CA(SA): Your ticket to turning your passion, into your career

When Tramayne Monaghan’s boss summoned him to the 18th floor, he didn’t know what he was in for. But he left that office with a promise never to wear a suit again and, at 26 years of age, went on to become the youngest CFO at the world’s largest video game vendor and one of the most financially valuable companies in the world.

As a young girl, Itumeleng Barnard can still remember seeing pictures of London and telling her parents: ‘I’m going to work there when I grow up!’ Today, she’s bringing southern African textiles to the UK’s renowned fashion runways by enabling designers to ship their materials and prints to British soil.

Growing up in East London, Jared Tubb never dreamed he’d live in America let alone be part of a team whose business is used by more than two million people around the world every day.

Yet that’s what being the Director of Finance at an internationally known company worth a $113 billion means to him. So what do these young business leaders have in common? They are Chartered Accountants [CA(SA)]. With the CA(SA) designation behind your name, not only do you have a passport to the international business world but you also have you the ability to:

• Be your own boss or be THE boss;

• Earn a premium salary (right from the start);

• Turn your passions and hobbies into a career;

• Work anywhere in the world you want; and

• Make a tangible and positive difference in this world.

Choosing your future career is daunting – make sure it’s one that has scope to grow and endless opportunities for employment A recent government notice sent out by the Department of Home Affairs listed chartered accountancy on its scarce skills careers list. This means there’s an exceptionally high demand for this unique type of skillset in the country, but not enough qualified individuals available to fill those positions – an enviably situation to find oneself in when you’re living in a country with an unacceptably high unemployment rate such as ours.

Ultimately the CA(SA) designation is about skills, not about jobs. The CA(SA) designation is about making a difference. And that means, with those for letters behind your name, you really can do just about anything.

For more information on how to become a CA(SA) visit www.saica.org.za