Chartered Accountant Salary in South African Rands

If you are planning to pursue CA but are not sure whether Chartered Accountants are successful in South Africa or not then a deep analysis of the pay and allowances is required. According to the students of CA, they face a tough time while collecting data and learning audit methods which indicates that it is a hard job.

It means a Chartered Accountant should earn more than the average South African citizen’s earnings. After asking a few Chartered Accountants, I came to know that there are different levels in the field such as there are trainees then mid and senior-level Chartered Accountants, and last, we have executives who are more experienced than all the previous ones. Let’s narrow down their salaries in South Africa and explore other dimensions of their earnings.

Chartered Accountant Salary In South Africa

As I have mentioned above, the salary depends on the level of the Chartered Accountant, therefore the basic level salary of CA earns R353,083 per year in South Africa. On the other hand, the average salary of a Chartered Accountant is about R496,347 in 2023. If you are interested in the expert level salary then the highest pay is R952,000 per year.

Moving on further, the Chartered Accountant salary is one of the highest in South Africa but when we compare it with the salary of the US the digits are quite interesting. Basically, a CA earns R2018823 in the US but because of currency value differences, salaries are low in South Africa. You should also add that the allowances are included in the amount, but still, the US Chartered Accountant’s salary is far higher than the South African one.

Instead of being pessimistic, if you compare the average level CA salary with other professions such as teacher, psychologist, doctor, or lawyer then the results will open your eyes. According to statistics, an average university lecturer’s salary is about R651,271 per year and a psychologist’s salary per year is R344,231. But a lawyer’s salary is R241,381 and a doctor earns R720,006 per year.

After this short comparison, CA is better than a psychologist and lawyer, whereas teachers have a few thousand more but doctors are earning almost double than Chartered Accountants in South Africa. Anyhow, an expert-level CA has more salary than all the professions mentioned above.

What Does A Chartered Accountant Do?

There are different responsibilities of a CA and sometimes he does not perform all of them according to the type of job. Basically, the major responsibility of a CA is to provide assurance of the accuracy and reliability of the financial details of the organization. But it is not as simple as it seems because there are a lot of complexities in managing financial information, here I have gathered the details.

1. Auditing financial Statements: The most basic part of the CA’s duty is to audit the financial information and provide a report to the relevant department. There are different steps to perform audits such as planning, gathering evidence, evaluating the evidence, and reporting.
2. Preparing Tax Returns: Another major part of a CA’s duty is to look after that organization has paid the taxes accurately. He gathers information about taxes then prepares the return, reviewing the returns and filing the return.
3. Providing Advice: Because a CA deals with all the financial information of the organization therefore he knows more about the profit and loss plus the organization can increase its profit. That’s why a CA provides financial advice regarding the organization such as making plans to achieve goals, managing budget structures, and tax planning.
4. Investigation: The last and most important part is to investigate the financial irregularities in the organization. A CA gathers information about the misgivings, finds evidence, and evaluates all the details. Make a report and provide it to the authorities.

What Does The Salary of A Chartered Accountant Depend Upon?

There are a number of factors that influence the salary of a Chartered Accountant such as the experience or location and level. As I have mentioned above the three levels of the Chartered Accountant; are trainee, intermediate, and experienced level. Here are all the factors involved in the salary fluctuations of the Chartered Accountant.

• Experience: The first part is the previous experience in the field, if a Chartered Accountant just started then his salary will certainly be lower than the average person. Furthermore, the average salary is for those who are working for a few years and deals with the intermediate problems of the financial details. The highest paid Chartered Accountants are the executive or the experienced ones who can handle all kinds of problems.
• Location: Location can impact salary because if you are working in a firm away from the city then it will pay you less. But for the Chartered Accountant who works in metropolitans of South Africa such as Cape Town or Johannesburg then you will get more salary than competitors.

CA is one of the most renowned professions in South Africa because of its highly paid salary. If you want to pursue CA as a profession but are unable to decide whether it will pay you back or not then you should start your studies because a CA in South Africa earns more than a lawyer and psychologist. Anyhow, I have explained how much a CA earns and discussed the levels of CA salaries, I hope this information will help you in the future.