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UJAccountancy
accountancy@uj.ac.za
1 MESSAGE FROM THE HOD 2 STAFF MATTERS A top class finish Accountancy@UJ lecturer runs the Paris Marathon Prof Alex van der Watt wins VCs Distinguished Teacher Excellence Award for 2012 Prof Danie Coetsee appointed to influence the development of IFRS 4 OUR STUDENTS STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD Alumni student excels in IRBA PPE exams Kate Dunjane wins Miss UJ APK Student wins Nedbank CA training programme challenge Accountancy@UJ student competes in KPMG International Case Competition 6 GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY Doing our share Mandela Day Abraham Kriel Florida Baby House Santa Claus comes to town Shoebox Collection 9 LEADERS IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Mainstream Accounting Honours masked ball Accountancy@UJ introduces a new degree The 2012 QE results CTA year end function and results MCom top achievers announced 12 TRANSFORMATION Thuthuka Programme at the University of Johannesburg ABASA Student Chapter Launch Women in Workplace Research Report Keeping South Africas female CAs in public practice: Part One the impact of job demands 14 SOCIAL EVENTS Accountancy@UJ racing team wins Carting Day at Kyalami Accountancy@UJ Chess Open 2012 Golf days Team Building 2012 17 VALUE ADDED RESEARCH BDO Sponsors UJ Accounting studies Thought Leadership project World Economic History Congress Accountancy@UJs collaboration with JSE Research Output 21 INTERESTING READS The changing landscape of adult learning
IN THIS EDITION
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STAFF MATTERS
We remain committed to teaching and learning excellence and creating opportunities for growth and development for our talented pool of staff members. Our department employs lecturers who boast an infectious passion for their task as educators. Accountancy@UJ runs a campaign called: Who said accountants are boring? Our staffs involvement in a variety of challenging activities throughout 2012 gives testament to the fact that our accountants are anything but boring. We are extremely proud of all of our staff members for their achievements both on and off campus. Here are some of the highlights of 2012:
specific mention of a few of the highlights of this past years results. We managed to achieve a pass rate of 85%, and once again are able to boast having students from our department in the top ten. In addition to this we still remain one of the biggest contributors of successful QE candidates in terms of absolute numbers. With regard to transformation of the accountancy profession, we are once again proud of the fact that we were the biggest residential provider of successful black candidates in the SA 2012 QE exam of SAICA. During 2012, our department continued to provide assistance to the University of Limpopo, helping them in their efforts to establish academic leadership in all their disciplines. We also continued to add value to our research over [ 2] Accountancy@UJ News Highlights
the year. Further details on our accredited research output as well as details of the various research areas that our staff members are involved in are provided in the research section of this newsletter. 2013 promises to be another prosperous and eventfilled year for the department. We are nearing the completion of the SAICA history project, which should be completed during the course of this year, and we are excited about the outcome. We as a department will continue to assist the JSE with their monitoring project in 2013. We once again are able to boast a highly passionate and committed team of staff members. Several of our staff members obtained their masters degrees during this past year and a number are nearing the completion
of their degrees and will obtain their qualifications in 2013. We are extremely proud of their achievements. The Department of Accountancy remains an employer of choice, as evidenced by the overwhelming interest we received in the positions advertised in 2012. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff, students and key stakeholders for their involvement and contributions to making Accountancy@UJ the great department that it is. I wish all our stakeholders a prosperous 2013 and I trust that you will find the information in this newsletter interesting. Yours sincerely Alex van der Watt
Prof Alex van der Watt receives the Vice-Chancellors award for excellence in teaching
Prof Alex van der Watt wins VCs Distinguished Teacher Excellence Award for 2012
Congratulations to our HOD, Prof Alex van der Watt, who was awarded the VCs Distinguished Teacher Excellence Award for 2012 at this years Vice-Chancellors Distinguished Awards function, held on Thursday 15 November 2012. The Vice-Chancellors Awards categories are Teaching, Research and Innovation. Prof van der Watt displayed excellent teaching ability, is able to raise ethical questions and exercises creative imagination both in and outside the classroom. These qualities are in line with the teaching and learning philosophy of the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Past awardees from the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Economic and Financial Sciences, include Prof Ben Marx and Ms Erica du Toit. The department takes pride in knowing that our teaching and learning strategy is being driven by an excellent team of lecturers who rank among the best in the country.
