4th Industrial Revolution skills in the current South African accountancy curricula: A systematic literature review

Abstract

The business environment has seen rapid changes due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the influence of exponential technological advancements. The enhancement of technology-based work environments has changed the skill set needed by graduates entering the workforce. In this regard, higher education institutions have shown signs of struggling to adapt curricula to prepare graduates with the skills needed by the fast-changing workforce environment. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) developed a framework with competencies aimed to address the needed graduate skills, and for institutions to use as guiding documents in the amendment of their curricula. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the top universities in South Africa’s accountancy module documents to determine whether the curricula are addressing the 4IR workforce needs. The SAICA-proposed competency framework (2025CF) was used as a conceptual framework for the evaluation of the university’s curricula documents, and findings indicate that universities still need to make substantial changes in order to include newly-added pervasive skills as prescribed by 2025CF. Findings from the systematic literature review indicate that universities adequately address business acumen skills; however, the categories of digital-, relational and decision-making acumen were insufficiently evident within the current curricula of the top five South African universities. The apparent lack of specific skills development for graduates needs urgent attention considering the technological changes brought on by the 4IR within the accountancy domain.