SAICA accreditation has been granted for the BAccSC (BCompt) programme
Faculty of Management and Law
ANNUAL MAGAZINE 2011
Principal Administration Officer: Felicity Matkye Tel: +27 (0)15 268 2626 Fax: +27 (0)86 518 3484 Email: felicity.mathye@ul.ac.za
Administration Officer: Anna Mphela Tel: +27 (0)15 268 2604 Fax: +27 (0)86 518 3484 Email: anna.mphela@ul.ac.za
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF the School of Accountancy and, most recently, its accreditation by SAICA, are crucially important events in the life of the University of Limpopo, and in the life of Nedbank.1 The partnership is crucially important for several reasons. First, as is well-known, the apartheid-inspired homeland universities weren’t supposed to teach any of the professions outside the spheres of education and health. By stimulating the growth of the School of Accountancy, we have broken those ideological shackles and have set in motion processes and trends that will help to correct the cynical racial imbalances that have existed for so long in the world of finance and financial responsibility. Equally cynical was the underlying assumption, that black people could neither count nor account. It was Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, a respected South African academic and business leader who, in founding his own Audit practice in 1977, first broke the stereotype. Now we must ensure that the floodgates remain fully open. Every South African should clearly understand the difference between material monetary capital and intellectual capital. It is obviously important that the first form of capital must be made accessible. But unless this accessibility is coupled to the development of genuine intellectual capital – including a knowledge of how economies work and how capital should be used – there is a grave danger of collapse. Surely this is why so many of the BEE initiatives in our democratic South Africa have failed. The need to develop economic and financial intellectual capital is probably our greatest national need right now; and Turfloop’s School of Accountancy is in the vanguard of this development effort. DR REUEL KHOZA Chancellor of the University of Limpopo
MESSAGES FROM THE TOP IT’S A GREAT pleasure to make this brief contribution to the first edition of the annual publication of the School of Accountancy. This School is the most recent addition to the academic prowess of the University of Limpopo, and we are proud of its achievements. It was created out of the old Department of Accounting and Auditing in the Turfloop Faculty of Management and Law late in 2009. Now, two years later, it has achieved its most important goal: accreditation by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. This achievement has brought a feeling of real fulfilment to the entire university. We have worked long and hard towards this goal. The fact that we have reached it improves our range of academic options – and our standing within the South African family of universities. The fact that we have reached it also reflects well on the efforts of Professor Cosmas Ambe (Director of the School of Accountancy) and his staff. They have set a standard that, for the whole university, is well worth emulating. Indeed, the focus and determination of the School as a whole, as well as the individual efforts and hard work of many of the people involved, have set a national benchmark as the country strives to correct the racial imbalances and improve the overall competency levels of one of the most important professions (Chartered Accountancy) in the management of entities in both the private and public sectors. With my congratulations comes an exhortation to Ambe and his team: SAICA accreditation is like the opening of an important door. The real challenge is to ensure that the best of Limpopo’s human potential (in the form of undergraduate and post graduate students) continue to pass through it to greater heights. PROFESSOR MAHLO MOKGALONG Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Limpopo 1 This banking group, of which Dr Khoza is chairman, has funded the Chair of Accountancy and provided other significant financial support for the Turfloop School
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Editorial
ACADEMIC REVOLUTION WELCOME TO THIS first edition of what we in the School of Accountancy hope will be a regular annual window on the progress and achievements of our school. We have decided on the name, AccountAbility, for several reasons. The first is the most obvious: our ability to do accounting lies at the heart of our core business. The second is in the meaning of the word ‘accountability’, which colours our activities with the suggestion of a public obligation reaching beyond the basic teaching of professional skills. To begin with, we are seriously committed, and are accountable to our students and supporters, to righting the racial imbalance that has traditionally plagued the ranks of CAs in South Africa. In addition, we are as seriously committed to the production of CAs with the sort of professional financial integrity of which South Africa has been in dire need in recent years. I personally am particularly proud of the transformation that has taken place in our School – which has led to SAICA accreditation a full two months before my projected timetable for this important achievement.
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What has taken place here is nothing short of an academic revolution. Two years ago, we began with a Department of Accounting and Auditing that was near to collapse. So worried was SAICA at the progress of its Thuthuka Project, which was run in conjunction with the University of Johannesburg, that monthly teleconferences were held between SAICA head office and the Turfloop department. Since July 2009 only one teleconference has taken place, and that was at the beginning. SAICA quickly recognised that the School was preparing to fly. But it’s not all been plain sailing. Right at the start, we undertook a detailed SWOT analysis, and came up with a list of serious weaknesses that would have to be overcome if the School’s goal of SAICA accreditation was to be realised before 2012. Some of the main weaknesses identified were: lack of course/subject co-ordination; little research activity, poorly resourced lecture halls, financial constraints, weak staff profile, excessive teaching loads, lack of capacity to offer masters and doctoral programmes, too much dependence on the University of Johannesburg for learning materials, etc. It is gratifying to be able to report that every weakness identified in 2009 have now been turned into strengths. This in itself is a remarkable achievement, and it would be extremely remiss of me not publicly to thank the School staff, both old and new, as well as the continuing support of the University of Limpopo Executive Management Committee, Thuthuka, DHET (NFS) and Nedbank for their belief in what we are trying to achieve.
CREDITS Accountability is published by the School of Accountancy, Faculty of Management and Law, University of Limpopo, PO Box X1106, Sovenga 0727, Limpopo, South Africa. www.ul.ac.za Editor: David Robbins Tel: 011-7929951 or 082-7878099 or dgrwrite@iafrica.com Design and layout: Jamstreet Design, Cape Town Printing: Mega Digital, Cape Town
And what is it that we are striving towards? Quite simply, our primary goal remains as it was expressed in the primary goal of the Thuthuka Project, launched on the Turfloop campus in 2004: ‘To identify and nurture talent from the rural areas of Limpopo and provide these students with access to quality education and an opportunity to qualify as Chartered Accountants.’
Production Management: DGR Writing & Research 011-7914561 or 082-5721682 www.porcupinepress.co.za
We are well on the way to achieving much more than this. I believe we are already one of the best Schools on the Turfloop campus. Ultimately, our goal is to be one of the best accountancy Schools in the country – if not the world!
Articles may be reprinted with acknowledgment.
PROFESSOR COSMAS AMBE Nedbank Chair in Accountancy, School of Accountancy, Turfloop campus, University of Limpopo
In
this issue of
ACCOUNTABILITY Page 01: MESSAGES FROM THE TOP The Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor speak Page 02: Editorial: ACADEMIC REVOLUTION Page 04: The big news: SAICA ACCREDITATION CELEBRATED IN STYLE Page 10: Profiles: THE SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY AND THE MAN IN CHARGE Page 14: The big issues: SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING Page 16: The big issues: INTEGRATED REPORTING & KING III Page 18: The big issues: CLIMATE CHANGE ACCOUNTING Page 20:
INDUCEMENTS, AWARDS, JOBS Read about school visits and open days, student and staff awards, and the annual graduate recruitment expo
Page 26: Programme leader profiles: PROFESSOR TEMBA ZAKUZA Page 27: Programme leader profiles: PROFESSOR COLLINS NGWAKWE Page 28: HIGHLIGHTS IN THE 2012 CALENDAR
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The big news
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SAICA ACCREDITATION CELEBRATED IN STYLE IT WAS AN evening to remember; a momentous occasion that will be listed as a high point in the annals of the University of Limpopo’s history. It was 16 November 2011 and the night that the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (SAICA) accreditation of the University’s Bachelor of Accounting Science degree at Turfloop was celebrated in glittering style on the campus. More than 700 distinguished guests gathered for a sumptuous banquet in the new Anglo-Platinum Multi-Purpose Centre, including about a hundred proud and excited red-shirted students from the School of Accountancy. Congratulations from all the speakers were effusive and a strong sense of pride in this remarkable collaborative achievement between the institution, various organisations and government departments prevailed. Amusing quips and witty repartee from the event’s Programme Director, DK Mohuba, Executive Director – Marketing and Communications, kept spirits high. Entertainment was provided by an astute DJ Brian, who kept the atmosphere upbeat and festive, and by talented musicians, the Muso Brothers from Polokwane.