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Student wins Nedbank CA training programme challenge Alumni student excels in IRBA PPE exams
The 2011 Public Practice Examination (PPE) was written on 24 November 2011. Entry to the PPE is a culmination of a long and rigorous academic, training and assessment process aimed at developing the core and professional competence of prospective auditors. 2054 trainee accountants and auditors wrote the PPE exam in 2011 and, of these, 1517 passed resulting in a 74% pass rate. Ms Carri Aronson, who completed her BCom Hons (Specialisation in Chartered Accountancy) at UJ in 2009, was one of the successful candidates to have completed this last exam in the step to qualifying as a chartered accountant. In addition to having passed, Ms Aronson achieved a Top 10 position in the Public Practice Examination. Accountancy@UJ is extremely proud of Ms Anderson for this outstanding achievement. UJ student Peter Serite was awarded first prize in the Nedbank CA training programme competition that challenged students to propose a sustainable community initiative. Nedbank introduced the competition this year for final-year undergraduate accounting students with business acumen and a strong sense of social responsibility to apply their entrepreneurial skills for the benefit of others. Students across the country were required to propose a community initiative that they could implement and project manage. The top 5 finalists were hosted at Nedbank in Sandton to present their proposals to a panel of judges. The competition was a fantastic opportunity to make a difference in the community whilst also promoting some healthy competition between students from the different universities. Peters original idea of providing more suitable trolleys to men who collect recyclable waste in the south of Johannesburg impressed us, as did his incredible approach of joining the waste collection team each morning to truly understand his target recipients and their needs. Peter wins R30 000 funding for his project, an Apple iPhone 4s and a Nedbank holiday voucher. He also receives automatic acceptance into our Winter Seminar in July says Mr Robert Peche from Nedbank. For more info on the competition visit: www.nedbank. co.za/ website/content/ca/competition.asp Peter Serite
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Accountancy@UJ students and staff members doing their share on Mandela Day
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The Department of Accountancy at UJ introduced its new Bachelors degree in Accounting (BAcc) in 2012. This full-time degree runs over three years and is offered in both English and Afrikaans. The degree was developed by the Department with the aim of offering a specialised degree that will produce graduates with a sound technical knowledge base of accounting and related topics, coupled with soft skills that result in well-rounded individuals with the potential to develop into leaders in the business world The course has been developed around the requirements of the competency framework of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) This framework specifies the various competencies that are required to be met in the qualification process of becoming a Chartered Accountant. The degree is also accredited by SAICA as a degree that meets all the requirements of the professional body. The Departments HOD, Prof van der Watt, says the degree is designed to ensure that graduates are equipped with the necessary technical and soft skills they will require to become exceptional accountants. Apart from the main subjects of accounting, financial management, auditing and taxation, the course also focuses on the technical elements that are expected from a BAcc graduate. Graduates of the BAcc degree have the opportunity to register for a number of postgraduate degrees after the completion of the BAcc degree. Feedback from students has been positive thus far and the degree seems to be meeting their expectations.
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Vidette du Toit
Tamryn Tromp
Andr van Wyk, Shaun Croock , Thomas Howatt (PWC) and Prof Ben Marx
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Prof Ben Marx and Ahmed Haji The MCom Prize Giving Function took place on 21 November at the Johannesburg Country Club. Congratulations to this years prize winners. The recipients of this years prize for the top students in the coursework programme of the 2011/2012 class were: Jaco Opperman best achiever in International Accounting Bansi Nagar best achiever in Computer Auditing Willem Malherbe best achiever in SA & International Taxation. The prize for the two best achievers for the research component of the masters degrees was awarded to Izette Nel (2011) and Ahmed MohammadaliHaji (2012).
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TRANSFORMATION
The Department of Accountancy remains committed to transformation in terms of both race and gender. This year saw the launch of the first report of a series of four reports on the retention of female CAs in public practice. The ABASA Launch as well as our continued efforts on the Thuthuka programme.
