If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractChanges in business environments have challenged the competencies (technical knowledge, skills and attitudes) of professional accountants. Accounting professions have responded by developing competency frameworks. In 2008, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) issued a draft competency framework encapsulating a broad range of knowledge, skills and attributes. The objective of the study reported on here was to determine training officers' perceptions of the knowledge and skills requirements of entry-level trainee accountants. SAICA could consider the findings of this study in the finalisation of its competency framework.The study reveals that nearly three-quarters of all the topics in the current prescribed SAICA syllabus are considered to make at least an important contribution to the knowledge requirements of entry-level trainee accountants. Although more than half the management accounting topics prescribed in the SAICA syllabus are perceived as being only reasonably important, further statistical analysis revealed that TOPP (training outside public practice) training officers disagreed significantly with their TIPP (training inside public practice) counterparts on the importance of management accounting topics and perceived them to be at least important. Except for specialised topics, all other topics covering the remaining core subjects (Financial Accounting, Financial Management, Taxation and Auditing) were perceived to be important or even more than important by the respondents.The study demonstrates that there is a movement towards an expanded set of competencies beyond the technical knowledge typically taught to prospective CAs, and that there is evidence of a need for today's entry-level trainee accountants to receive training in communication, analytical, interpersonal and computer skills.

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Professional accountants need to retain and maintain a broad skills set. In response to this need, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) emphasises the mastering of pervasive skills in its competency framework and expects South African universities offering its accredited programmes to produce graduates able to demonstrate such skills at acceptable levels of competence upon entry into the workplace. This study investigates the manner in which SAICA-accredited South African universities offer and teach pervasive skills, and attempts to determine whether heads of departments have identified the teaching of these skills as being the responsibility of the university, or not. These views were solicited through an e-mailed questionnaire. The study found that although the development of pervasive skills is an outcome largely included in these accredited undergraduate programmes, their presentation and integration into the courses vary considerably, and more integration of pervasive skills into course majors should be considered. Teaching methods and practices followed by the universities show significant diversity, and this result corresponds with those reported elsewhere in the literature. It is a concern that there is only limited use of research-based projects in these undergraduate programmes. An interesting finding of the study was that heads of departments perceive the acquisition of some pervasive skills to be best achieved in the real-world, practical workplace, rather than in the theoretical confines of the universities’ lectures and tutorials.

Purpose This paper aims to report on an investigation to understand factors influencing students learning approaches in the discipline of auditing. Design/methodology/approach By using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students research instrument the learning approaches of students in auditing at a South African residential university were measured on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This was followed by focus group discussions to obtain a deeper understanding of the factors that influenced the ways their audit studies were approached. Findings The results revealed a contrasting view with that presented in the literature, in that senior students were more inclined to adopt a surface approach. This could be attributed to learning environment dimensions such as the teaching and assessment practices as well as students’ perceptions of the workload. Further statistical analysis revealed that gender and race influenced students’ learning approaches at specific levels. Research limitations/implications The data are drawn from audit students at a residential university in South Africa; the findings of the study may thus not be generalisable beyond that context. Originality/value The study extends the existing student learning literature by adding perspectives from the discipline auditing. It could stimulate educators’ scholarly interest in pedagogic research which could contribute to curriculum and teaching method changes that equip audit educators to promote deep learning.

Abstract:Drawing on social closure theory, this study achieved a deep understanding of the perceptions and experiences of the first cohort of candidates passing through the Thuthuka support programme. Using semi-structured interviews as part of a qualitative approach, currently prevalent modes of professional closure were considered by taking the backgrounds of these students into account, together with their perceptions of the accounting profession. Their views on whether the Thuthuka programme as an intervention had been successful in removing post-apartheid professional closure were determined by taking into account the Thuthuka students' readiness to sit for professional examinations and to enter the workplace. The findings of the study suggest features that could be considered in support programmes intended for socio-economically disadvantaged students to facilitate their entry into a restrictive and restricted market.