Inaugural SAICA and UP education symposium delves into fit-for-purpose accountancy education practices

In keeping abreast of the latest technological advancements and the evolving demands in the chartered accountancy profession, SAICA jointly hosted its inaugural education symposium earlier this year with the University of Pretoria (UP) at UP’s Future Africa Campus. The aim of the symposium was to showcase formal research and methods introduced to develop competencies expected of CAs(SA).

Held under the theme “Empowering future generations today through fit-for-purpose education practices”, the symposium brought together academics in the accountancy profession from nearly all the SAICA-endorsed higher education institutions. The Symposium also allowed for people to join virtually, greatly expanding its reach.

The symposium featured presentations of formal research related to accounting education, Pech Kucha sessions (short storytelling sessions), an international and a futurist speaker, and finally ended with a uniquely interactive session. The symposium enabled academics to showcase current accounting education practices and share ideas for developing professional values skills and attitudes, highly valued by employers looking for future-fit prospective Chartered Accountants.

The formal research arose out of the need to ensure effective development of the competencies (knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviours) set out in SAICA’s “CA of the Future” competency framework (previously known as CA2025). In raising concerns about how the new framework would be implemented within academic programmes, SAICA, through engagement with Universities South Africa (USAf), set up various research streams in partnership with universities. The research stream on “Development and assessment of enabling competencies” was led by the University of Pretoria (UP).

Delivering his welcome address, Robert Zwane, SAICA’s Executive Director: Learning, Development and National Imperatives, said the symposium was vital in navigating the changing dynamics in the profession. “This is the first of many education symposiums to come; SAICA is planning to make this an annual event by partnering with other academic programme providers in future years. SAICA places importance on research and ensuring there is a culture of research in all academic providers, and we invite other providers to partner with SAICA in hosting this event,” said Zwane.

On developing CAs(SA) who are fit for purpose and who can adapt to the demands of the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, delegates agreed that new emerging areas need to be given attention as well as the teaching and learning approaches adopted by academic programme providers in the tertiary space who offer SAICA-endorsed programmes.

SAICA CEO, Ms Patricia Stock, said the profession’s ability to leverage digital technology is a key element for sustainability and needs to be brought to the fore in developing future-ready CAs(SA). This is in line with SAICA’s CA of the Future Competency Framework, which aims to assist prospective CAs(SA) in preparing as their roles evolve due to the changing dynamics of the profession and business. “As digital acumen becomes essential for our professional competencies, proficiency in AI and Blockchain becomes even more essential. The integration of technologies offers opportunities for efficiency and transparency,” added Stock.

Providing background on SAICA’s CA of the Future and the related competency framework, Mandi Olivier, Executive: Learning & Development at SAICA shared the key messages behind the objective of this body of work. The intention of this framework is to provide guidance on the relevant competencies that need to be developed throughout the qualification process to achieve the CA(SA) designation. These are:

• Charting a future: Developing responsible leaders for a sustainable world
• Igniting success: Through financial and business excellence
• Opportunity awaits: For those who see beyond the numbers

Olivier emphasises the need for CAs to evolve and remain relevant to changes around them by being lifelong learners (developing lifelong learning skills) and every professional needing to take responsibility for their own self-directed learning. This is a process that starts in the SAICA-endorsed academic programme. To remain relevant, CAs(SA) need to be difference makers, problem solvers, critical thinkers, and ethical business leaders.

Here are some key takeaways from the symposium:

Session 1 included presentations from academics who have conducted formal research and published papers on the various topics.

1. Development of Communication skills: Perusall and Reading Progress (Dr Cecile Janse van Rensburg and Me Marchantia Pollock, UP)[1]
2. Team assessment with immediate feedback: Prof Stephen Coetzee and Prof Astrid Schmulian, UP[2]
3. The role of feedback in the development of competence: Dr Charisa de Klerk, UP (Research provided by Me Anneli Delport and Dr Rholé Coetzee)

Session 1.1 - Integration of reading and engagement tools into the accounting academic programme

In the first session of the symposium, Dr Cecile Janse van Rensburg from the University of Pretoria spoke about their use and integration of Perusall – a social e-reader platform designed to promote reading and engagement in classes – particularly in the reading of accounting standards.

