Chartered Accountant (CA) Programme
This is a three‑year, SAICA-accredited Training Outside Public Practice (TOPP) articles experience that broadens your commercial exposure, provides the building blocks for your technical foundation and places you at the centre of business decision‑making – far beyond traditional audit‑only routes.
Your ambition, matched.
Applications
- Applications for our CA Programme are currently closed and will reopen in October 2026 for intake in 2028
Qualification
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Final‑year student or graduate with an undergraduate Commerce degree that will enable studying toward a postgraduate Accounting qualification
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GPA: 70% or higher
Duration
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36 months
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Start: July 2028
Location
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Cape Town
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Relocation support is provided for selected graduates, as needed
A different path.
Shaping your CA career journey.
Allan Gray CA trainees spend 36 months rotating through teams where finance, strategy and decision-making intersect. The Programme takes trainees into the heart of our high‑performance investment business – offering experience in a non‑audit environment and the chance to work on meaningful projects that influence internal controls, business growth and product decisions.
What sets our CA Programme apart
Engagement with up to six business areas – including Investments, Institutional Clients, Retail Product Development, Retail Client Experience and Retail Operations Analytics
Participation in financial reporting, risk oversight, internal controls and business analysis
Eligibility for a two to three-month placement with our offshore partner, Orbis, in Vancouver, Bermuda or London
Opportunity to become part of a professional community that values deep thinking, accountability and long‑term orientation
Master the technical and become fluent in the complexities of
a commercial environment.
Our CA Programme takes you beyond the scope of statutory audit. In this role, you will learn to apply accounting principles to business challenges, assess financial and operational decisions, and reach an understanding of the interplay between products, regulation and investment outcomes.
What you will gain
A career foundation with both CA(SA) credibility and commercial insight
Clear communication skills, which are useful when working with senior stakeholders and cross‑functional teams
The ability to connect financial insight with business strategy
A strong professional network across Allan Gray, Orbis and our extended business areas
Complete your articles – your own way.
Download the full CA Programme guide for a comprehensive look at the structure, requirements and career pathways.
Frequently asked questions
TIPP refers to training inside public practice, i.e. with a traditional auditing firm. If you choose this route for your articles, you will gain most of your experience in the traditional auditing function. This is the type of programme you will do if you wish to pursue a career as an auditor.
TOPP is training outside public practice. This type of programme is offered by non-auditing firms and encapsulates many different industries, including retail consumer goods, financial services, management consulting and tax consulting.
A key difference between the two is that a TIPP programme generally provides you with high-level exposure to many different businesses and industries, depending on your individual assignments within the audit team. A TOPP programme, on the other hand, will provide you with in-depth exposure to the specific business or industry where you are completing your articles.
Allan Gray has historically recruited between two to five trainees each year. This small intake allows each trainee to get individual attention from the business. It also allows management to allocate trainees to in-depth projects that give them the opportunity to add value to Allan Gray while gaining significant industry knowledge and expertise in the process.
The small size of the programme means that trainees have meaningful connections with everyone in the programme, as well as with alumni who are still at Allan Gray.
There are three rounds to the application process:
- You will meet with the CA training officer and a manager from the programme.
- You will complete psychometric tests.
- Interviews will be held at our Cape Town office (where the programme is based) with the managers of each rotation. These interviews take most of the day, and the process is demanding. However, it is a great opportunity for you to experience our culture and to determine if Allan Gray is the right place for you. Through the programme, you will meet managers from various departments within the business.
If your academic average is higher than 70% and you wish to apply, please email your CV and academic transcripts to topp@allangray.co.za.
Please join us at our meet and greet if you would like to know more about the programme. At the meet and greet, you will get to engage with current trainees, alumni and our training officer.
The Programme looks to recruit candidates who will make a long-term contribution to the business.
It is designed for candidates who are able to think critically and enjoy challenging work and problem-solving. You will need to be able to adapt quickly to different environments as we have short rotation periods of two months in which you are expected to learn and add value to the team.
Allan Gray finances the ITC and APC board course and the respective materials needed to prepare for the board exams. Trainees are also granted adequate study leave to ensure they are prepared.
First-year trainees typically come in for orientation in January and then take study leave until the January ITC is complete.
CA trainees have a three-year fixed-term training and employment contract. During the three years of articles, you will have the opportunity to rotate into departments and discover your strengths within each rotation. There is no guarantee of employment after the three years of articles, but the design of the programme enables you to identify areas of interest and to build appropriate networking relationships in those departments. Allan Gray has an excellent retention rate; past alumni are currently working in different departments within the business, such as the Investment team, Venture Capital and Philanthropy.
Yes, trainees apply and interview to go on a three-month secondment to our sister company, Orbis. This rotation typically takes place at the beginning of the third year. In the past, trainees have been on secondment to London, Bermuda and Vancouver.
First year
You will rotate within the finance function. The various teams include ex-SA, Allan Gray Life, Business Services and Finance Analytics.
Second year
You will continue your financial exposure with a rotation in the Group Consolidation team. You will also get the opportunity to learn more about the business through rotations in the assurance function, namely the Risk team and Internal Audit team. There are also open rotations where you can apply to work in teams across the business that are not part of the programme.
Third year
You will have the opportunity to apply to (a) go on secondment and (b) write a report for the Investment team. There are also rotations available for trainees to work in various departments, such as Product Development, Institutional Client Services and other teams that may be of interest.
Yes. If you are selected to be a CA trainee and you live more than 100 kilometres outside Cape Town, you qualify for relocation support. Travel and accommodation arrangements will be made to help you find your feet as you start the Programme at our office in Cape Town. We will provide more information on how this works during the onboarding process.
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