The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), in partnership with Pastel Accounting has announced that Sanelisiwe Nhlumayo, a grade 12 learner from Velabahleke High School in Umlazi Kwazulu-Natal, is the 2011 National SAICA Pastel Accounting Olympiad winner. Nhlumayo did an outstanding job by getting full marks for her paper and walks away with a well deserved laptop computer and R2 000 in prize money.
This year, the SAICA Pastel Accounting Olympiad drew 2 553 grade 11 and 12 learners from 278 schools around the country. The Olympiad, which began its life as a regional competition in Bloemfontein with long-time sponsors Pastel Accounting was expanded to a national competition in 2010.
It has grown to attract top young accountancy minds from schools across South Africa. “The purpose of the Accounting Olympiad is to recognise young accounting talent and encourage interest in accountancy amongst learners,” says Tonia Jackson project director for transformation and growth at SAICA. She goes on to say, “the competition is tough and the learners have to apply the best of their accounting skills on the day to achieve a top spot.”
Provincial winners and runners-up earn cash prizes while top-performing schools, such as Khanyisa High School in the Eastern Cape and Erasmus Monareng Secondary School in Gauteng, win desktop computers. A school to keep an eye on is Al-Huda Muslim School in the North West, where learners scooped all of the available prizes in the province - from the top performer and the runners-up, as well as the school with the highest average score in the North West.
Top-performing learners include the Eastern Cape’s Mithra John from Kingsrigde High School, Sanelisiwe Nhlumayo from Velabahleke High in KwaZulu-Natal, James Asith from Capricorn High School in Limpopo, Thandokuhle Zwane from Acek Academy Secondary School in Mpumalanga, Taskeen Cassim from Al-Huda Muslim School in the North-West, Nomalanga Manzana from the Northern Cape High School in the Northern Cape and Wessel Davel from Hoër Volkskool Heidelberg in Gauteng.
Joanne Van Der Walt, marketing manager at Pastel Accounting says, “we’re thrilled to have been part of this exciting process to discover and celebrate hidden accounting talent around the country. This is one of Pastel Accounting’s most important annual initiatives because its focus is on enhancing accounting skills in South Africa. We want to support skills development for this vital profession, and also show young people the opportunities that exist for them to pursue a career in accountancy.”
Jackson says the Olympiad fits perfectly with the SAICA’s plan to grow and transform the accountancy profession. “The competition,” she says, “recognises accounting talent at school level, popularises accounting as a subject, and draws the link between accounting at school and a possible career in an accounting or business field.”
This year, for the first time the Olympiad paper was made available in English and Afrikaans, which allowed more schools to participate and this will be continued in the future.
Van Der Walt and Jackson congratulated all 2 553 learners who participated in the 2011 instalment of this prestigious competition which they agree wouldn’t have happened without the involvement of educators and parents. They went on to encourage more learners and schools to take part in the third national competition in 2012.
Congratulations to all the winners:
Eastern Cape:
Mithra John, grade 12, from Kingsridge High School
Ntsume Thuthuzela, grade 12, from Khanyisa High School
Chumasande Thembisa, grade 12, from Kingsridge High School
Limpopo
James Asith, grade 12, from Capricorn High School
Rammutla Phuthi, grade 12, from Dendron Secondary School
Meso Phoshoko, grade 12, from Taxila Secondary School
Mpumalanga
Thandokuhle zwane, grade 12, from Acek Academy Secondary
Xolani Maclacua, grade 12, from Fundinjob Secondary
Trust Mtsweni, grade 12, from Eastdene Combined
North-West
Taskeen Cassim, grade 12, from Al-Huda Muslim School
Faraaz Alli Mohamed, grade 12, from Al-Huda Muslim School
Muhammed RA Minty, grade 12, from Al-Huda Muslim School
Mohammed Munshi, grade 12, from Al-Huda Muslim School
Northern Cape
Nomalanga Manzana, grade 12, from Northern Cape High School
Abubakr Kajee, grade 12, from Welkom Gimnasium High (Free State)
A
manda Matutu, grade 12, from William Pascod High School
Amraan Ujra, grade 12, from Northern Cape High School
Gauteng
Wessel Davel, grade 12, Hoër Volkskool Heidelberg
Zamokuhle Mofokeng, grade 12, Erasmus Monareng Secondary School
Kgotso Rea, grade 12, Erasmus Monareng Secondary School
Congratulations to all the winning schools:
Khanyisa High School in the Eastern Cape
Erasmus Monareng Secondary School in Gauteng
Durban Girls' High School in KwaZulu-Natal
Capricorn High School in Limpopo
Fundinjobo High School in Mpumalanga
Al-Huda Muslim School in the North West
William Pescod High School in the Northern Cape