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Welcome! Mr William Tladi, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management and Law, welcomed the numerous luminaries and guests attending the banquet, starting with the sponsors and supporters whose contributions had culminated in what he termed ‘a breath-taking success’. He welcomed the university’s management under the able leadership of Professor Mokgalong; the university administrative personnel, support divisions, academic colleagues, as well as the whole School of Accountancy headed by Professor Ambe, a man of ‘unstoppable energy and resilience’, which has made the whole university proud with its accreditation accomplishment. He welcomed too, the student leadership and encouraged them on their ongoing ‘nation-building journey’.
Opening by VC In the opening address, the University of Limpopo’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mahlo Mokgalong, stated that the occasion ‘glitters in every respect with beauty, brains, societal gems and academic precious stones. Once again the University of Limpopo has achieved another milestone that allows us to bask in the lustre of our achievement.’
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He noted that the profession of Chartered Accounting is extremely difficult to enter because SAICA sets very high standards which have ensured an extremely skilled industry. The university’s journey towards accreditation for the BAccSc degree started in 2004 when SAICA came on board with the Thuthuka Programme which primarily aims to increase the number of black Chartered Accountants in SA by promoting and supporting maths and accountancy teaching particularly in rural schools, and offering full bursaries to disadvantaged students to study Chartered Accountancy at SAICA-accredited universities. At this stage the Thuthuka Programme has expended more than R70 million in assisting needy students. In 2006 the university, continuing its bid to achieve SAICA accreditation, welcomed ABASA, the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants in Southern Africa, on board. ABASA, with Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu as the driving force, established a fund that would enable universities such as the University of Fort Hare and the University of Limpopo to have CAs on its staff. Our thanks must go to Nedbank for their generous sponsorhip which resulted in the appointment of Professor Cosmas Ambe (Nedbank Chair in Accountancy)as the new Director of the School of Accountancy in July 2009. The hard work towards achieving accreditation continued unabated and today, said Mokgolong, ‘the BAccSc degree will join our institution’s list of professions we offer in collaboration with professional bodies. This is a dream for many and a reality for few. A dream that we believe will spur other schools on to strive to achieve the same accreditation.’ He continued, ‘This accreditation by a professional body means a lot to the University of Limpopo. Our image is vastly improved and our recognition cannot be challenged by anybody. The intrinsic value of our degrees has been enhanced and I am here to tell the world tonight, we only offer degrees of quality.’ Mokgolong paid tribute to Professor Ambe who has ‘travelled a long road. There was some kicking and screaming,’ he acknowledged, ‘but it all ended with kisses and embraces'. ‘To all our colleagues in the School of Accountancy, I salute you. And to the SAICA team led by Chantyl Mulder, I congratulate you. You trusted – with sincerity and commitment. Thank you.’
Mayor of Polokwane In his address, the Executive Mayor of Polokwane, the Hon. Freddy Greaver, congratulated the university and said he was ‘very excited that Polokwane has a university that offers qualifications that are equal to the best in the country and internationally. ‘We have the smartest kids coming from this province, but until now we have had to export them to other provinces to achieve their Chartered Accounting qualifications. In many instances, they do not come back. Here is an opportunity for us to not only offer the best education to our children, but also import learners from other parts of the country to get an excellent qualification. ‘I am very proud. