The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies has issued a notice of gazette of the Chartered Accountancy Charter (the draft sector code) in terms of Section 9 (5) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act.
This gazette means that members of the public and interested parties have 60 days in which to comment on the Draft Sector Code.
At the end of the 60 days period, all comments and input will be collated, considered and incorporated in the final version of the Draft Sector Code that will be considered by the minister.
Should the Minister be satisfied that all requirements have been met, will then issue, if no further objections are not received, gazette the Chartered Accountancy as a Final Sector Code in terms of Section 9 (1) of the B-BBEE. A Sector Code issued in terms of Section 9 (1) is final and binding on all industry players and companies in that sector.
Only 12 percent of the current CAs in South Africa (excluding overseas members) are black (inclusive of Coloureds and Indians), with only about seven percent being African. The underlying vision of the charter is to grow the number of black people, particularly black women entering the profession to reflect the country’s demographic population. Black CAs have been identified as critical skills that is short supply and yet in greater demand.
The charter, which sets B-BBEE targets for chartered accountancy firms, registered auditors, organisations such as the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), Training Outside Public Practice (TOPP) and accredited educational institutions, presents the industry with an opportunity to accelerate the access of black people in the CA profession through a number of interventions and programmes that may not be adequately addressed under the generic Codes of Good Practice.
The copy of the charter is available from the Department of Trade Industry (dti) website, http://www.thedti.gov.za, and the government printers.
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) can also be contacted for copies.
For further information, contact:
Sidwell Medupe
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 073 522 6801
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Lillian Mofokeng
Cell: 082 888 8362
E-mail: lmofokeng@thedti.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
3 November 2009
Source: Department of Trade and Industry (http://www.dti.gov.za/)
