SA needs more black accountants says president
South African president Thabo Mbeki says more black accountants should be encouraged to join the profession
The president of South Africa has urged national accounting bodies to
‘mobilise more resources’ to encourage greater numbers of black accountants to
enter the profession.
Speaking at a dinner to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the South African
Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica), Thabo Mbeki said that he was pleased
that Saica, as well as the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants
of Southern Africa (Abasa), and the Public Accountants and Auditors Board, had
set up a bursary fund to help the ‘formerly disadvantaged’ enter the profession.
However, but he said the country still needed more black accountants.
The scheme, called the Nkuhlu Subvention Fund, aims to increase the standard
of accountancy in institutions that attract mainly black students.
‘I think we agree that we should mobilise more resources to support this
initiative,’ said Mbeki. However, he added that he was disappointed that a
separate Abasa fund had only raised 2.3m rand (£200,000) from the private
sector.