PPE Results 2010

PwC takes first and second place in qualifying exams - with five candidates in the top ten
 
PricewaterhouseCoopers Southern Africa is pleased to announce that five of its trainees came in the top ten of the Public Practice Examination results, also taking first and second place positions. Three other PwC candidates, outside of the top ten, passed the exam with honours, taking the firm’s total honours count to eight candidates.

The PPE is the final test of professional competence for qualification as a Registered Auditor (RA) and Chartered Accountant (CA) and is administered by the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors (IRBA). It assesses the competency of candidates at entry point to the auditing profession after a period of multi-disciplinary training. The exam was written in November 2009 by nearly 2 800 candidates, with the results being released today.

The overall pass rate of the 556 PwC candidates who wrote the exam was 87%, meaning 482 candidates passed, of which 203 are black. The national average overall pass rate was 82.9%. For those attempting for the first time, the PwC success rate was 91%, above the national average of 86,3%. For repeat candidates the PwC pass rate was 77,4% with the national average being 76,3%.

The top candidate in the country was Ruan Greeff from the PwC Cape Town office, followed by Carmen Krull from PwC East London in second place. Other top ten PwC successes were Lisa Beattie from Cape Town coming sixth, Birte Schneider from Windhoek in seventh position, and Durban’s Jacques van Ravestyn in ninth place.

Suresh Kana, CEO of PwC says the firm is exceptionally proud of its trainees reaching this point in their careers as professional accountants. “To those who passed, this is a great achievement. And to those who were unsuccessful, we encourage them to continue pursuing their goals and not to lose sight of their ambitions to qualify as Chartered Accountants. We also share these sentiments with candidates at auditing firms throughout the country. South Africa is struggling with a severe skills shortage, especially in the field of accountancy and PwC, together with the auditing and accountancy profession is committed to playing a leading role in addressing this.”

Kana continues that the development of trainee accountants is central to PwC’s development plan. “By providing candidates with access to financial support, mentors, exposure to high level clients and adequate study leave, PwC ensures that even our youngest staff members play a vital role in the success of our business.” PwC attributes the success of its trainee accountants to top quality training throughout their traineeship period.