The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) has since apologized profusely for the incidents that had negatively impacted those who wrote the exam.
According to SAICA CEO, Freeman Nomvalo, the issues that arose on the day would’ve been avoided if the laptops were assessed prior to the exam. This also includes the function of the connectivity and the compatibility of the software used.
“The number of technical support that was on site, the invigilators were there but invigilators were not able to deal with the technical IT issues,” said Nomvalo.
In the past candidates used their own personal laptops or their employers' devices. The issue then, was access rights, that in turn hindered on-site technical support from helping the candidates.
This is a reflection that SAICA had experienced related challenges prior to this years’ exam, but the institute has never experienced a problem of this magnitude.
“In an attempt to resolve those problems, this option of hiring laptops was considered a way to mitigate that but even when you do that you still need to have certain logistical issues handled well in advance,” further explained Nomvalo.
The CA Board has taken the decision that everyone writes, however, there are stakeholders that have highlighted concerns in relation to marking.
The institute has nodded at the fact that they have a great appetite for marking scripts that are in their possession before taking a final decision on candidates who’ll write again.
