Professional qualifications

Please note that the information on this page is provisional until the certification programme has been officially established.

Introduction

The Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) qualification, introduced in the USA in 1993 and in Japan in 2005, and which is being planned in Australia, is earmarked for introduction in South Africa in 2010.

The Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) qualification is an objective measure of the experience, knowledge, and integrity that is necessary to conduct corporate renewal work. 

Additional qualifications are proposed to allow for entry level participation, and to allow for a sufficiently large number of business rescue practitioners to enable implementation of Chapter 6 of the Companies Act No. 71, 2008 by 1 July 2010.

Summary of professional qualifications

 

For an overview of the certification flow diagram during and after the first two years after promulgation of the Companies Act, click on the thumbnails on the right.

 

Qualification	Exams required	Eligibility criteria in term of a qualifications and experience required
Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP)	CTP exam plus attendance course in directorship	CTP
Honourary Certified Turnaround Professional (HCTP)	Waived	CTP, plus lifelong contribution to turnaround; by invitation only
Certified Turnaround Professional - Designate (CTP-D)	CTP exam plus attendance course in directorship	CTP, but no experience required
Certified Turnaround Professional - Designate (CTP-D)(BR)	CTP exam	CTP, and experience required to be admitted to be a business rescue practitioner
Turnaround Professional Candidate Level 1 (TP-C1)	No exams, but attendance courses are required in directorship, turnaround, Chapter 6 business rescue, and finance/accounting	CTP
Turnaround Professional Candidate Level 2 (TP-C2)		TP-C (less stringent than a CTP, but prescribed TP-C experience required)
Associate Turnaround Professional (ATP)	ATP exam (entry level compared to the CTP exams)	ATP (less stringent than CTP)
Associate Turnaround Professional - Designate (ATP)	ATP exam (entry level compared to the CTP exams	ATP, but no experience required

The Rules and Regulations compel all certified members irrespective of qualification to disclose to prospective clients the nature of their certification qualification, including the educational, experiential and exam status of the member, as well as experience gained after certification.

Criteria used to design the qualifications

Qualifications should serve the informal sector (management correction and informal creditor workout) as well as Chapter 6 business rescue:

• The Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) and Certified Turnaround Professional - Designate (CTP-D) qualifications of the licensor are cornerstone qualifications.  
• The Honourary Certified Turnaround Professional (HCTP) qualification, for which the CTP exams are waived, is by invitation only and requires a life-long contribution to turnaround.
• The entry level Associate Turnaround Professional (ATP) and Associate Turnaround Professional - Designate (ATP-D) qualifications study the same coursework as for CTPs and CTP-Ds, but sit for an entry level exam, and require less experience.  The objective is opening up turnaround to a wider section of the population interested in turnaround, and to act as feeder qualifications to the CTP-D and CTP.
• The Turnaround Professional Candidate (TP-C) qualification is valid only during the Interim Period (first 2 years after promulgation of the Companies Act).  It requires some experience (but not necessarily including turnaround experience), has not sat for CTP exams yet, but must have attended a number of attendance courses.   This is a transition measure to ensure a sufficiently large enough number of business rescue practitioners to be available to give effect to Chapter 6 by 1 July 2008, its expected implementation date.  After the interim period, TP-Cs must pass the CTP exams.
• Qualifications qualifying to be admitted to become business rescue practitioners in terms of the Companies Act:
  • CTP.
  • CTP-D(BR).
  • TP-C1 and TP-C2.

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Who are eligible for certification?

In short, the answer is turnaround professionals from all disciplines that have passed the prescribed exams, in possession of a prescribed qualification, and with appropriate experience in their fields of the turnaround of companies suffering financial distress or in a financial crisis, including:

• Corporate turnaround managers and interim turnaround managers.
• Service providers to troubled companies and their financiers:
  • Turnaround practitioners and consultants.
  • Advisors including attorneys, accountants and financial advisors.
• Business rescue practitioners in terms of Chapter 6 of the (future) Companies Act.
• Financiers of troubled companies:
  • Workout / restructuring executives of lenders e.g. banks and Development Fund Institutions.
  • Investment executives of institutional investors, venture capital and private equity investors, Development Fund Institutions, etc.

The Turnaround Governance Board and TMA-SA endorse the principles of equal opportunity. 

Eligibility criteria for examination and certification under the certification programme are applied equally to all applicants, regardless of age, race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, national or ethnic origin, or disability. 

Participation in the certification programmes is voluntary and open to anyone meeting the eligibility requirements.