INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ACCOUNTANCY CURRICULA: NECESSITY OR AFTERTHOUGHT

Abstract

Information technology (IT) forms an integrated part of everyday life. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) has continuously outlined in their Competency Framework that IT is integrated into every task of a Chartered Accountant (CA) candidate. This, together with the ever-changing IT environment, makes the exposure of students to IT in an educational environment more important than ever. This study investigates whether the inclusion of IT in the Accountancy curricula is necessary or whether it is only an afterthought. A mixed-method research approach was used and a questionnaire was developed and administered to 15 SAICA-accredited universities and training offices. The qualitative data collected from these participants were priori coded by the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS©) based on pre-populated codes and themes identified from the literature. The comprehensive literature study and the analysis of data collected illustrated that it is evident that even though IT is important in our daily lives, IT in Accountancy education may be inadequate. The results indicated that the respondents agree on the importance of the inclusion of basic spreadsheet and word-processing software in the Accountancy curricula. Therefore, the inclusion of IT cannot only be an afterthought, but should be well planned.

Keywords

• IT, Accountancy curricula, Competencies, Employers, SAICA