“For communication purposes, students felt more comfortable communicating with each other on the platform. For our non-English students, they found it very helpful to clarify the meaning of words and phrases. If something didn’t make sense, they could immediately ask in the platform and get a suitable answer, said Janse van Rensburg.

Another platform used by the University’s Department of Accounting is Reading Progress, a free tool built into Microsoft Teams designed to support and track reading fluency in class.

Marchantia Pollock, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Accounting at UP said reading ability consists of various elements, citing reading comprehension and reading fluency as amongst those elements. She spoke on their adoption of the Reading Progress platform to improve the students' reading abilities.

“Our students were already operating on Microsoft Teams, so it was easy to integrate the platform into what they were already doing, and it gave them immediate feedback. We created the assignment, uploaded it and they got individualised feedback, highlighting to them where their problems are concerning their ability to read text,” said Pollock.

Application of this research: Given the wide range of language skills students entering the accountancy programme have, it is necessary to address the understanding of basic accounting terminology using different tools before exploring accounting technical terms that, if not well understood as a base, make it difficult for students to progress in their studies. By sharing the research done in using different tools, the UP staff were able to demonstrate tangible ways in which other academic providers could adapt their teaching to ensure students understand concepts before moving on to more complex topics.

Session 1.2 Team assessment with immediate feedback

In the second part of the first session, Prof Stephen Coetzee from the Department of Accounting at the University of Pretoria showed how important it is for students to receive timely feedback when learning about core accounting concepts.

Using small groups in a large lecture venue, each group must answer several questions that offer 4 possible solutions (similar to multiple choice). Students first need to discuss the correct answer among themselves and then using a scratch card, they can scratch off their selected answer to see if it is right or wrong. This allows for students to put their arguments as to the correct response forward formally and allows students to learn (the correct answer) in a fun and engaging manner. The energy in the room, per the video shared, was electrifying, and Prof Coetzee says implementing this approach “is one the highlights of his career.”

Application of this research: Assessment can be done in groups and can be fun. Assessment in groups with immediate feedback to students is a unique assessment method that allows students to network and learn from each other. This form of assessment is referred to as assessment for learning and differs from the traditional assessment of learning.

Session 1.3 – The role of feedback in the development of competence

Dr Charisa de Klerk, Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria, shared the experiences of UP Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences achieving ACCSB accreditation and it requires that students be provided feedback not only on their technical knowledge but on other competencies such as ethics, communication, knowledgeability, critical thinking and problem-solving through the use of rubrics. To achieve this there was a need for an appropriate and authentic assessment tool.

This was achieved through the use of authentic assessments (case studies with a pre-release similar to the APC) to develop competencies, encouraging collaboration among students during the pre-release, completion of the rubric-based assessment in their individual capacity, and individual and class feedback, including individualised voice-note feedback (although the latter is very time-consuming). This received overwhelming positive feedback from students, although students were not used to not getting a “percentage” or a mark for their assessments. Students are encouraged to use the rubric to self-assess immediately after the assessment.

Application of this research shows how important it is that students receive feedback not only on their technical knowledge but on how they are developing skills-based competencies such as critical thinking and communication. Before assessing students, they need to be made aware of what they will be assessed on. Using rubric-based assessments requires further development in the accountancy space.

Session 2

This session took the format of a Pecha Kucha session (storytelling) covering two key themes related to the CA of the Future competency framework, namely how to develop professional values, attitudes, and acumens (PVAAs) in the academic programme and using digital tools to develop these PVAAs. The storytelling sessions required a telling of work undertaken in these areas using a specific format that uses 20 slides or images, each auto-advancing after 20 seconds – not an easy task!

1. Post-implementation review of PVAA assessment in integrated papers for PGDA and third-year students: Prof Rikus de Villiers and Ian Short, NWU
2. Partnering with Uipath and Sage in second year: Ms Lee-Anne Macpherson, NMU
3. Auditing module - Applied Business Information Systems: Mr Alwyn Visser (& Ms Zanne Horrel), Milpark
4. Gamification of Ethics: Ms Nadia Bauer, UP (Research support provided by Prof Theresa Pidduck)[3]
5. The use of virtual reality to develop competence: Prof Hanneke du Preez, and Mr Makofe Lepheana, UP and UL (Research support also provided by Ms Tanya Hill)[4]
6. The role of tax e-filing simulation in the development of competence: Ms Tanya Hill and Prof Hanneke du Preez, UP[5]

2.1 Professional Values and Attitudes and Acumens (PVAA) assessment in integrated papers for PGDA and third-year students

Prof Rikus de Villiers, Associate Professor and PGDA coordinator at North-West University, and Ian Short, Subject chair of Business Sciences at the North-West University School of Accounting Sciences, gave the presentation.

