SAICA, one of the leading accountancy institutes in the world, chooses the award-winning assessment platform, Surpass, for the delivery of their examination program.
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, UK, 5 October 2020 – BTL is delighted to welcome The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) to the Surpass Community. They join several other prestigious international financial bodies including ICAS, ICAEW, AAT, CPA Canada, and The Association of Corporate Treasurers in their use of Surpass.
SAICA candidates undergo an 8-hour examination as a culmination of their journey to becoming a chartered accountant. During their initial year-long trial of Surpass, SAICA are operating a BYOD model with the resilient Surpass test driver, chosen as the most suitable delivery model due to the dispersed nature of candidates and limited internet connectivity in some areas of the country.
During the examination, candidates respond to case study style questions using word processing and spreadsheet document editors, built in to the Surpass test driver to remove reliance on third-party applications whilst still providing an authentic testing experience.
Janine Claassens, Project Director of Education at SAICA commented:
‘Succeeding at this final assessment requires advanced levels of critical thinking, the ability to work with technology, and the capacity to assimilate new information under pressure over a five-day period which culminates in an eight-hour assessment. Surpass supports SAICA, by offering a user experience to our candidates that support these assessment objectives, adapting to the challenging conditions in South Africa and offering a consistent experience to all our candidates regardless of being local or internationally based.’
Sonya Whitworth, Managing Director of BTL added:
‘We are extremely pleased to welcome yet another leading financial certification body to our community. SAICA examinations are a key part in a candidate’s journey to becoming a chartered accountant. We’re proud that Surpass has been selected for delivery of these high-stakes examinations, to provide candidates with an authentic testing experience and best prepare them for their future careers.’
About SAICA
SAICA, South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 50 000 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 BTL & Surpass
Established in 1985, BTL Group Ltd. has grown into a renowned global provider of assessment technology and services trusted by some of the world’s highest profile providers of high-stakes summative assessments. Since 2007, BTL’s core focus has been the development of its award-winning assessment platform, Surpass. Surpass is considered to be one of the best solutions available and has been used internationally to create, deliver and mark over 25 million computer-based tests to date. BTL’s success has been due to its innovative approach to technological development, its passion for significantly improving assessment for everyone, its creative core, and its refreshing approach to collaboration with partners and Surpass Community members.
