Including Pervasive Skills in an Accounting Curriculum at a Rural South African University

Abstract

Accounting programs at South African universities strive to attain and maintain accreditation with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), an important component of which is incorporating pervasive skills into the curriculum. This paper details how a methodology was identified and adopted in order to incorporate these requirements across the four years of a yet to be accredited professional undergraduate accounting degree. The process commenced by mapping program objectives to individual modules thus facilitating a mapping and scaffolding process of the program. Focus group interviews with discipline leaders resulted in a coherent and coordinated approach to curriculum review which included consideration of the specific needs of students attending a rurally based South African University. The concept of a capstone course was integrated into the final year of the program in order to compliment and complete concepts encountered earlier. Future studies subsequent to the adoption of this methodology may develop or evaluate its efficacy.