Advanced Diploma in Accountancy

Purpose:

The purpose of the Advanced Diploma in Accountancy is to provide entry-level professional preparation by offering an intensive, focused and applied disciplinary knowledge within accountancy and some of its sub-disciplines, namely Cost and Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Taxation and Public Sector Accountability via articulation pathways. The qualification is also designed to prepare learners for further postgraduate studies through the deepening of their knowledge and understanding of theories, methodologies and practices in accounting and some of its sub-disciplines, as well as the development of the ability to formulate, undertake and solve complex theoretical and practice related problems through the selection and use of appropriate methods and techniques. The qualification will also equip learners with the knowledge, skills, attributes and ethical consciousness to function optimally and become a competent practitioner, in line with the professional and ethical standards set out by the South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). The qualification will thus bridge the gap in knowledge of aspiring accountants/bookkeepers/debtors clerks/stock clerks/creditors clerks/tax practitioners to gain professional certification. The qualification will equip learners not only in Accountancy but also with expertise in all areas of the business such as Management and Strategic Management, thereby addressing and informing all functions of the organisation at different levels of management.

Rationale:

The justification for educating accountants at various levels in South Africa is recognised by the Department of Home Affairs who has designated accountants and financial managers as a scarce skill in the Government Gazette, 37716 (2014). A general lack of trainee accountants/auditors/article clerks was reported by employers in their Work Skills Programme (WSP) submissions in the 2014/2015 financial year as well as most recent grant applications and the 2016/17 Sector Survey. (Financial Services Sector Education and Training Authority (FASSET) Workplace Skills Plan, 2015/6, FASSET Sector Skills Plan, 2018/2019:35-36). The qualification offers a career path for learners leading to professional certification in their respective fields of specialisation. The consequently increased employability is evidenced by the number of requests for placements by the industry for this type/calibre of learners which will alleviate the primary shortage of designated accountants and financial managers (FASSET Workplace Skills Plan, 2015/2016). The FASSET Scarce Skills Guide published in November 2015, highlights the reality that too few learners from previously disadvantaged groups were moving up to the higher professional qualification levels. It confirmed the dire need for professionalised accountants in support roles (FASSET Scarce Skills Guide, 2015/2016). Upon completion of the qualification, learners can apply for membership of the professional bodies and start with their workplace requirements as stated by the specific professional body. Ultimately, upon achieving full professional body membership, graduates may elect to establish their private practices rendering Accounting, Taxation, consulting and company secretarial services. Learners can be linked to different professional bodies as follows: By electing Taxation they may become eligible for membership with SAIPA and SAIT. By electing Management Accounting they may become eligible for credits from CIMA. Accountancy is on the scarce skills list as defined by the National Skills Development Strategy III and scarce skills areas of some Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), and is a priority area for national and provincial strategic plans. The qualification is intended to provide an articulation route for Diploma learners to gain professional certification of their knowledge and experience. The qualification provides an opportunity for further education and applies specialisation after which the learners will have developed increased capacity to meet the high level of theoretical and intellectual independence as required by the HEQSF and so allow learners a pathway to progress to postgraduate study.