Author: Rashied Small, Education, Training and Membership Executive, South African Institute of Professional Accountants & Liezl Leleu, Professional Accountant (SA)
 
Many graduates approach the “new chapter in their career” with enthusiasm as trainees/clerks in the accountancy profession, but are often shocked when they encounter the reality and challenges on applying their “knowledge” in practice.

These experiences of graduates are a clear indication of the “education-workplace” gap which is not unique to the accountancy profession but is becoming a global concern with numerous questions being raised by industry captains about the value of tertiary education.

The reasons for the gap
The “education-workplace” expectation gap may be attributed to firstly, the understanding of the workplace requirements by tertiary education leaders. Secondly, the disagreement on the responsibilities of education institutions and industry for the training and development of the learners; and thirdly, the extended process of changing academic programmes which may not accommodate the rapidly changing requirements of the workplace. 

Other causes include:

• The mismatch of the academic qualification and the workplace requirement;
• The focus of the academic learning process on subject content and technical knowledge;
• The silo approach to knowledge development and assessment;
• The lack of exposure to the application of technology in the learning process; and
• The lack of the development of critical skills required for the application of knowledge in a changing business and economic environments.

 
Current approach
The short-term solution currently being implemented to address the gap in South Africa is to provide “work readiness programmes”.  However, these programmes focus on developing the pervasive and inter-personal skills to facilitate the transition into the working environment.
 
The long-term solution is to review the education and training as a continuum with a focus on an integrated approach that addresses the competence requirements of executing the critical work functions at the expected levels of proficiency. 

This requires a paradigm shift in the education environment with a change from the traditional teaching and learning system to competency-based education system (integration of technical knowledge and practical skills). 
 
Changing skills requirements
The 21st century is abuzz with the concepts of “technology and connectivity” as the drivers of progress and development.  The accountancy profession is no exception, long gone are the days of “pencil pushers and paper users” because technology such as accounting and financial reporting packages have changed the skills sets required from human resources.

Technology has taken over the processing function (data conversion to financial information) as well as financial information analysis through artificial intelligence and “big data”. 

Furthermore, the shift in emphasis of financial reporting towards principle based reporting about the economic phenomenon of business transactions rather than rules based coupled with the demands for Integrated Reporting have placed even greater a premium on the cognitive skills of the professional in the accountancy profession. 

A consolidation of the aforementioned and, more importantly, for the relevance and survival of the professionals in the accountancy profession, it is an unequivocal requirement for changes to take place in the education and training.

Way forward
To close the gap educational leaders and captains of industry must work in a collaborative manner to develop and implement the following strategies:

• focus on making academic qualification relevant in the market and the graduates employable,
• re-curriculate the academic programmes by aligning them with the workplace skill requirements;
• incorporate the development of competencies (technical knowledge, practical skills and pervasive skills) into the curricula;
• align the teaching and learning strategies with the outcomes of the revised curricula by focusing on competency-based education systems;
• develop the critical skills such as reading, critical thinking and writing into the teaching and learning process; and
• review the assessment strategies to evaluate the competencies of the learners.   

 
Does this mean that the current education and training systems should be discarded – the answer is a definite “NO”, but they should be reviewed and adapted to meet the changing demands of the business environment and workplace expectations?  Everyone claims that accounting and the related subjects are practical in nature, yet it is taught in a technical and theoretical manner often ignoring developing the skills required to apply it in the world of work. 

It is not a question of reducing the technical knowledge which is often blamed for information overload by academics, but focussing on the skills required to facilitate the process of engaging with the volumes of information.

Partnership of collective sharing
For education and training to be a continuum it is necessary for educational institutions and industry to form a partnership of collective sharing of responsibilities through a co-operative manner pursuing an integrated mandate. 

The development of employable and competent professional is not only key to the accountancy profession, but it is critical in addressing the risks such as fraud and corruption which are depriving business and the economy of the ethical responsibilities of ensuring sustainability and growth.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za 
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants

South African Institute of Professional Accountants
25 July 2016
 
When it comes to cybersecurity, companies must consider the inside threat as well.
 
By Ettiene Retief, Chairperson of the National Tax and SARS Stakeholders Committees at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants
 
When it comes to cyber-crime, companies are most focused on the external threat from hackers. But given that business is largely digitised these days, and that fraud is so frequently an inside job, cybersecurity must include a strong inward focus.
 
The target for cyber-attacks, internal or external, is usually data. Data thus represents a considerable risk for all organisations, but particularly professionals like accountants, lawyers, bankers and the like, who will hold large amounts of highly sensitive client information. Recent high-profile data hacks, such as HSBC Swiss leak, were the work of insiders, and it’s possible that the anonymous source of the so-called Panama Papers was an employee of the law firm concerned.
 