They spoke about replacing some of the technical marks with marks for some of the PVAA marks in third-year and PGDA-level assessments. “At first, how we were going to assess these PVAA in our assessment was a question that required significant thought and discussion. SAICA gave us some guidelines by issuing specimen exam papers for the IAC that will be introduced in 2025,” said Prof de Villiers.

Short said: “The first one we did was on strategy where we took the technical component, and then you can split it between business acumen and critical thinking. This worked for our third-year integrated assessments for our capstone students.”

2.2 Partnering with UiPath and Sage in Auditing II

Lee-Anne Macpherson, a Lecturer in the Audit division at Nelson Mandela University’s School of Accounting, explained how the partnership with UiPath and Sage has made learning more efficient, engaging, and interactive for students.

“We felt that digital acumen is important with the CA of the Future. We wanted to expose students to automation without programming or coding knowledge. We have created a study guide on Robotic Process Automations (RPAs). In terms of automation, we choose UiPath because it is a great automation tool and uses flow-chart modelling tools. What students have done in Microsoft Excel, the robot can also do through UiPath,” said Macpherson.

2.3 Applied Business Information Systems

Alwyn Visser, Senior Lecturer in the School of Professional Accounting at Milpark Education gave a presentation on Applied Business Information Systems, a module he developed with colleague, Zanne Horrell, for Milpark Education’s Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting.

Visser said Applied Business Information Systems is a semester module running over 12 weeks and is a case study in which the students must run a company. “In the final stint of the module, the students take the information from Sage, and they need to compile financial statements and management statements. In the last week, we ask the students what they could do better at an operational level and strategic level after running the business for 12 weeks,” said Visser.

2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 Developing competence with digital tools such as Gamification, Virtual Reality (VR) and tax e-filing simulation

As part of developing competence, Nadia Bauer, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Taxation at the University of Pretoria, spoke about a tax risk game the Department is developing with some of its students.

“We are busy with the development of a tax risk game at the University of Pretoria. The concept of this game is, however, not new. But we now have an opportunity to develop it further ourselves. The game includes multiple components which will expose students to different competencies and diverse fields, for example taxation, politics, finance, and ethics,” said Bauer.

In their presentation on Virtual Reality (VR), Prof Hanneke du Preez, Head of Department: Taxation at the University of Pretoria and Mr Makofe Lepheana, Head of Department: Taxation at the University of Limpopo (UL) said VR can improve learning outcomes in the accounting field and enhance the students’ lived experiences.

“VR can potentially transform how we perceive, interact with, and communicate financial data. Some of the challenges that we are expecting in our intervention are structural challenges to get approval; resistance from both students and lecturers and who is going to bear the cost for the interventions,” said Lepheane.

Another technological addition to developing competence at UP’s Department of Taxation is the SARS e-filling simulation platform, which provides practical elements for the submission of returns and declarations and other related services.

The application of this session was for each academic to show in a less than 7-minute story what they are doing to change their teaching and learning approaches to develop and assess the PVVAs. Sharing this encourages academics to take lessons to their own programmes and implement change.

Session 3

The symposium’s guest speaker was Willem van der Post CA(SA), Founder of xTech.Capital and Co-Founder of simple.Capital(). His future-orientated address focused on how and why accounting educators must apply business acumen and new technologies to their teaching in the classroom.

Application of this session was to get academics to understand how quickly technology is changing and how important it is for these technologies to be explained to students to continue to develop graduates with a strong business acumen base and who are aware of new technologies and how they can be used to improve the work of CAs(SA) to remain fit-for-purpose professionals for the economy.

Session 4

This session included presentations specifically focused on the use of AI in Education

1. Building AI into the curriculum: Prof Irene Wiecek, University of Toronto, Canada
2. Introducing the AI bot. The future of personalised learning: Prof Stephen Coetzee, UP[6]

4.1 Emergence of Artificial Intelligence to develop competence

As the surge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues and its impact is poised to grow further, Prof Irene Wiecek from the University of Toronto in Canada said the integration of AI is vital in complementing Human Intelligence (HI).

“The strength of AI is the speed at which it can process information and the consistency at processing things and its ability to ingest and digest insight from increasing amounts of data. We as humans just cannot do that; we have physical and mental limitations. Although it appears good, there are also disadvantages to AI, these may include biases and privacy issues,” said Wiecek.

Prof Irene Wiecek demonstrated how she introduced her Master's students in accounting to artificial intelligence through a hands-on and group project over the course of their studies. This allowed far deeper engagement with AI, its role, and its advantages and limitations, making learning authentic.

4.2 Introducing the AI bot. The future of personalised learning[7]

Prof Stephen Coetzee, from the Department of Accounting at the University of Pretoria, also presented on using AI in accounting. He spoke about how they have developed and introduced an AI bot in ChatGPT to support students in developing their accounting knowledge. The tool also enables the students to hone their prompting skills (questioning mindset). Follow the link to join the Accounting Education (AE) Bot.

Application of this session shows that it is critical for academics to embrace AI in the academic programme as it can be used to develop a number of valuable skills.

Session 5

The conference concluded with an interactive session on the infusion of critical thinking in an accounting curriculum. This session experientially demonstrated the use of the jigsaw cooperative learning strategy, where the participants are divided into groups and do an interactive and engaging session in smaller groups, where the participants' learning of the elements of critical thinking is dependent on each other. The session was overseen by Prof Madeleine Stiglingh, the Head of the CA Programme at UP, and Prof Hanneke du Preez (UP).

“Critical thinking can help us navigate the dangerous world of social conformity. It requires an active cognitive process, specifically when we are exposed to a lot of data and information that we should analyse. Analyse for me, is when you are deconstructing information into smaller components that makes sense. You then weigh this information to try and evaluate it, and, in this process, you ask critical and vital questions to rise above the noise of assumptions that sabotage decision-making and let us gravitate to social conformity. This intentional critical thinking process will empower us to adapt our thinking to make sound conclusions continuously,” said Stiglingh.

Overall, the education symposium was a huge success, with many comments from participants on how the research and other presentations will allow them to go back and make changes to their SAICA-endorsed programmes. Apart from the transfer of knowledge and skills that this conference facilitated, it also ignited a renewed energy to intentionally develop the PVAAs of the CA of the Future. Prof Stiglingh closed the day’s proceedings by thanking Mandi Olivier for her visionary inspiration and leadership that made the day of unlearning, learning and relearning possible for the academic stakeholders of SAICA. “Mandi Olivier is indeed a difference maker!”.

If you missed the symposium, you can watch it here.

You can also visit the SAICA eVolve platform for more and link to the Education Symposium course.

Look out for more details on this symposium in 2025.

[1] Refer to https://www.perusall.com/ for more information. Also refer to the PhD thesis of Dr Cecile Janse van Rensburg that is available at: https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/90356. Also refer to the PhD thesis of Dr SE Smith that explores the Social and Cognitive Dimensions of Language in the Learning of Introductory Accounting that is available at https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/74632.

[2] Astrid Schmulian and Stephen Coetzee, 2019. Students’ experience of team assessment with immediate feedback in a large accounting class. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(4): 516-532.

[3] Refer to https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379731206_Gamification_of_ethics_-_SAICA_Education_symposium_2024, for more information.

[4]T Hill and H du Preez, 2022. Reflections on a virtual reality soft skills teaching intervention. 8^th International Conference on Higher Education Advances, 841-848; T Hill and H du Preez, 2021. A longitudinal study of students’ perceptions of immersive virtual reality teaching interventions. 7^th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network, 1-7.

[5] H du Preez, T Hill, L Coetzee, L Motsamai and K Stark, 2023. Exposing students to a simulation of the online platform used by the South African revenue service. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 16(2), 139-152.

[6] Julia Venter, Stephen A Coetzee and Astrid Schmulian, 2024. Exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the delivery of effective feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 1-21; Astrid Schmulian and Stephen Coetzee, 2019. The development of Messenger bots for teaching and learning and accounting students’ experience of the use thereof. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50:5: 2571-2777.