INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ACCOUNTANCY CURRICULA: NECESSITY OR AFTERTHOUGHT

Year 2017, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 121 - 136, 01.06.2017

Olive Stumke

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