You have the degree.
Now get the year of practice employers ask for.
U²Pro is a virtual accounting practice. You work a real client file for twelve months, from the first invoice to the management accounts pack, and you finish able to show an employer exactly what you can do.
Cannot do either right now? Study now and pay once you are employed →
Caroline SibanyoniU²Pro student, now CFAdmin with CIBA
The wall every graduate hits
You finish your qualification and apply for your first job. The advert asks for experience. You cannot get experience without a job, and you cannot get the job without experience. Thousands of South African accounting graduates are stuck in that loop right now, and a degree certificate does nothing to break it, because it says what you studied rather than what you can do.
U²Pro breaks it by putting you to work. You get a client, a ledger, a VAT deadline and a payroll to run, rather than a lecture series about accounting.
By the end, you will be able to
Every session is built around one question: what would an accountant actually do in a South African workplace today? Twelve months later, you can walk into a business and do the job.
Process the full cycle
Capture, reconcile and close the bank, the debtors, the creditors and the general ledger, every month.
Prepare the SARS returns
VAT201, EMP201, EMP501, the IRP5s and provisional tax, prepared and reconciled, with the eFiling process walked step by step.
Run a payroll
Calculate PAYE, UIF and SDL, produce the payslip and prepare the payroll returns that follow it.
Produce management accounts
Build a director-ready pack with variances, ratios and commentary a client can understand.
Prepare for the AFS
Year-end adjustments, provisions, going concern and a set of statements ready for review.
Work professionally
Ethics, confidentiality, POPIA, fraud red flags and the communication that turns a qualification into a career.
Where U²Pro students are now
Ten of them, in their own words. Every one of them is now a Chartered Financial Administrator with CIBA.
I am now getting feedback on the jobs that I apply for.
I will be trusted to have the skills and competencies to do the job.
Thabang RammutlaU²Pro student, now CFAdminThe U2Pro programme helped bridge the gap between my academic background and real-world workplace expectations.
It's not just a title. It's proof of readiness.
Thabiso MofokengU²Pro student, now CFAdminI was unemployed. I saw it as a good opportunity for me to grow.
It means people can trust me with their books, and that I am a professional.
Nolusindiso MziziU²Pro student, now CFAdminIt gave me the opportunity to bridge the gap between university and real-world industry.
The credibility to be trusted. The knowledge to lead.
Sinazo MnamatheliU²Pro student, now CFAdminIt's not just about theory. It's practical, industry-relevant, and equips you to contribute immediately.
Being the guardian of an organisation's financial health and integrity.
Ivin MathabelaU²Pro student, now CFAdminThe personal growth and confidence I've gained. I'm proud of how far I've come.
Yes, I can.
Caroline SibanyoniU²Pro student, now CFAdminFinance is not about numbers. It's about how you apply what you've learned to the real world.
Stay curious, stay consistent, and never underestimate the power of integrity.
Sinalo RubelaU²Pro student, now CFAdminAn excellent entry point for anyone looking to build a career in finance.
It provides the fundamental skills and knowledge to navigate the financial world.
Kagiso MaretolaU²Pro student, now CFAdminIt will uplift my resume, and I have the experience, so it just makes sense.
Don't stop at CFAdmin. Shoot for Business Accountant.
Nokubonga NdalisoU²Pro student, now CFAdminFor credibility and career advancement.
Life changes the moment you decide that winning is the only option.
Nkosizile LetsekaU²Pro student, now CFAdminYour learning journey
Ten blocks, 26 sessions and one integrated case study that pulls the whole year together. Open any block to see what is in it.
AYour first week in the practiceSessions 1 to 4▼
- 1Your first day: how a practice runs and where you fit into it
- 2Handling a client's information: confidentiality, ethics and when to escalate
- 3Building the CV, the profile and the interview answers that get you hired
- 4Working safely with client data: POPIA, security and using AI without getting it wrong
BSetting up the client fileSession 5▼
- 5Opening a client file: building the chart of accounts and capturing the first transactions
CBilling the client and preparing the VATSessions 6 to 8▼
- 6Checking an invoice: is it valid, and when does the revenue belong?