So, while the external security measures like firewalls and other access control and tracking measures remain of greatest importance, companies need to take specific precautions to protect their data from internal threats. The following six principles will assist:

• Maintain segregation. As in the paper world, multiple officials must be involved in every transaction to create checks and balances. This can be problematic in smaller companies which lack resources. Whenever one person has too much access there is a potential high risk.  
• Educate staff. At the most basic level, this means ensuring they understand what constitutes a strong password, and how to safeguard passwords. Enforcing regular password changes is advisable. Staff should also be educated about what to look out for, and what the correct company security protocols are. Let not forget that many Trojans or viruses infect networks and spread to other computers from a single source/entry point (which is not only from the internet or e-mail attachments, but could be a USB drive an employee inserts on a work computer).
• Undertake a thorough risk analysis. Given that data is the target, it’s essential to understand what data you have, where it is, how and by whom it’s accessed, and what type of risk it represents for the company. As part of this analysis, it is necessary to understand what the regulatory requirements might be in terms of how the data is used, retained and disposed of (such as Protection of Personal Information Act).
• Create a record. Use logs to track who is doing what as regards company data. That automatically creates a certain barrier for internal fraudsters, but it is also invaluable in tracing how any leaks did occur, or to take action against people that are not adhering to company policies.
• Be aware. Too often, particularly in smaller organisations, the owner or CE can leave financial affairs too much to the bookkeeper or accountant, or the payroll to the payroll administrator. Ensure that regular reporting and internal testing is done. For small businesses, make a regular meeting at which the accountant takes the owner through the books and controls. The director(s) and managers need to constantly know what is happening in the business. Just the sense that an interested person is “keeping an eye” changes things.
• Adopt a zero-tolerance attitude, and follow through. All employees should be held to the company’s ethical code, and any transgression should have consequences. The bank employee who steals pens or toilet rolls is not a fit person to have in an environment where trust is critical, for example. By the same token, a mechanism for employees to report unethical conduct without fear or intimidation or other adverse consequences is necessary—and has proven to be successful.

 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants

Author: Bongani Coka, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants
 
Nelson Mandela was clear that the purpose of living was to make a difference in the lives of others and driving positive change in the country is the best way to truly honor his legacy.
Against this backdrop I want to motivate South African business, our members and the country’s citizens at large to give serious thought as to how they want to mark 18 July.
 
In my view, we can best achieve this by looking at what the national imperatives are and then consider how we can use our special skills to further those imperatives. By taking this approach, our individual efforts are multiplied by the work others are doing, and we are using our limited resources most intelligently.
 
The first point of call should be to interrogate the National Development Plan (NDP) and the information put out by Stats SA. That way, companies and individuals can see what the key levers for driving social change are. The vital second step is to look at how to bring one’s particular skills to bear on the identified challenges.
 
Passing on skills
For Professional Accountants, the decision is relatively easy. Maths and Accounting are generally recognised to be critical in creating a vibrant economy—but the educational system remains unable to produce them. In 2015, for example 140 474 pupils wrote Accounting and only 59.6 percent of them were able to achieve a score of 30 percent or above.
 
Surely we should be directing our efforts towards growing the pipeline of talented young people who choose accounting as a career. By passing on skills or even inspiring a young person to take a particular path, we can change his or her life and contribute to the country’s transformation. This is a better use of an accountant’s time than, say, painting a school, I believe.
 
For this reason, donating time is inherently more valuable over the long term than money or things, important as these are. Thus, for example, a Professional Accountant could consider delivering a lecture or course of lectures to learners at a particular school, and leaving behind a set of notes or some software for educator to use.
 
Further, I’d like to encourage members of the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) to look beyond just one day, and treat 18 July to 17 August 2016 as Mandela Month to create opportunities for more ambitious projects that might include some mentoring as well.
 
Carefully thought-out initiatives can help improve BEE scores but, even more importantly, they can improve the image of the profession within the broader community. This has many positive benefits—it will help to increase the number of people wanting to enter that profession, and it will also serve to strengthen its “social licence” by demonstrating that it acknowledges its responsibilities to the broader stakeholder community.
 
Let’s use Mandela Day or, even better, Mandela Month, as a way to share our professional skills in the most effective way to drive lasting, wide-reaching and sustainable social change. Mandela was not just a man of words—he was an action man who wanted results. That’s the best way to honour his memory.
 
National Accounting Olympiad
One of SAIPA’s initiatives include its annual National Accounting Olympiad, which aims to make Accounting a preferred subject choice to all students, and to promote the option of professional accountancy as a sound choice for further study and the pathway towards a financially and personally rewarding entry into employment.
 
Teachers are encouraged to invite Grade 12 accounting learners who wish to follow a B.COM degree in Accounting as further study to enter for the competition
 
The first round of the 2016 competition is scheduled for May at the learners’ respective schools. All learners who qualify for the final round will be invited to participate in the final round on 27 July. The final round will determine provincial and national winners in two streams: government and private schools.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants