An analysis of the current IT education offered to accounting students at South African universities

Abstract

The accountancy and auditing profession operates within an environment that is changing at a rapid pace. Professional accountants need to remain relevant in this changing environment that may require them to change or adapt the services they offer to their clients. One of the key drivers of change in the environment is the advances in information and communication technologies (ICT). Accountants in South Africa are educated through four years of formal academic study and three years of practical training. By the end of the formal training, students entering the profession as trainee accountants should possess a set of critical ICT skills. However, currently there is no formal study or information available on which of the elements of this framework students are exposed to whilst studying at the different South African universities. This may result in students entering the profession without possessing some of the critical ICT skills necessary to perform their job competently.The purpose of this investigation is to determine the extent to which students currently studying accountancy at South African universities will be able to acquire the critical ICT skills to be competent in using information technology. Through this analysis, the shortcomings and strengths of current education practices followed at South African universities will be identified and discussed in order that role-players can identify strategies to improve the education offered to students.