Beyond Formal Support: Appraising Micro-Level Interventions in the Black African Chartered Accountancy Pipeline in South Africa

Abstract

The chartered accountancy profession in South Africa continues to underrepresent Black Africans in its membership. The government, accounting professional bodies and other affiliated institutional stakeholders within the profession have introduced various support initiatives to address this underrepresentation. Despite these initiatives, the success rate of Black African aspiring candidates remains low, posing a significant challenge to the country's economic transformation imperative. The study is therefore positioned to explore support initiatives emerging amongst individuals in the profession, specifically within digital communities. Using Ubuntu as a theoretical lens and applying a qualitative netnographic approach, support initiatives available to aspiring Black African CAs were identified and appraised. The study collected data from publicly available LinkedIn posts that provided or referred to support for aspiring CAs in South Africa. Selected posts were identified using keyword searches related to the CA(SA) pathway and support for aspiring CAs. The collected data was analysed and categorised based on the support offered, the support engaged by aspirants and the gaps that remain. The study found that support was primarily offered by individuals who had walked the journey. The support was primarily academic, with mental, networking, mentorship, financial, and learnership support also evident. It was evident that aspirants were engaging in the support. The identified gaps indicate a segmented, siloed approach to support, often leading to duplication, which could overwhelm the aspirants. The informal nature of the support also casts doubt on its credibility. Based on the study, it therefore recommends that macro- and meso-level institutions collaborate with micro-level support providers to complement one another and broaden the reach and capacity of support initiatives. This collaboration would strengthen the comprehensive support available to aspiring candidates