The number of chartered accountant candidates in South Africa is decreasing, while others are choosing to pursue opportunities in first-world countries â€` contributing to the ongoing talent and skills shortage within the industry in the country.
The Department of Home Affairs periodically releases a Critical Skills list to attract foreign professionals with locally scarce skills into South Africa to resolve economic bottlenecks resulting from skill shortages.
Three updates have been made to the Critical Skills list over the last two years: February 2022, August 2022, and â€` most recently â€` October 2023.
In the latest edition of the Critical Skills list, Accountancy, specifically auditing and financial analysis, is in high demand in South Africa.
Speaking to eNCA, the education and training manager at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), Karl Smith, said that one of the reasons for this decline in qualified accountants is the negative perception of the profession.
“Many students are not pursuing careers in auditing, as they view it as a less exciting or less innovative industry,” he said. Additionally, he noted the industry doesn’t align with the aspirations of the youth in South Africa.
“Gen Z (ages between 12 and 27) value purposeful work instead of routine office tasks, and there has been significant demand for hybrid and work-from-home environments which is not offered by the industry,” he said.
“Young professionals want a work-life

balance, flexible work hours, and to see the positive results of their work in society â€` and this has particularly accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic,” Smith added.
This has led to an ageing auditing workforce, with many professionals nearing retirement age.
According to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, there has been a drop in the number of candidates writing Test of Competence (ITC). The number dropped from 3,887 in 2021 to 2,946 by 2022 â€` a 24% decline.
SAIPA’s most recent estimates indicate that South Africa has a shortage of more than 20,000 skilled accounting professionals.
The State of Accounting Firms Trends Report for 2023 revealed that over 90% of accountants and 95% of auditors find recruiting skilled talent difficult. The study was conducted among 4,100 accountants and 2,300 auditors.
Compounding the issue is that many international audit firms poach local talent.
Smith noted that many qualified professionals seek greener pastures in favourable countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia.
Local talent firmly believes international markets offer significantly higher salaries and better opportunities to achieve long-term goals.
“For auditing businesses to survive, they need to relook at their competency frameworks and invest in tools and the necessary technology that tackle the needs of evolving generations,” said Smith. V.5186

Australia’s plan to cap the number of new international students to 270,000 starting in 2025 has sparked widespread concern within the education sector. However, the proposal, which still needs parliamentary approval, is unlikely to have a significant impact on students from African countries planning to study in Australia. The National Planning Level (NPL) for 2025, which includes the limit on the number of international student enrolments, aims to reduce overall migration to pre-pandemic levels. V.5595
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Bethuel Ngobeni, Dumisa Moyo, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Moseki Sechele, Thabo Sechele and Khudzai Mashaya appear in court to face illicit gold mining charges. Image: Thapelo Morebudi An investigation into illicit gold mining has uncovered how one of the accused obtained a fraudulent identity document, 12 years after arriving in SA. V.5594
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• Lesotho has rekindled moves to implement localisation rules for certain types of businesses dominated by foreigners. • Indians, Chinese and South Africans dominate the 47 reserved businesses. • SA firms will be under pressure to use local distributors, and not contract Basotho labour via SA-based agents. V.5587
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Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. CAPE TOWN - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that long queues, off-line systems, and paper-based applications at department offices would soon be a thing of the past. Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. V.5588
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‘There are various pathways and provisions in the law that recognise that people should not be stateless, and we are failing to ensure that these people have papers,’ says Global Movement Against Statelessness’ Christy Chitengu. Christy Chitengu was born in South Africa and regards herself as a South African, despite her parents being Zimbabwean. V.5589
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Inspection at workplaces set to increase Newly appointed home affairs minister Leon Schreiber will increase inspections at restaurants, spaza shops, farms and mines to heighten the crackdown on undocumented workers in these industries. Schreiber said while SA welcomes those who contribute to the country legally through skills, investments and as tourists, it needed to do more to combat illegal immigration. V.5592
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CAPE TOWN - Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber says since March, his department already reported 109 cases of document fraud to its counter corruption unit. Three officials have been convicted and sentenced during this same period. V.5593
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Key Takeaways • As of August 28, Canada has banned temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country. • The policy`s early termination is part of IRCC`s efforts to manage the influx of temporary residents and combat immigration fraud. • Starting September 26, 2024, Canada will cut the number of temporary foreign workers by about 65,000. Canada has recently launched a new policy that prohibits temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country, a decision that significantly impacts their ability to work and stay in Canada. V.5583
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The United Kingdom has long been a favoured destination for South Africans seeking work or residency, thanks to shared language, time zones, and historical ties. However, according to JP Breytenbach from Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the profile of South African migrants is changing. “There is a significant increase in business migration, with companies aiming to expand into the UK as a gateway to Europe or the US,” he shared in an interview with Biznews. Many of these South Africans businesses feel they have reached a ceiling in their local markets or are tech entrepreneurs who believe their products are not yet viable in South Africa. This year, new UK immigration rules are set to take effect as the country seeks to limit net migration. V.5584
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Applicants who prefer hard copies of ZEP waiver letters will still be able to collect them at branches. Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, during the swearing-in ceremony of the new national executive members at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 3 July, 2024 in Cape Town. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced that the first batch of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) waiver applications has been processed. ZEP holders will no longer need to go to Home Affairs branches to find out the outcome of their applications. The department will be sending them out digitally. V.5585
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