From left Mr Bart Dorrenstein, Prof Ben Marx, Mr Mthandazo Peter Moyo, and Mr Andile Khumalo
UJ Accounting (CA Stream) students with representatives from ABASA watch a video of ABASA initiatives during the ABASA Student Chapter Launch
The ABASA Student Chapter Launch took place on the 8 March 2012. Prof Ben Marx of the Department of Accountancy attended this prestigious event as a guest speaker. The Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA) was established in 1985 to promote the interests of black men and women engaged in the accounting profession. It is committed and dedicated in this pursuit, and is driven by the need to ensure that every black accountant and aspiring accountant is able to realise his/her full potential and aspirations. The objectives of ABASA include the promotion of adult education, vocational training and technical education in the accounting profession, and to facilitate and encourage the entry of Blacks into the accounting profession by promoting their academic and professional excellence. ABASA also assists Blacks in obtaining access to accounting education and employment opportunities that will enable them to achieve their career aspirations and realise their full potential.
Women in Workplace Research Report Keeping South Africas female CAs in public practice: Part Workplace One the impact of job demands During Augustin 2012, the Women inthetheDepartment of Programme, collaboration with
Accountancy, launched the first of a series of reports on the retention of South African female CAs and trainees CAs in public practice audit, tax and advisory firms. The report is based on a recent study, conducted by the department of Accountancy and the Women in the Workplace research programme, University of Johannesburg. We investigated how job demands (job insecurity, overload, and work-family conflict) and job resources (the external prestige of a firm, team climate, organisational support, task identity, growth opportunities and advancement) made an impact on whether female CAs stay on or leave firms. The data yielded some very valuable findings which are useful to CAs, talent and line managers when considering the management of women. The remainder of the reports in this series will be released during the course of 2013 and are sure to provide some interesting reading. Watch this space. [ 12 ] Accountancy@UJ News Highlights
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SOCIAL EVENTS
All work and no play makes for a dull department. At the Department of Accountancy we encourage our staff to interact on a social level in addition to a professional one so as to encourage an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding in our culturally diverse environment. A number of social activities took place during the year and staff participated in a number of sporting events. The highlights included:
Strategic thinkers
G o l f D ay
Mr Jaco Koekemoer, Mr Riaan Wessels, Mr Paul Viljoen and Ms Lizelle Muller from the Accountancy@UJ team The Accountancy@UJ Golf team achieved a third place at the annual SAICA Golf Day held at Wanderers Golf Club on 30 October 2012. Congratulations to the team consisting of Mr Jaco Koekemoer, Mr Riaan Wessels, Mr Paul Viljoen, and Ms Lizelle Muller. Laerskool Fontainebleau Golf Day at Randpark Golf Club also took place on 30 October 2012. Once again our Accountancy@UJ golfers did us proud by participating in this event. Thank you to Prof Danie Coetsee, Ms Boniswa Madikizela, Mr Jacque Olivier, and Mr Renier van Niekerk, who formed part of the team that played at Randpark.
Prof Danie Coetsee, Ms Boniswa Madikizela, Mr Jacques Olivier and Mr Renier van Niekerk at the Randpark golf course
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The success of any good department lies in the strength of its workforce. During 2012, the Department of Accountancy arranged a number of team building events. These activities encourage good communication and respect among our culturally diverse team of staff. One of 2012s highlights was a day spent on the Rovos Rail. Staff members thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were ready to face the years challenges, full steam ahead!
