Top Achievers Awards 2018
We’re proud to announce the winners of the 2018 Top Achievers Awards, which celebrates and honours the top achievers in our annual National Accounting Olympiad, Tax and Accounting Thesis Competition and Professional Evaluation.
National Accounting Olympiad
In its 16th year, the SAIPA National Accounting Olympiad (NAO) is an annual competition for Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners taking accounting as a school subject. The objective is to make Accounting a subject of choice for learners in high school, and to expose them as early as possible to the Accounting profession and the career path to becoming a Professional Accountant (SA). SAIPA also invests substantially in positioning the NAO to provide learners with a foot in the door with tertiary institutions and future employers.
In 2018, we had 478 schools entering the Olympiad (with 6 700 learners writing).
The winners of the 2018 National Accounting Olympiad:
Grade 12
| Position | Name | School | Final mark |
| First place | Ashraf Irshaad Moosa | Scottburgh High School | 95% |
| Second place | Razeen Parker | Rondebosch Boys High School | 94% |
| Third place (joint) | Nikiwe Dube | Edenglen High School | 92% |
| Evashen Morgan Pillay | Stanger Manor Secondary School | ||
| Deelan Vanmari | Westville Boys High School | ||
| Ahmad Mahomed | Orient Islamic School |
Grade 11
| Position | Name | School | Final mark |
| First place (joint) | Mohammed Taariq Mowzer | Fairbairn College | 91% |
| Kristine Johanna Becker | Richards Bay Christian School | ||
| Timothy Joshua Murphy | Rondebosch Boys High School | ||
| Second place | Trishane Naidoo | Avonford Secondary School | 90% |
| Third place (joint) | Justin Knopfmacher | King David High School | 89% |
| Juan Dylan De Kock | Rondebosch Boys High School | ||
| Jada Alexis Freeman | Stirling High School |
Tax & Accounting Thesis Competition
SAIPA has run the Tax Thesis for eight years and for the first time in 2018 the thesis competition was broadened to cover Tax and Accounting. The competition is aimed at promoting good research in accounting and taxation by rewarding candidates whose thesis/dissertation has been selected through an adjudication process as the best in their degree level. In 2018, entries were received from nine universities, with North West and NMMU participating for the first.
Tax thesis
Whilst the number of tax thesis that were received in 2018 were slightly lower on the Doctoral level, the quality of the Masters thesis submitted was of a high standard, with most of the topics being very relevant to the advancement of the Tax dialogue. A total of 17 tax thesis were received: three in Honours; 13 Masters and one Doctoral level.
Accounting thesis
Three Masters and one doctoral thesis were received. No entries were received at the honours level. All the competition entries deserved to win however only one could receive the prize.
We are looking forward to an even higher number of entries in 2019 especially in the Accounting stream as most universities have now become aware of the SAIPA thesis competition.
The winners in the two categories in 2019 Competition are:
ACCOUNTANCY
Master’s Thesis Winner:
| Topic: | IFRS for SMEs: the current perception of South African practitioners |
| Winner: | Waheeda Mohamed from the University of the Witwatersrand |
| Supervisor: | Yaeesh Yasseen |
PhD Thesis Winner:
| Topic: | The Development of the SME Risk Analysis Tool for Professional Accountants |
| Winner: | GC Cloete from North West University |
| Supervisor: | Prof D P Schutte |
TAXATION
Honours Thesis Winner:
| Topic: | A critique of value-added tax on interactive gambling |
| Winner: | Tayla Stocks from the University of Cape Town |
| Administrator: | Heather Martin |
Master’s Thesis Winner:
| Topic: | Transfer Pricing Legislation in South Africa: Challenges in Compliance |
| Winner: | Ivette du Toit from the University of Johannesburg |
| Supervisor: | Dr M Bornman |
PhD Thesis Winner:
| Topic: | An Investigation into the introduction of a New Wealth Tax in South Africa |
| Winner: | Jacqueline A Arendse from Rhodes University |
| Supervisor: | Prof E Stack |
Professional Evaluation
The Professional Accountant (SA) designation is recognised as a symbol of the bearer’s trustworthiness and commitment to excellence in service.
This status has been earned by the Institute’s high standards for acceptance which are known and respected by our peers, government, top organisations and business leaders. SAIPA members hold themselves to a higher standard by meeting our entry and ongoing membership requirements – all applicants to become a Professional Accountant (SA) must pass our rigorous Professional Evaluation in order this prestigious designation.
We are proud to announce the following top three candidates who were found competent in our recent Professional Evaluations:
November 2017
| Position | Name | Centre |
| First place | Ashrika Singh | Durban |
| Second place | Riette Snyman | Midrand |
| Third place | Lente Steyn | Bloemfontein |
May 2018
| Position | Name | Centre |
| First place | Carla Briers | Midrand |
| Second place | Adelaide Joao | Upington |
| Third place | Kevin Schou | Cape Town |
Proudly sponsored by:
