Wits class of 2018 exceeds pass rate
• ‘Pleasing’ result given that the majority of institution’s students are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, writes Penny Haw
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) released the results of the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) exam on March 23 2018, reporting a national pass rate of 78% for first-time candidates.
The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) School of Accountancy (SOA) obtained an 89% pass rate, well above the national average.
“The results are especially pleasing result considering that Wits has been increasing the number of candidates eligible to write the ITC over the past five years and that the majority of our students are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds,” says head of the Wits School of Accountancy, Professor Nirupa Padia, who was appointed the first black female head of a school of accountancy in SA in 2013 and is also the first black female chartered accountant to obtain a professorship.
“Of the 257 Wits students who wrote the 2018 ITC (218 sat the exam in 2017), 208 (81%) are black African, Coloured or Indian (ACI), compared to 173 (54%) in 2017. Wits ranks first for its pass rate of ACI candidates who studied full time, and produced the third highest number of ACI graduates eligible to write the ITC,” she says, adding that the 45 Wits students on Saica’s Thuthuka Programme deserve a special mention; they achieved a 90% pass rate versus the national average of 74%.
In line with the national objective, the Wits SOA is serious about the transformation of the chartered accounting profession. It provides additional programmes to advance students’ literacy and to help them communicate more effectively. A teaching and learning committee monitors progress at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and actively performs research to determine the most effective and efficient way to teach students from different socio and economic backgrounds.
The ITC is academically strenuous on students, requiring them to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios and case studies. The exam is based on Saica’s competency framework, which provides universities with the core technical and pervasive skills required to pass the ITC exam.
According to Padia, the Wits SOA ensures that, at minimum, all of these competency areas are covered in the three-year undergraduate Bachelor of Accounting Science degree, one-year postgraduate Bachelor of Accounting Science Honours degree and Higher Diploma in Accountancy. Furthermore, to ensure that students are able to function in modern workplaces, the syllabus, she says, has been expanded to provide Wits students with additional technical skills and knowledge.
“Academic and technical competency is almost a given by the time students sit the ITC exam; they are expected to be highly competent in these areas at this stage of their careers. However, as communication and clarity of expression become more important in the profession, the ITC tests whether students possess the pervasive skills required of a professional,” says Padia. “Our teaching and learning committee has put measures in place to assist students to obtain and continuously develop these skills.”
Moreover, with Saica seeking to ensure its members are highly regarded as business leaders and role models, each ITC exam includes an ethics component. “We are proud of our ethics course at Wits and have, for the first time in 2018, included African ethics as part of the programme,” she says. The course is presented in second year and is applied throughout third year and in the postgraduate courses.
Preparation for ITC and the journey to becoming a chartered accountant notwithstanding, the Wits SOA continually looks for new ways of reflecting the changing world of commerce and of providing a firm foundation by developing the necessary skills, ethical principles and knowledge needed for effective decision making in a business environment. Among these initiatives is the partnership with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to introduce the Post Graduate Diploma in Specialised Accountancy (PGDIP SPA), which became available to students at the beginning of this academic year.
The objective of Wits’ partnership with ACCA, which is a global body for professional accountants, is to provide “a unique strategic opportunity for accountancy students to achieve the highest standards in their professional development for a career in accounting, business leadership and finance”.
Fully aligned to the ACCA professional level exams and the first of its kind to be housed within a South African university, the PGDIP SPA programme is designed to include three core courses and two elective courses. The syllabus and learning objectives were created to prepare students for the ACCA Professional level exams. The core courses include governance risk and ethics, corporate reporting and business analysis while the elective courses include advanced financial management, advanced performance management, advanced taxation, and advanced audit and assurance.
WITS HAS, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2018, INCLUDED AFRICAN ETHICS AS PART OF THE PROGRAMME