VALUE CREATION
OUR STRATEGY, PERFORMANCE AND IMPACT
Intellectual Capital: The Cornerstone of SAICA’s Relevance
What Intellectual Capital Means to SAICA
SAICA’s intellectual capital encompasses its reputation, thought leadership, technical expertise, designations, and digital transformation efforts. These components are essential in advancing SAICA’s strategic pillar of Economic and Social relevance, in ensuring that SAICA remains a globally recognised and trusted leader in the accountancy profession.
Central to this is the promotion and protection of SAICA’s designations − CA(SA), AGA(SA), and AT(SA) − as hallmarks of trust, ethics, and professionalism. Through an integrated brand and marketing strategy, SAICA positions these designations as essential to societal and economic progress.
Initiatives
Underpinning its intellectual capital strategy are initiatives such as:
Driving visibility and prestige through strategic campaigns aligned with the ‘Difference Makers’ ethos
Leveraging thought leadership and advocacy to establish SAICA as a leading voice in the profession
Promoting all designations as critical to the future of the accountancy profession
By integrating digital transformation into its intellectual capital framework, SAICA enhances member engagement, improves operational efficiency, and ensures the adaptability of its designations to meet evolving global standards. These efforts are complemented by the celebration and profiling of members whose contributions exemplify SAICA’s values and impact.
Through these initiatives, SAICA aligns its intellectual capital with its mission of driving economic and social relevance, ensuring that its designations and influence remain transformative on both a local and global scale.
Building Brand Equity
A year of impact
In 2024, SAICA’s Brand and Marketing division achieved impressive results, driven by its North Star to become a leader in shaping the reputation of the designations, the Institute and the wider accountancy profession. Success was achieved through impactful contributions across its seven functional areas: Strategic Brand Management, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Corporate Communications, Digital, Publishing, Experiential Marketing and Commercial, setting new standards for effectiveness and innovation.
Through a well-coordinated and integrated approach, the division consistently delivered measurable outcomes, across diverse audiences. Experiential initiatives celebrated member achievements and strengthened global engagement, while an enhanced IMC process ensured alignment between strategy and execution.
At the core of SAICA’s 2024 success was a unifying theme: Difference Makers, seamlessly connecting the Brand and Marketing division’s strategy to deliver a cohesive and impactful message.
Digital platforms saw significant advancements to usability and accessibility driving record engagement. These enhancements reinforced SAICA’s position as a leader in digital transformation, making interactions more seamless and inclusive for members. On the commercial front, the division exceeded revenue targets, securing high-value partnerships that strengthened financial sustainability and expanded brand visibility.
Corporate communications set new benchmarks, achieving exceptional media coverage and audience engagement through targeted campaigns. Publishing efforts further amplified the voices of members, emphasising their achievements and contributions to the profession.
The AGM experience further demonstrated SAICA’s commitment to transparency and effective stakeholder engagement, reinforcing trust and alignment with its mission.
CA(SA) Brand Metrics
The following brand metrics specifically reflect the impact on the CA(SA) designation. Overall, the CA(SA) designation performed positively, despite a marginal decline in certain scores. The most notable decrease was a 7% drop in admiration, largely attributed to growing competition from the MBA and CFO(SA) designations. This decline was most pronounced within the large, medium, and SMME unlisted business sectors.
On a positive note, the Net Promoter Score showed a significant increase of six points, indicating stronger advocacy for the CA(SA) designation. In addition, there was a 3% increase in the Employee Preference Index, reflecting the growing attractiveness of the CA(SA) designation as a preferred career choice. This increase signals a stronger alignment with employee career aspirations, enhanced professional recognition, and a competitive edge in attracting and retaining top talent within the accountancy profession.
Brand Metrics Scorecard
Attractiveness
PHI¹ CA(SA) Attractiveness Index
Learners, students, and trainees
2024: 84,48%
2023: 89,50%
2022: 86,16%
Relevance and Reputation
PHI Brand Admiration Index
All stakeholders
2024: 81,52%
2023: 82,67%
2022: 79,89%
Brand strength of the CA(SA) designation – Brand Health Report from Ask Afrika
Brand Health Spontaneous Awareness Index
Business decision-makers
2024: 91%
2023: 90%
2022: 92%
Brand strength of the CA(SA) designation – Brand Health Report from Ask Afrika
Brand Health Preference in Employees Index
Business decision-makers
2024: 80%
2023: 77%
2022: 75%
Brand strength of the CA(SA) designation – Brand Health Report from Ask Afrika
Brand Health Net Promoter Score²
Business decision-makers
2024: 36
2023: 30
2022: 34
Brand strength of the CA(SA) designation – Brand Health Report from Ask Afrika
Brand Health Trust Index
Business decision-makers
2024: 83%
2023: 84%
2022: 83%
Brand strength of the CA(SA) designation – Brand Health Report from Ask Afrika
Admiration Index
Business decision-makers
2024: 68%
2023: 75%
2022: 70%
Strategic Brand Management
SAICA’s branding initiatives are aimed promoting, managing and strengthen brand relevance and equity for SAICA and its designation in the market.
Three Designations Campaigns – HR Event: The Future of HR and Business
In line with brand strategy to promote SAICA’s designations − CA(SA), AGA(SA) & AT(SA) − SAICA launched its inaugural recruiters and HR leaders’ initiative to promote members’ and associates’ employability and establish brand equity among recruiters and HR practitioners. The event aimed to establish SAICA as a leading authority in developing future-ready accounting professionals, raise awareness of the distinction and strategic value of the SAICA designations, and strengthen partnerships and collaboration with recruiters and HR professionals to ensure that talent acquisition strategies are aligned with industry demands.
SAICA Biz Impact Podcast
Season 2 of the SAICA Biz Impact Podcast expanded its reach and built brand equity by partnering with Xero as a sponsor, as well as industry expert influencers and media. A key feature was the strategic partnership with Vuma FM, which continues to maintain SAICA in the spotlight and broaden opportunities to create and strengthen SAICA and the SAICA Biz brand.
SAICA Biz Impact Podcast teamed with Vuma FM for the Women’s Month event to empower female entrepreneurs, and it continues to empower listeners with business advice on its weekly business show, which has a reach of around 189 000 listeners. SAICA’s expertise and thought leadership are reflected in high levels of engagement on social media platforms and through brand and public relations activities, reinforcing SAICA’s position as a leading voice in the industry.
Youth Strategy and Brand Building
The youth strategy strives to provide a consistent brand experience and establish brand equity within the youth segment, hence increasing the appeal of the profession. As part of the youth strategy, the ‘Be the Story Behind the Numbers’ campaign was developed to promote the profession as purpose-driven and inspire young people to pursue careers in accounting and finance.
To increase brand visibility and create integrated experiences, the campaign used a multifaceted approach that included young ambassador partnerships, leveraging youthful spaces, and a robust digital content strategy comprising a series of edutainment content and the launch of the youth hub, a home for the youth. The campaign’s comprehensive approach to youth experiences and content integration enabled a consistent SAICA brand narrative and experience across all touchpoints, resulting in the optimisation of the social media strategy for increased visibility and reach. The campaign produced significant levels of engagement and reach, contributing to social media platform adoption and growth, as well as increased visits to the youth hub.
