First-year Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Accounting students Ms Nikhita Naidoo, Ms Adithi Ramachul, Ms Amahle Dlamini, Mr Melusi Ncane, and Ms Zahra Baig clinched first place at the CA of the Future 2025 Challenge.
This is a Deloitte initiative in response to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) updated competency framework for future Chartered Accountants (South Africa) [CA(SA)s]. This year’s case study focused on digitisation and sustainability, and tasked students with developing proposals to digitise an existing manual system.
This year was the first inter-university challenge with participants from Stellenbosch University, the University of Johannesburg, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the University of Pretoria (UK), the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), IIE Varsity College and IIE MSA. UKZN came first, followed by the University of Pretoria in second place and IIE MSA in third.
Speaking on their win, team UKZN said this experience opened their eyes to a world of possibilities within the accounting profession.
“As a first-year BCom Accounting student, this experience has opened my eyes to the possibilities within the accounting profession through interacting with professionals who shared advice, tips and their personal experiences with me. It was exciting to collaborate, learn, and challenge myself alongside other passionate future leaders and grow outside of my comfort zone,” said Ramachul.
For Baig, it was an opportunity to hone her presentation skills. “We learned a great deal about improving our presentation skills through a workshop conducted by Deloitte employees. I felt extremely happy and grateful that we returned as winners. It was a tough competition, but our determination, perseverance and effective collaboration enabled us to succeed,” she said.
For Ncane, winning proved that teamwork makes the dream work. “Winning feels special because it means our effort was recognised, not just by our university but by others too. Most importantly, it reminds me that success comes from unity, discipline, and believing in ourselves as a team,” he said.
Dlamini echoed Ncane’s sentiments: “This victory feels like more than just a title. It’s a strong validation of all our hard work and the long hours our team dedicated. Being recognised on such a prestigious platform is indescribable. Most of all, this experience reinforced my belief in the power of teamwork. Our success was the result of how we collaborated, debated and supported one another,” she said.
Naidoo, the win is motivation to aim higher. “I would describe our win as an emotional one, because we all faced personal challenges and fears while dealing with the pressure of standing out among so many talented teams. Despite everything, we supported one another and gave it our all. This achievement has truly inspired me to aim higher and pursue greater goals in the future,” she said.
Dr Vanessa Gregory, senior lecturer in the School of Commerce and Academic Leader for Financial Accounting, congratulated the students on their achievement. “The group showed tenacity and were humble in accepting feedback from the top five rounds, which they used to deliver an even stronger presentation in the Deloitte inter-university final. This growth demonstrates the kind of learning expected at first-year level – an essential skill for future CA(SA)s. We’re excited to see these students continue to grow in pursuit of their professional goals. Competing against top universities in South Africa and winning illustrates that UKZN is at the forefront of developing future Chartered Accountants,” she said.
Words: Thandiwe Jumo
Photograph: Supplied