Careers › Business & finance

How to become a Chartered Accountant (CA)

Audits, reports on and advises about the money side of organisations.

What does a Chartered Accountant (CA) actually do?

More about this career

CAs audit financial statements, advise on tax and financial strategy, and increasingly move into general business leadership – a huge number of South African CEOs and CFOs started as CAs. After your degree you write SAICA’s board exams and complete a three-year training contract (articles) before you can call yourself a CA(SA).

Where this degree can take you

  • Auditor
  • Tax Consultant
  • Financial Director / CFO
  • Forensic Accountant

This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.

Not from an official source

Subjects that usually help

  • Mathematics
  • Accounting (helpful, not always required)

This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.

Not from an official source

Where to check this yourself

What the degrees we’ve captured actually ask for

  • Mathematics – asked for by 6 of 6 degrees
  • Accounting – asked for by 1 of 6 degrees

Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each degree links to the page it came from.

Degrees that lead here

6 degrees at 5 universities. More are added as we verify them.

Stellenbosch University

Selection programme

BAcc (CA route)

Economic & Management Sciences · 3 years

Stellenbosch aggregate 70 %

  • Mathematics: 70% OR Mathematics: 60% AND Accounting: 70%
  • English: 50% if it is your Home Language, 70% if it is your First Additional Language

Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher.

Source: View the official page (files.su.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Johannesburg

Partly verified

Bachelor of Accounting (CA stream)

Economic & Financial Sciences · 3 years

UJ APS 33 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)

This figure was read from the search-engine index of the official UJ programme page rather than from the full page, and UJ’s 2027 prospectus PDF could not be fetched. Confirm it on the UJ page before you rely on it.

Source: View the official page (uj.ac.za) (opens the official page)

University of KwaZulu-Natal

From an older document

BCom Accounting

Law & Management Studies · 3 years

UKZN APS 32 points out of 48

  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)

The published APS range is 48-32. This comes from the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure, the most recent official source we could find. UKZN had not published a 2027 table when we checked, so treat these as 2026 figures pending a 2027 update. Applications go through the CAO.

Source: View the official page (studyatukzn.ukzn.ac.za) (opens the official page)

University of Pretoria

BCom Accounting Sciences

Economic & Management Sciences

UP APS 34 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 6 (70% or more)

Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.

Source: View the official page (drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of the Witwatersrand

From an older document

Bachelor of Accounting Science (CA route)

Commerce, Law & Management · 3 years

Wits APS 44 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 6 (70% or more)

This figure comes from the Wits schools-liaison Grade 12 guide, which is headed for 2026 entry. We have not yet found a 2027 course-finder page confirming it, so treat it as the most recent official figure rather than a confirmed 2027 one.

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

From an older document

BCom Accounting

Commerce, Law & Management · 3 years

Wits APS 38 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)

This figure comes from the Wits schools-liaison Grade 12 guide, which is headed for 2026 entry. We have not yet found a 2027 course-finder page confirming it, so treat it as the most recent official figure rather than a confirmed 2027 one.

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Are your marks enough?

Put your subjects in once and we’ll check them against every degree above – scored each university’s own way.

What do I qualify for?