- 7Deciding the VAT on real transactions: what you may claim and what you may not
- 8Preparing and reconciling a VAT201, then walking the eFiling submission step by step
DProcessing the costs and running the payrollSessions 9 to 11▼
- 9Processing the supplier invoices and raising the month's accruals
- 10Running a payroll: calculating PAYE, UIF and SDL and producing the payslip
- 11Preparing the payroll returns: EMP201, EMP501 and the IRP5s
EChasing debtors, paying creditors, balancing the bankSessions 12 to 14▼
- 12Working the creditors: processing invoices, preparing the payment run, reconciling the supplier
- 13Working the debtors: invoicing, drafting the collection follow-ups and reconciling the account
- 14Reconciling the bank when it does not balance
FRunning the fixed asset registerSession 15▼
- 15Maintaining the asset register: additions, depreciation and disposals
GClosing the month and reporting to the clientSessions 16 to 18▼
- 16Working the month-end checklist from cut-off to sign-off
- 17Building the monthly management pack and explaining it to the client
- 18Comparing budget to actual and writing the variance commentary
HWorking out the client's taxSessions 19 to 20▼
- 19Working out what the client owes: income tax, company tax and the provisional returns
- 20Handling a disposal, a dividend and the other taxes that land on your desk
IClosing the year and drafting the statementsSessions 21 to 23▼
- 21Closing the year: adjusting journals, provisions and the going concern question
- 22Drafting a set of annual financial statements ready for review
- 23Knowing where your work goes next: review, audit and who signs what
JAdvising the client and building your careerSessions 24 to 26▼
- 24Answering the client's question: costing, break-even and the numbers behind a decision
- 25Taking on a new client, from the first meeting to the engagement letter
- 26Your next step: the designation, the job hunt and staying current
★The integrated client fileFinal assessment▼
- 27One client, one full year, start to finish. A take-home case study across all ten blocks, marked with written feedback.
What you get in every session
Twenty-six recorded teaching sessions of about two hours each. Pause, rewind and rewatch as often as you need. Every session gives you the same four things.
A handout
A reference document you keep: checklists, templates and worked examples you can use in a real workplace.
A slide deck
The definitions, the legislation and the worked examples, prepared so you can revise from them later.
A recorded class
About two hours with the trainer, with screen sharing, worked examples and exercises you do alongside her.
A knowledge check
Twenty questions after the session to confirm the content landed before you move on. 60% to pass, with one resubmission.
What to expect from us
- Twenty-six recorded sessions, available to watch at any time within your cohort
- A handout, a slide deck and a recording for every session
- Content grounded in South African law, SARS practice and real workplaces
- Individual written feedback on your case study within four weeks
- A completion certificate and 52 CPD hours
- Credit for the Skills Module on the route to the CFAdmin designation
- Twelve months of experience credit toward your CIBA designation
- A trainer who has done the job and guides you through it
What we expect of you
- Watch each recorded session in order, at a pace you can keep up
- Complete the 20-question check after each session before you move on
- Reach at least 60% on each check, with one resubmission allowed
- Submit the integrated case study and achieve at least 65%
- Apply what you learn in your own work, rather than only watching
- Work with professionalism, confidentiality and integrity throughout
Two cohorts a year
You enrol whenever you like and you start with the next cohort, rather than on the day you pay. Everyone in a cohort works through the same twelve months together, which is what makes the deadlines, the written feedback and the case study marking possible.
Cohort 1 · starts 3 November 2026
Enrol now to be placed in it. Bursary applications for this cohort close on 16 October 2026 at 23:59.
Cohort 2 · starts 26 January 2027
For anyone who cannot start in November. Bursary applications for this cohort close on 5 January 2027 at 23:59.
What you walk out with
The Work Readiness Passport
One document listing the competencies you demonstrated, from client take-on and source documents through reconciliations, VAT, payroll, month-end and reporting. Attach it to a CV, take it into an interview, talk an employer through it line by line.
A CIBA completion certificate
Issued on completion, with 52 CPD hours recorded against your name.
Twelve months of designation credit
U²Pro delivers the Skills Module on the route to Chartered Financial Administrator, and completing it earns twelve months of experience credit against the experience requirement. You then sit the Professional Assessment.
Leana van der Merwe
CA · Registered Auditor · CIBA Technical Manager
Over 18 years in business accounting, audit and corporate governance. Former Audit Director and professional-body Technical and Standards Executive, having guided more than 14 000 members through complex regulation. Serves on the PAFA Technical Advisory Group, the IFAC Anti-Money Laundering Committee and the IFRS Foundation SME Implementation Group.
Who it is for
University students
Second year or later, studying accounting, finance or a related qualification. Start building the evidence before you graduate.
TVET college students
The same practical work, the same Passport, the same designation route.
Recent graduates
Qualified, applying, and getting nowhere because every advert wants experience.
Career changers
Moving into accounting from somewhere else and needing to prove you can do the work.
Employers and firms
Put a new junior through U²Pro so they reach useful client work sooner and cost less to train.
Sponsors and funders
Fund a cohort or a bursary pool and receive completion and competency reporting for every learner you fund.
Three ways to pay for it
The fee is R12 000 including VAT. One route is chosen at checkout. Two are applications, because they create an obligation and need somebody to stand surety for it.
Sessions are released month by month from your cohort's start date as each payment is received.