Rovos Rail
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The prize winners (from left) Jessica Watridge, Keith Sefularo, Mary Ann Thobekile Ndini and Michelle Longman At an awards ceremony held at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) last Thursday (15 November 2012), Michelle Longman emerged as the overall winner in the BDO UJ Accounting Studies Thought Leadership Project. Keith Sefularo was awarded second place as well as Most Critical Thinker and Jessica Watridge came third. Mary Ann Thobekile Ndinisa excelled as the most improved student and one who showed dedication and commitment throughout the course The assignment required students to write a critical essay on the business activities, management/leadership and financial position of one of 10 JSE-listed companies. The top five students then had to give a short presentation on their assignment at the awards function. Thereafter, the top three were selected to take part in a panel discussion with BDO partners, in front of the audience. UJ is the first university in the country to offer the Accounting Studies course. At the same time, it is new to UJ, being offered for the first time in 2012. The course is designed to support the SAICA Competency Framework as it relates to Pervasive Skills (ethics and professionalism, personal attributes and professional skills). Prof Grietjie Verhoef, Professor of Accounting and Economic History at UJ, says the course was designed to develop a more well-rounded student and a more critical thinker. South African CAs are increasingly required to understand, assimilate, summarise and contextualise vast amounts of business information and the theory covered during typical accounting subjects has historically not covered this subject of learning, she says. BDO Marketing and Business Development Director, Russell Fox, says the firm chose to partner with UJ because it believes that the Accounting Studies course helps nurture and grow young people who are just starting out in this profession. We saw from the high quality of the assignments that there is real talent out there and we are proud to be helping develop and support it, says Fox. BDO is the fifth-largest accounting firm in South Africa, with some 700 staff members spread across four offices countrywide. It is part of the international BDO network and as such offers employees career opportunities across the globe. Says Fox: As a mid-tier auditing firm, BDO prides itself on offering a distinctly different alternative to clients. The nature of the firm and its partners are such that personal relationships are of paramount importance BDO aspires to be a trusted business adviser rather than just an tick box auditing firm.
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Minister of finance, Mr Pravin Gordan at the opening event innovation, entrepreneurship and business development. Delegates were treated to a high-powered closing debate on the Roots of Development in Africa. The debate was between Professor James Robinson, from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the renowned Africanist, Professor Gareth Austin, from the Graduate School at the University of Geneva. The success of the WEHC 2012can bemeasured by the enthusiasm with which the delegates enjoyed the hospitality of South Africa. Large numbers of delegates continued on from Stellenbosch to tour the marvellous attractions along the South African coast, the game parks as well as the ever inviting wine regions surrounding Stellenbosch. Professor Grietjie Verhoef now serves as President of the International Economic History Association. This is a first for the Department of Accountancy and for South Africa. The aim in 2008 in bidding for the WEHC 2012 was to display research and scholarship in Economic and Business History in Africa. This work is now perpetuated in the activities of the Economic history Society of South Africa (www.ehssa.org).
compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The integrity of financial information is a critical element of a well-functioning market. The objective of the review process is therefore to contribute towards the production of quality financial reporting of entities listed on the JSE. Additional monitoring will give shareholders the benefits of a better regulated market and underline the accolade recently received for the best exchange in the world through regulation in the World Economic Forum (WEF)s Global Competiveness Report 20102011. This is a tremendous place to have ended 2010, but the JSE will continue to strive for more, said
Research Output
The department of Accountancy remains committed to value-added research. During the course of the year a number of international and national conferences were attended by our academics, including the Value 2012 International conference, which took place on 27 30 May 2012 at the Champagne Sports Resort, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In addition to a number of accredited articles, a number of our lecturers were involved in the publication of textbooks to be used in the field of accounting education.The following accredited articles were published during the course of 2012:
Prof Danie Coetsee, head of the Masters degree programmes of the Department of Accountancy, coauthored an article with Prof Nerine Stegmann entitled: Profile of accounting research in South African Accounting Journals. The article examines the profile of accounting research in the two academic accounting research journals in South Africa. This information should be useful to establish which areas in the field of accounting are researched most and which research methods are applied, but also which areas or research methods could be explored to a greater degree. The article was published in the Meditari Accounting Research Volume 20(2), pp. 92-112. Prof Danie is a seasoned researcher in the field of accounting theory. His involvement in the JSE monitoring project, his memebership to the Accounting Practices Committee as well as his recent appointment to the IFRS Working Group place him in a position to consider the effects of IFRS and its application to South African companies for the development of sound accounting practices. Ms Krysta Heathcote, one of the Departments senior lecturers who played a significant role in the completion of the SAICA