Rhodes graduates who wrote the Professional Practice Exam (PPE) this year have obtained a pass rate well above the national average while one graduate who wrote the Financial Management Exam came third nationally.
The Rhodes University Department of Accounting is one of 13 universities in South Africa that has been accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants to train students for their qualifying examinations for admission as chartered accountants. It also recognises the need to produce graduates of high quality in order to address a critical skill shortage in the profession in South Africa.
To write the first qualifying examination, four years of study is required at an accredited university such as Rhodes University’s Department of Accounting.
To become a Chartered Accountant, candidates must complete a Bachelor of Commerce to honours level at an accredited university. Thereafter candidates embark on a three-year training contract during which they must qualify with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountancy. Part 1 of the qualifying exam is written at the beginning of that first year of training. Part 2 is written after the candidate has obtained 18 months of practical experience.
Candidates have two choices for Part 2 of their qualifying examinations. If they want to register as an auditor, then they Train inside Public Practice (TIPP) at an auditing firm and are required to write the PPE. Alternatively, they can Train outside Public Practice (TOPP) through commerce and industry, where they are required to specialise in Financial Management.
The 2008 PPE exam results were released at the end of March. The Rhodes class of 2006, who wrote the exam for the first time, achieved a 78% pass rate while the overall national pass rate was just 60%. They also exceeded the national pass rate for first time candidates which was 67%.
“While I realise that our Department had less of an influence on how these students faired in this exam than in Part 1 of the qualifying exam (as Part 2 is written 18 months after completing their DipAcc), I think it provides good evidence of the quality of our students and the teaching that they received while they were at Rhodes,” said Mr John Williams, Head of Accounting at Rhodes.
“I realise that there is still a lot we as an Accounting Department must do to contribute to addressing the critical shortage of qualified accountants in South Africa, but I am proud of the achievements of our students and staff members.”
Munyaradzi Muvezwa, who was also part of the 2006 class, sat his second board exam in November last year. Muvezwa is doing TOPP and therefore wrote the Financial Management exam for Part 2 of his qualifying exams. He came third in South Africa in these exams.
“My story is one that has a lesson that I hope you can pass on to the class,” said Muvezwa in a letter to his honours supervisor at Rhodes. “I only managed to pass QE1 on my second attempt due to bad exam technique. During my time at Rhodes I passed all my tests and I even passed Honours comfortably. I know you and the rest of the team at Rhodes used to emphasise the importance of good exam technique but I didn’t take it seriously as long as I was passing, until it caught up with me when I first wrote QE1.”
“My strategy on my second attempt was to focus on improving my exam technique and I managed to pass, and with more practise went on to do even better for QE2.”
Rhodes students consistently achieve outstanding success in the two national qualifying examinations. In 2007 Rhodes students taking the Part 1 examination for the first time came first in the Management Accounting and Finance component. Rhodes students also came third in the overall Part 2 examination written in 2007.
Story By Kerry Peter, Rhodes University: Communications and Development Division