23 December 2021

SAICA confirms the way forward for the 2021 APC examination rewrite

Following the events that transpired on 1 December 2021 with the writing of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) and various stakeholder engagements regarding the impact of the December 2021 APC sitting, SAICA has today communicated the following information to candidates and SAICA stakeholders.

After careful consideration of all the facts at hand and considering the findings from all stakeholder consultations, SAICA confirms the revised way forward as approved by the SAICA Board:

  • Once SAICA completes the marking of the 1 December 2021 APC, all candidates will be informed of their individual results. The 1 December 2021 APC sitting results will be released in February 2022.
  • Once results are released, all APC candidates who took the 1 December 2021 APC will be given the opportunity to rewrite the assessment.
    • Due to the extent of the technical challenges experienced on 1 December 2021, SAICA believes that affording all candidates the opportunity to rewrite will provide candidates an opportunity to better demonstrate or improve their competence.
    • Candidates who are successful with the 1 December 2021 APC may elect not to rewrite.
    • Candidates who demonstrated competence in the 1 December 2021 APC and opt to rewrite the 2021 APC will be accorded the higher of the competency levels achieved in the two assessments.
    • The rewrite shall be written at the end of March 2022, the exact date will be communicated with candidates in due course.
  • There will be no examination fee levied for the rewrite.
  • To participate in the rewrite, candidates must complete the necessary formal registration process.
  • SAICA will revert to a hybrid model of e-writing as utilised in previous APC sittings. This means that candidates will be able to use their own or firm provided laptops to write the APC. SAICA will, however, hire laptops for those candidates who do not have access to laptops as done previously.
  • The overall results and accompanying statistics of the 2021 APC cohort which includes the 1 December 2021 and the rewrite sitting will be published at the same time. These will be released at a date to be communicated to candidates in due course.

SAICA confirms that comprehensive risk mitigating measures have been put in place to ensure that the events that took place on 1 December 2021 do not repeat. This includes measures around improved connectivity and appropriate technical support being in place on the day of the rewrite.

In the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the 2021 APC sitting, SAICA is focused on delivering a credible response to this challenge and will timeously communicate exact dates early in 2022 once the logistical imperatives are firmly in place.


SAICA Media Contact

Ms Karin Jacobsen

Project Director: Marketing and Communications

Learning, Development and National Imperative Division (SAICA)

Tel: ‪011 621 6913

Email: ***@saica.co.za


Ms Renette Human

Project Director: Communications

Brand Division (SAICA)

Tel: 011 621 6713

Email: ***@saica.co.za

About SAICA

SAICA, South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 46 000 members and associates who are chartered accountants [CAs(SA)], as well as associate general accountants [AGAs(SA)] and accounting technicians [ATs(SA)], who hold positions as CEOs, MDs, board directors, business owners, chief financial officers, auditors and leaders in every sphere of commerce and industry, and who play a significant role in the nation’s highly dynamic business sector and economic development.

About the APC

As a professional body, it is SAICA’s responsibility to determine the qualification process for prospective Chartered Accountants in South Africa. The process includes the writing of two Qualifying Examinations, namely the Initial Test of Competence and the APC written on 1 December 2021.

The APC is by nature a very different assessment compared to the Initial Test of Competence which is written immediately after the completion of the postgraduate programme. It is a competency-based assessment that, via a case study, reviews the candidates’ ability to demonstrate ethical, personal and professional attributes in their application to real-world scenarios using their technical know-how. The case study asks candidates to respond to real-life tasks expected of entry-level CAs(SA).

The APC is specifically designed to drive a change in behaviour and promote the importance of developing professional competence for prospective Chartered Accountants. Candidates are expected to demonstrate their ability to be lifelong learners and apply this to the case study scenario using their technical knowledge.