Calculated Conversations: How to Become a CA(SA) in 5 Years: A Fast-Track Roadmap with Dillen Breitenbach

Dillen Breitenbach CA(SA) shares his fast-track strategy for earning the designation in just five years, the biggest pitfalls businesses face during audits, and why decisiveness and compassionate leadership are underrated skills for accountants.

Becoming a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) typically takes seven or more years, following the traditional route of a bachelor’s and honors degree in accounting, along with three years of relevant work experience. However, Dillen Breitenbach CA(SA) defied the odds. He earned his CA designation in just five years! How did he do it? In this edition of Calculated Conversations, I sat down with Dillen to uncover the secrets behind his fast-tracked success, his top advice for aspiring CAs, and how you can achieve this too. Here is our conversation:

Becoming a CA(SA) in 5 years is impressive! what was your strategy, and what advice would you give to aspiring CAs?

Strategy: Instead of focusing on the large amount of content to cover, I focused on understanding the why behind each topic to understand the how of each topic. Advice: Change your mindset from chasing the designation for the perfect job or opportunity to one of wanting to be a CA(SA).

With your extensive experience in audit engagements, what are the most common pitfalls businesses face during audits, and how can they avoid them?

Based on my five years in audit, the three biggest pitfalls are: Lack of preparation – An audit will always bring questions like Why this? or How that? By preparing the why and how during the year, your year-end audit will go much smoother. Lack of communication – The finance team and the audit team often have separate expectations and timelines. By efficiently communicating capacity and expectations at the start, both teams can align better. Lack of goal setting – Most audits drag on because clear and reachable deadlines are not set. Failing to plan is planning to fail.