- No interest and no fees
- Debited automatically, stopping after the twelfth payment
- Secure Payfast checkout
A bursary covers the fee in full. Finish the programme and nothing is ever payable. Stop, and you contribute R1 000 for every month you had access, capped at R12 000.
- Second year of study or later, 60% weighted average, 18 or over
- A surety signs for the contribution before your place is activated
- Covers the programme fee, not CIBA membership or designation fees
This one is not a bursary. You sign a deferred payment agreement, a parent or guardian signs as surety, and the fee is payable whether or not you find work.
- Repayment starts in the first month after you finish in which you earn R5 000 or more, or twelve months after you finish, whichever comes first
- Up to twelve equal instalments, with no interest and no fees
- Settle early at any time without penalty
Common questions
What exactly is U²Pro?
CIBA's programme for the gap between studying and employment, built as a virtual accounting practice. You work through the tasks, decisions and workflows a first-year trainee meets in a real firm, on synthetic client data, so you finish able to demonstrate practical competence rather than only academic knowledge.
Who can enrol?
University and TVET students from their second year, recent graduates and career changers. You do not need a completed qualification or any work experience to start.
When does it start?
U²Pro runs in two cohorts a year. The next two start on 3 November 2026 and 26 January 2027. You can enrol at any time and you are placed in the next cohort, so enrolling in December means starting in January rather than immediately. Inside the cohort the work is yours to pace: every session is pre-recorded and you have twelve months.
How much time does it take?
Twenty-six sessions of about two hours each, roughly 52 hours of teaching, plus the work you do alongside it and the final case study. Spread over twelve months that is a few hours a month, and it is designed to fit around a degree or a job.
How is it assessed?
A 20-question check after each session, 60% to pass, with one resubmission. At the end, one integrated take-home case study across all ten blocks, 65% to pass, marked with written feedback within four weeks.
How does payment work?
You pay R1 000 a month for twelve months, R12 000 in total including VAT. Your card is debited automatically on the same date each month and the payments stop by themselves after the twelfth one. Everything goes through secure Payfast checkout and you can view or cancel a plan under My Account.
Is there a bursary?
Yes. CIBA is funding 300 U²Pro bursaries across the two cohorts, and a bursary covers the full R12 000 fee. You pay nothing to start, and if you complete the programme you pay nothing at all. It carries a completion condition: if you stop, you contribute R1 000 for every month you had access, capped at R12 000, with a part month counting as a whole month. A parent, guardian or other person acceptable to CIBA signs as surety for that amount before your place is activated.
You need to be 18 or over, a South African citizen or permanent resident, in your second or a later year of study, or a graduate of the last three years, with a weighted average of at least 60%. Applications for the 3 November cohort close on 16 October 2026 at 23:59, and for the 26 January cohort on 5 January 2027 at 23:59.
What is study now, pay later?
There is a second route, and it is not a bursary: a limited number of places carry deferred payment terms, so the R12 000 stays payable and is paid later. It is a separate application, places are limited and nobody has a right to be granted them. If you are approved, you sign a deferred payment agreement and a parent or guardian signs as surety. Repayment starts in the first month after you finish the programme in which you earn at least R5 000, or twelve months after you finish, whichever comes first. You then repay over up to twelve months with no interest and no fees.
What is the Work Readiness Passport?
A single record of what you demonstrated during the programme, competency by competency, from client onboarding and source documents through reconciliations, VAT, payroll, working papers, month-end and reporting. It states plainly that the competencies were demonstrated through a simulated work programme.
How does this lead to the CFAdmin designation?
Chartered Financial Administrator is awarded on the Skills Module, twelve months of relevant experience and a Professional Assessment. U²Pro delivers the Skills Module, and completing it earns twelve months of experience credit against the experience requirement. You then sit the Professional Assessment.
Do I submit anything to SARS or CIPC?
No. Every return you prepare sits on a simulated client file built with synthetic data. You work a VAT201, an EMP201, an EMP501 and a set of IRP5s up to submission standard and you are taken through the eFiling process step by step, but nothing leaves the programme and nothing reaches SARS, CIPC or a bank.
Does U²Pro count as actual work experience?
No. U²Pro is not employment, not articles, not an internship and not a substitute for a real job, and CIBA will not tell an employer that it is. What it gives you is twelve months of credit toward a CIBA designation and documented evidence of competence. Those are two different things, and we are not going to blur them.
What do I need to take part?
A laptop, desktop or mobile device with internet access, and a current browser: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox.
The next cohort starts 3 November 2026.
Pay R1 000 a month, apply for a bursary that covers the whole fee, or study now and pay once you are employed.
Questions about U²Pro: ciba@myciba.org or +27 (0) 12 643 1800. Chartered Institute for Business Accountants NPC. U²Pro is delivered on CPD.myCIBA. The programme fee is R12 000 including VAT. Terms and conditions.