history of accounting project, published an article during 2012 entitled. The professionalisation efforts of accountants in the Orange Free State 1907-1927: An exploration of their first twenty years. This appeared in New Contree (64) July 2012. In addition to her research role on the History of Accounting project, Krysta was one of the senior lecturers involved in the new accounting studies programme, which is presented to first-year students with the aim of providing them with an understanding of the accountancy profession and the economic environment in which it exists. Krysta is also in the process of completing her PhD on the history of the accountancy profession. Prof Ben Marx, vice HOD of the Department of Accountancy, is an esteemed researcher in the field of corporate governance and business risk. During 2012 he co-authored an article with Izette Nel which was published in the Journal for New Generation Science. The article, entitled An analysis of business continuity risks and related business continuity plans at companies in South Africa, discusses the various business continuity risks that South African companies are faced with and the various business continuity plans that are in place to address and manage these risks. In addition to this Prof Marx, along with K Barac and T Moloi published an article entitled, Corporate Governance Practices and value added at South African Higher Education institutions: a registrars view. This article appeared in the Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences, Volume 5, Number 2, October 2012. Ms Izette Nel completed her Masters degree in Computer Auditing cum laude in 2011. During the course of 2012 Izette and Prof Ben Marx co-authored an article entitled: An analysis of business continuity risks and related business continuity plans at companies in South Africa. The article was published in the Journal for New Generation Sciences Volume 10(1), pp 97-115. The study investigated the different business continuity risks organisations face and the existence of business continuity plans to address and manage these risks. The study found that although the majority of organisations are aware of the business continuity risks that they are faced with, not all fully understand the impact thereof on their organisations, and accordingly do not have effective and adequate business continuity plans in place to address and manage these risks. Also, not all organisations are placing enough emphasis on the establishment of a business continuity culture within the organisation to supports its business continuity philosophy and plan.
Ms I Nel
Prof B Marx
Ms K Heathcote
Prof D Coetsee
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Prof L Olivier
During the course of 2012, Prof Lynette Olivier published two articles. The first, entitled Assessments under the Tax Administration Bill 2012, was published in the Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences and the second, Capital v Revenue: Confusion Resigns 2012, appeared in De Jure. Prof Olivier is known for her research and publications on taxation and related matters. Prof Nerine Stegmann has published several articles over the years on accounting theory and related topics. During 2012 Prof Stegmann co authored an article with Prof Danie Coetsee that was published in the Meditari Research Journal. The article, A Profile of accounting research in South African accounting journals, aims to examine the profile of accounting research in the two academic accounting research journals in South Africa (Meditari Accountancy Research and SA Journal of Accounting Research) during the ten-year period from 2000 to 2009. This information should be useful to establish which areas in the field of accounting are researched most and which research methods are applied, but also which areas or research methods could be explored to a greater degree. The following dimensions are assessed in the article: (1) authorship; (2) research field; (3) the nature of the research and (4) research methods. Authorship is classified by institution, and the top seven authors by relative contribution are also identified. Under research methods, both empirical and theoretical work is classified separately in different research methods. These different dimensions provide a broad-based review of the current profile of accounting research in South Africa. Prof Stegmann lectures accounting at the Department of Accountancy and was also involved in the design and implementation of the new research-based accounting studies course which forms part of the curriculum for BCom Accounting students. Prof Verhoef has been one of the key researchers in the History of Accounting project for SAICA, and has completed the research report on the History of the Accounting Profession in South Africa for SAICA. The area of her research deals with regulation and education for and of the accounting profession in South Africa. She collaborates on this with colleagues at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University in Australia, as well as the University of South Australia. Furthermore, she engages in research on business history of the insurance industry, as well as big business in South Africa. Her most recent publication in the Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences deals with a comparative perspective on demutualisation in the South African long-term insurance industry. The article is entitled, Mutuality and Regulation: the transition from mutual to public in the South African long term insurance industry. In addition to this she co-authored an article on the printed propaganda of the SA Communist Party during the WW2 with one of her PhD students entitled. The printed propaganda of the Communist Party of South Africa during World War II which was published in Image and Text, volume 20. Prof Verhoefs current work explores the history of the standard-setting process as a form of accounting regulation in South Africa, as well as the contribution of the early accountants to the formation of a specific business culture in South Africa. In addition to the accredited articles referred to above, she published 5 chapters in various books throughout 2012.
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Prof G Verhoef
Prof N Stegmann
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