-term initiative and we are very committed to the process but one has to consider that it takes six to seven years to develop one chartered accountant," said Kana.

Maluleke said retention of qualified chartered accountants of all races was another problem although it appeared to be worse for blacks.

Source: Business Day