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Chartered Director SA Explained

The Chartered Director SA designation, or CDSA in short, is a sought-after and highly prestigious professional director designation and is conferred to individuals who have demonstrated competency in knowledge, skills and experience. The candidate undergoes a rigorous assessment process which evaluates the depth and breadth of directorship knowledge, skills and experience.

A person that holds this designation will:

  • Signal to the marketplace their standing as master professional director
  • Demonstrate exceptional proficiency of governance knowledge and application thereof
  • Show their commitment to continuous professional development
  • Demonstrate their integrity and commitment to moral and legal duties
  • Uphold standards of sound governance in South Africa and therefore professionally contribute to better boards and better business in the interest of South Africa

The designation is underpinned by the following E’s

Education
NQF 7 Qualification
or
10 years' directorship experience (RPL)
Experience

Appointed and voting member of at least two governing bodies of which one appointment must be in a non-executive capacity; and both of which must be for at least 5 years during the 8 years prior to application.

Evaluation

Submit a portfolio of experience;
Write and pass the CDSA exam; and
Complete the CDSA peer interview

Ethics

Subscribe to the IoDSA Code of Professional Conduct.

How to become a Chartered Director SA

Entry criteria (Effective 1 January 2025)

A person applying for the Chartered Director SA designation must:

  • Be a full member in good standing of the IoDSA;
  • Hold SAQA registered qualification or SAQA Certificate of Evaluation of Foreign Qualification at an NQF 8 level or higher or be able to demonstrate substantial and appropriate directorship experience of at least 8 years or holds an IoDSA Approved Qualification for CDSA® purposes;
  • Has been an appointed and voting member of at least two governing bodies of which one appointment must be in a non-executive capacity; for at least 5 years during the 8 years prior to application, verified by appointment letters;
  • Must achieve a minimum of 50 points on the CDSA® Experience calculator (or 30 points if the candidate is a Certified Director®); and
  • Must not have anything in their past or present that will put the IoDSA or the designation into disrepute.
The designation entry criteria have been approved by the IoDSA board as well as the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The Certification team has no discretion on this aspect and will apply the entry criteria equally and consistently to all applications without deviation.

Note: Future Leader members do not qualify for designations

Evaluation stages

The Chartered Director SA application and assessment processes comprises of 3 main stages:

STAGE 1: REGISTRATION
Submit application, including but not limited to, providing evidentiary documentation of:

  • Qualification(s)
  • Directorship Experience on organisation of governance substance Governing Body
  • Declaration
  • Payment of registration fee

Note: Reputational Risk is evaluated across all stages

 

STAGE 2: EVALUATION
Phase 1: Portfolio of Experience
Submit a portfolio of experience detailing competency and examples against the 30 competences contained in the Director Competency Framework

Phase 2: CDSA Examination
Write and pass the CDSA open book examination; pass mark is 50%

Phase 3: CDSA Peer interview
Successfully participate in the CDSA peer interview

 

STAGE 3: APPROVAL
Once a candidate has been successful in all the phases included in the first two stages, the Certification Committee and IoDSA Board will deliberate the awarding of the Chartered Director SA designation

Note: More detail on each of these phases are included in the CDSA Handbook

A person must complete the full CDSA evaluation process within 36 months, failing which they have to re-register and start the process anew (see CD(SA) assessment calendar).


Maintaining your designation

Once a person has been awarded the designation, they need to maintain the designation by meeting the following annual requirements:

  • Renew their annual membership subscription
  • Earn, and report, a minimum of 30 CPD hours per annum (see CPD policy)
  • Subscribe to the IoDSA Code of Professional Conduct

 

 
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“Being a Chartered Director(SA) means outstanding governance and leadership mastery. This journey has been humbling and a very fulfilling achievement for me.”
Matsotso Vuso,
CD(SA)

Designations FAQs

The Certified Director designation is aimed at recognising knowledge (proficiency) underpinned by the Director Competency Framework. The Chartered Director (SA) designation is aimed at recognising mastery of directorship and requires demonstration of a proven track record of directorship experience against all 30 competencies within the Director Competency Framework.

The main benefits of attaining the designation are:

  • Commitment – by volunteering to participate in the assessments required to attain the designation, individuals are signalling their commitment to the professionalisation of directorship in South Africa;
  • Compliance – individuals attaining the designation also signal their compliance with the requirements of the King IV Report on Corporate Governance™ in South Africa, 2016;
  • Competence – the successful completion of the assessment demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the knowledge underpinning a director’s roles and responsibilities and corporate governance in general;
  • Code – ascribing to the IoDSA Code of Professional Conduct, a designee commits to a higher standard of professional conduct and ethical values; they also acknowledge that they can be disciplined should their conduct be in breach of this code; and,
  • Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – designated individuals commit to ongoing learning and development, signalling their desire to always strive to be better.

No, it is not a requirement, but completing the programmes in the Cert.Dir learning pathway is a good method of sharpening the knowledge that you need to display when being assessed for CD(SA).

No, the higher of the two designations will be recognised. If a Certified Director qualifies for the Chartered Director (SA) designation, (s)he will be removed from the Certified Director Register and added to the CD(SA) Register.

A candidate has 36 months to complete the Stage 2 evaluation processes which include the PoE submission, CD(SA) examination and CD(SA) Peer interview processes. Should they not be able to complete the processes before expiry date, they have to re-register for the process and start anew.