Sanchia Temkin
8 August 2008
Johannesburg — A NEW training model designed to equip chartered accountants with broad business skills was launched by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) on Wednesday.
The model arises out of the skills crisis in SA and demand for more flexibility in accountancy training.
"Saica has embarked on a journey to provide a new training model for chartered accountants ," said project director of training Adri Kleinhans.
Prospective chartered accountants have the option of qualifying through Training Inside Public Practice (Tipp) or Training Outside Public Practice (Topp).
Tipp offers specialisation in auditing, and the accountant trains at an accounting and auditing firm.
Topp offers specialisation in financial management, with training in commerce and industry, or the public sector.
Kleinhans said the new model would incorporate competencies in both programmes. "The emphasis on auditing will be balanced with other required competencies , and the distinction between Tipp and Topp will fall away."
Auditing would be more equally weighted with other technical areas such as tax, managerial accounting and financial accounting.
The new programme would emphasise business skills such as corporate governance and ethics; business acumen; leadership ; and IT.
The new model would be effective from January 1 2010. In the interim, Saica would develop the content of the training model in conjunction with industry education and training specialists. Further, Saica would also review the regulations and other implementation implications before this date.
In developing the new model, Saica identified the key issues facing the profession by researching local and international trends, including those in the field of professional development.
The research included international chartered accountancy institutes and other organised accountancy bodies.
Kleinhans said some of the key issues researched included domestic and international demands for the improvement of corporate governance and ethics; the changing generation gap (between generations X and Y) and the potential effect of corporate law reform on training offices. A model was developed, which was tested on various members of the accountancy profession .
The model was then refined and a recommended approach was developed so it could be implemented.
The new training programme would place emphasis on business skills, such as corporate governance and ethics; business acumen; leadership skills; and information and communication technology.
"This (change) means that all prospective chartered accountants will have to achieve the fundamental competencies," Kleinhans said.
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