Background

South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) is the national professional organisation of Chartered Accountants in South Africa. In 1973, SAICA, along with other accounting and industry bodies, formed the Accounting Practices Board (APB) to develop accounting standards for use by South African companies. The APB has since been replaced by the Financial Reporting Standards Council (FRSC) in 2011, which reports into the Minister of Trade and Industry as per Companies Act. SAICA established an Accounting Practices Committee, a technical advisory body that continues to advocate and influence reporting standards for the benefit of its members and the economy at large.

Accounting Standards

South Africa requires companies to use IFRS Accounting Standards or the IFRS for SMEs Standard, with some sectors developing suitable reporting frameworks.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Listings Requirements required listed companies to use IFRS Accounting Standards (rather than the harmonised SA GAAP) effective 1 January 2005.

Sustainability Disclosure Standards

South Africa is still considering the adoption of sustainability disclosures, with SAICA as a pivotal contributor in the development of a framework for this process. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), which operates under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), is responsible for reporting, research and offering advice to the Minister on national policy matters related to company and intellectual property law. To further these efforts, CIPC has formed a Sustainability Reporting Working Group that includes report preparers, assurance providers, and professional organizations (POAs). SAICA serves as the secretariat for this group and actively promotes sustainability reporting, integrated thinking, and capacity-building initiatives to help its members navigate the evolving landscape of sustainability reporting.