Annual Accounting Olympiad goes digital

South African Institute of Chartered Accountants' (Saica's) annual Accounting Olympiad, which will see 4,500 learners in grades 8 and 9 from around the country putting their accounting knowledge to the test, is back this year - but with a twist. The competition, running from 13 to 17 August 2018, is going digital.

The competition is run on a province-based approach, and at stake is the opportunity for learners to win the title of the top accounting learner in their province. Some really attractive prizes are also up for grabs.

"The Saica Accounting Olympiad is a key part of Saica’s annual school project calendar, and exists to attract the next generation of young achievers to chartered accountancy as a career of choice," says Matsoso Tsoaeli, Saica Project Director: Transformation and Growth.

"Now in its fifth year, this year’s Olympiad will be somewhat different from previous ones, since we’ve introduced important changes.

"The first change is that, for the first time, grade 8 learners are allowed to take part in this competition. By doing this, Saica hopes to strengthen the work it does to promote the CA(SA) career at school level by catching and nurturing academic talent early and helping to ensure these learners develop a love and passion for the subject of accounting right from the start of their high school years.

"Our second change specifically reflects changes in learning technology. Formerly written as a paper-based exam, this year’s Olympiad will be written online. We have done this so that learners become more acquainted to the demands of the more digitally-transformed learning environment, but also to ensure that more leaners in different parts of the country can take part," adds Tsoaeli. "Each participant will have to have his or her own secure log-in identity, and the details will be explained to learners and their teachers in advance."

How does the new format work?

These changes have also affected the format of this Accounting Olympiad, which will now take place over two digital rounds:

The first (or qualifying) round of the Olympiad, takes place on 13 and 14 August 2018. It will consist of 15 questions with multiple-choice answers. Learners will have to watch a short video on the chartered accountancy career and the CA(SA) designation, and answer questions based on the video.
To move onto the final (Olympiad) round, learners must pass the qualifying round and achieve at least 40%.
On 15 August 2018, Saica will notify all learners who qualify for the final round that they need to log on at the Olympiad platform on 16 and 17 August to take part.
The names of the winners from each province will be announced on 31 August 2018