Ernst & Young Incorporated (EY South Africa)

EY, the brand name of Ernst & Young, ranks among the world’s largest professional services networks and among South Africa’s Big Four audit and advisory firms. EY South Africa provides assurance, tax, transactions and consulting services from offices in the country’s major business centres.

Registered name

Ernst & Young Incorporated (EY South Africa)

Type

Professional services firm (assurance, tax, transactions and consulting)

Fields funded

SAICA-accredited accounting degrees towards CA(SA)

Website

ey.com

What EY publishes

EY South Africa’s website shows the range of issues EY advises on. EY publishes insights on artificial intelligence, a CEO agenda for business leaders and analysis of geopolitical developments, and EY-Parthenon, EY’s strategy consulting arm, publishes material such as a list of the top geopolitical developments for business. Accounting students who read this material understand that a firm like EY does far more than audit.

The EY bursary and its training contract

EY South Africa funds students studying towards a SAICA-accredited accounting degree on the route to becoming a Chartered Accountant (South Africa). The EY bursary carries a clear condition: bursary recipients must complete their articles, a training contract of at least three years, at EY after graduating. For EY, the bursary provides a direct way to hire the CA trainees it has funded.

Students should therefore see the EY bursary as the start of a career at EY rather than as money alone. Accepting it commits you to at least three years of training at the firm once you graduate.

EY advertises student programmes, including bursaries, vacation work and graduate intakes, on its South African careers pages. Our EY bursary guide has not been refreshed with 2027 dates, so confirm the current window there.

How to research EY before applying

Open EY South Africa’s student programmes page and note every opportunity it lists, including vacation programmes that often come before a bursary offer. Ask EY which offices take trainees, what support EY gives for SAICA’s professional examinations, and what happens if a bursar changes degree or fails a year.

Read one of EY’s recent insights pieces and prepare to discuss it in an interview. A student who can talk about how artificial intelligence is changing auditing, for example, shows curiosity that recruiters look for.

Compare EY’s terms with those of other audit firms before signing, since training contract conditions differ between firms.

Accounting students weighing EY against other firms can use our chartered accountant bursaries list to compare training contracts.