A letter from the CA Charter Council demonstrating logic

The verification of B-BBEE status levels occurs in accordance with the Codes of Good Practice issued in terms of the B-BBEE Act (Act No 53 of 2003, as amended). The Amended Codes of Good Practice came into effect on 1 May 2015 in accordance with the Revised Notice of Clarification issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) on 15 May 2015. However, in its clarification notice, the dti determined that for purposes of Sector Codes, which includes the Chartered Accountancy Sector Charter (CA Sector Charter), the transitional period for alignment with the Amended Codes of Good Practice is extended to 30 October 2015.

The CA Charter Council (the Council) has been responsible for the amendments to the CA Sector Charter. It remains the strong preference of the CA Sector to have its own Sector Code that gives expression to its priorities of increasing access to the profession for black people and ensuring that black people play a meaningful role throughout the profession. The focus of the amendments is on skills development and the transformation of the profession.

The amended CA Sector Charter has been finalised and signed off by all stakeholder representatives on the Council except for one of the representative groups. The implication is that the amended CA Sector Charter was not gazetted by the dti's deadline of 30 October 2015.

In a letter received from the Minister of Trade and Industry the CA Sector has been given until 15 November 2015 to reach consensus and finalise the amended CA Sector Charter. It should be noted that all the constituencies are committed to reaching consensus and the Council will continue to work towards this aim. If consensus can be reached and the amended CA Sector Charter can be signed off by 15 November 2015, the amended CA Sector Charter will be effective from the date of gazetting.

Where does this leave entities within the CA Sector in terms of measurement of their B-BBEE status levels in the interim, if the amended CA Sector Charter is not approved and gazetted by 15 November 2015?

* B-BBEE verifications in respect of a financial year ending on or before 31 October 2015 will still be conducted under the extant CA Sector Charter
* B-BBEE verifications in respect of a financial year ending after 1 November 2015 will be conducted in accordance with the Generic Scorecard under the Amended Codes of Good Practice, and not in terms of the extant CA Sector Charter

The Council will keep the CA Sector updated on developments in this regard.

Regards

Tsakani Ratsela
Chairperson: CA Charter Council