A Bachelor of Accounting is the degree route into the professional accounting designations, and it has a feature that sets it apart from other commerce degrees: whether it is accredited by the professional body you are targeting matters more than almost anything else about it.
A student can complete three years of a perfectly legitimate accounting degree and discover that it does not lead to the designation they wanted. That is an avoidable and expensive mistake, and it happens every year.
Entry Requirements at a Glance
Entry requires a strong mathematics-track school record.
- A National Senior Certificate with admission to bachelor’s degree study requires at least 40% in your home language, at least 50% in four subjects from the designated subject list, and at least 30% in two further subjects.
- Mathematics at the level the faculty requires — Mathematical Literacy is not accepted
- Accounting as a school subject, commonly required or strongly preferred
- English at the level the faculty requires
- An APS meeting the programme minimum, which for accounting is typically among the higher commerce requirements
- Admission to a programme accredited by the professional body you intend to register with
- A South African ID, or a passport and study visa for international applicants
Academic and Minimum Admission Requirements
Check accreditation before you register. For the CA(SA) route, the degree must be accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. SAICA publishes which programmes it accredits, and the list changes as programmes gain and lose accreditation.
Other bodies recognise different qualifications. SAIPA has its own accredited qualifications for the Professional Accountant (SA) designation. CIMA and ACCA are examination-based routes with exemption arrangements rather than accredited degrees.
Confirm with the body itself, not with the university’s prospectus. Marketing language around accreditation is sometimes looser than the formal position.
The mathematics requirement is firm. Accounting degrees carry heavy quantitative content, and the first-year failure rate in accounting programmes is substantial. A borderline mathematics result is a genuine warning rather than a technicality.
Subjects, APS and Qualification Requirements
Most South African universities calculate an Admission Point Score (APS) from your best six 20-credit NSC subjects on a seven-point scale, giving a maximum of 42. Life Orientation is excluded at most institutions, and level 1 subjects generally do not count. Each university publishes its own APS table and programme minimums, revised annually, so confirm the figure for your intake year with the institution itself.
The full CA(SA) route, so you can plan the whole thing. A SAICA-accredited bachelor’s degree, then an accredited postgraduate diploma or honours in accounting, then the professional examinations, then a training contract with a registered training office. It takes years, and each stage has its own competition.
The training contract is the bottleneck people underestimate. Firms recruit during the penultimate year of study, so the search starts well before graduation. Ask your faculty when firms recruit on your campus, and attend those events in your second year rather than your final one.
Where the degree route is not open on your school results, extended or foundation commerce programmes at several universities add a year and provide a supported path. Alternatively, a diploma or technician qualification with later articulation into a degree is a slower but genuine route.
Whatever the route, the postgraduate step matters. A bachelor’s degree alone does not produce a designation for any of the main bodies.
Documents and Application Requirements
Applications run through each university’s own system, and accounting programmes fill early.
- Certified copy of your South African ID, or passport for international applicants
- Grade 11 final results and Grade 12 mid-year results when applying
- Final National Senior Certificate once available
- Proof of payment of the application fee where one is charged
- Proof of residence, where required
- For transferring students: academic transcripts and a certificate of conduct
Selection, Intake and Eligibility Considerations
Accounting is among the most oversubscribed commerce streams, and accredited programmes have limited capacity. Apply early and to more than one institution.
Bursary funding here is unusually strong. Audit firms, banks and the professional bodies run large bursary programmes, most with a work-back obligation, and most closing well before registration. If accounting is the plan, this is the field where early bursary applications pay off most.
- Confirm programme accreditation with SAICA or your target body before registering
- Take Mathematics and, where offered, Accounting at school
- Be honest about a borderline mathematics result — consider an extended programme
- Apply for audit firm and professional body bursaries early
- Attend firm recruitment events from second year
- Secure a training contract in your penultimate year
- Plan for the postgraduate step from the start — the degree alone is not the designation
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my degree have to be SAICA-accredited?
For the CA(SA) route, yes. Confirm accreditation with SAICA directly before registering for a programme, since the list changes.
Is Mathematical Literacy accepted?
No. Accounting degrees require Mathematics because of the quantitative content, and the first-year failure rate makes a borderline result a real warning.
Is the degree enough to become a chartered accountant?
No. The route continues through an accredited postgraduate programme, professional examinations and a training contract with a registered training office.
When should I look for a training contract?
During your penultimate year of study. Firms recruit on campus well before graduation, and students who wait are at a disadvantage.
Accredited programme lists, APS minimums and professional requirements are set by universities and SAICA and are revised. Confirm current requirements directly with the institution and the professional body.