If you wish to obtain Registered Auditor status in South Africa you must take these three steps:

1. Undertake ACCA’s Professional Development Programme (PDP)

2. Apply for and obtain the ACCA South Africa Audit Qualification (SA AQ)

3. Register for the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors’ (IRBA) Audit Development Programme (ADP)


ACCA’s Professional Development Programme enables ACCA members and future members to obtain the required practical experience to obtain ACCA’s South Africa Audit Qualification (SA AQ). The SA AQ recognises the wide range of experience and competence that the individual has obtained and allows them to seek further career progression by becoming eligible to register onto South Africa Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors' (IRBA) Audit Development Programme (ADP). Upon successful completion of the ADP programme, the individual could then obtain a Registered Auditor (RA) status in South Africa.

ACCA’s PDP consists of a set of requirements, which must be met to be eligible for the SA AQ. A summary of these is provided below, however, please refer to Annexure 1 of the Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) policy for the full details.

  • Achieve the minimum required Performance Objectives as part of ACCA’s Practical Experience Requirement (PER);
  • Complete 36 months of experience in one or more accounting or finance-related role, which is verified by a suitably qualified training principal.
  • Demonstrate achievement of the required nine audit competences and complete the Competence-Based Submission. These form part of the SA AQ application form.
  • All of the above must be documented in ACCA’s approved documents and systems. For the PER, this is documented in the online My Experience record, which can be accessed via myACCA
  • Employers

    All employers who want to train individuals towards ACCA’s South Africa Audit Qualification (SA AQ) must register as ACCA Approved Employers under the Practising Certificate Development Audit (PCDA) stream. Organisations can apply for additional streams of approval such as Trainee Development (TD) or Professional Development (PD), however, only individuals that are training for a PCDA registered Approved Employer can count their experience towards the requirements for the achievement of the SA AQ. 

    The starting date of the PCDA approval is critical as only experience obtained after the approval starting date can count towards the SA AQ requirements. Any experience obtained prior to that date could still count towards ACCA membership, but not towards the SA AQ requirements (unless the ACCA member is utilising the provisions set out in the Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) Policy). 

  • ACCA Members

    ACCA members must refer to the Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) policy which is designed to facilitate credit attainment within ACCA's Professional Development Programme (PDP). Upon successful completion of the requirements of ACCA’s PDP, ACCA members will be eligible to apply for the South Africa Audit Qualification (SA AQ). Once this is awarded, the ACCA members will be able to register onto South Africa Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors' (IRBA) Audit Development Programme (ADP).

  • ACCA Future Members

    ACCA’s Professional Development Programme (PDP) enables future members to obtain the required practical experience to obtain ACCA’s South Africa Audit Qualification (SA AQ). ACCA’s PDP consists of a set of requirements, which must be met to be eligible for the SA AQ. Please refer to Annexure 1 of the Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) policy for the full details. 

    It is crucial that your employer is registered as an ACCA Approved Employer under the Practising Certificate Development Audit (PCDA) stream, so your experience can count towards the requirements for the SA AQ. You must also have a formal Training Agreement in place with your employer. You can check whether your employer is registered as an ACCA Approved Employer and what streams of approval(s) they hold by checking our Approved Employer directory

Recognised Prior Learning Policy

Our Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) policy is designed to facilitate credit attainment within ACCA's Professional Development Programme (PDP). Upon successful completion of the requirements of ACCA’s PDP, ACCA members will be eligible to apply for the South Africa Audit Qualification (SA AQ). Once this is awarded, the ACCA members will be able to register onto South Africa Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors' (IRBA) Audit Development Programme (ADP). Should any ACCA member find themselves unable to fulfil all the outlined criteria, our PDP offers a pathway to work towards meeting these requirements. We are committed to supporting your professional growth every step of the way.

Members and future members that are applying for the South Africa Audit Qualification on the basis on the RPL policy must complete the following application forms:

Fees

In addition to the regular ACCA fees there are two additional administration fees that are payable in relation to members and future members in South Africa:

  • Training Agreement registration fee – this fee is payable for each ACCA future member who is undertaking their studies at a registered Approved Employer and under a signed Training Agreement. This one-off fee is payable by the Employer upon the registration of each Training Agreement.
  • South Africa Audit Qualification application fee – this fee is payable upon the submission of the member’s application form to ACCA.
  • The current 2024 licensing fees are specified below:

Swipe to view table

ACCA Licensing Fees (South Africa)        ZAR

Training Agreement registration (excl. VAT)

      

2,000

South Africa Audit Qualification application fee

     

4,000