About EY South Africa
EY is one of the "Big Four" professional services firms, alongside Deloitte, KPMG and PwC. Globally, it formed in 1989 when Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young, and it adopted the short name EY in 2013. In South Africa the firm provides assurance, tax, consulting and advisory services to clients in nearly every industry. Its Johannesburg office is in Sandton.
Audit and advisory work depends on qualified Chartered Accountants. Therefore, EY recruits future trainees years ahead, while they are still at school or in the early years of a degree.
How EY supports students
The EY CA Stream Bursary supports students working towards the Chartered Accountant qualification of SAICA. The funded route usually has a three-to-four-year accounting degree, followed by an honours year or Certificate in the Theory of Accounting. Students must study at a SAICA-accredited university, such as the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria or Wits.
The firm offers two bursary categories. One is Academic Merit with Financial Need. The other is Academic Merit only. Because of this split, strong candidates whose family income is too high for need-based funding still have a route to support.
Bursars do more than study. They also sign a training contract that places them in EY's SAICA-approved training programme once they finish their academic work.
The training contract is where much of the value lies. During it, trainees work on real client audits, learn to apply auditing standards and build the hours of practical experience that SAICA requires. Afterwards, many CAs move into finance, tax or advisory roles, either at EY or elsewhere in the market. That is why this bursary is so popular, and why competition is strong.
What to know before applying
Applicants must be South African citizens with a valid ID. In recent calls, matric applicants needed at least four distinctions, not counting Life Orientation. They also needed to show strong accounting ability and be accepted or enrolled at a SAICA-accredited institution. Check the official page for the current entry requirements, since they can change.
Timing matters. In the latest cycle, matric applications opened on 1 July and university applications on 1 August, and both closed at the end of September. Plan ahead so that your results, ID and motivation are ready.
The work-back obligation is firm. Recipients must work at EY for the length of their training contract, which is a minimum of three years after qualifying. For this reason, think carefully about whether a long-term career in audit, tax or advisory is right for you. Read the contract terms in full before you accept the offer.
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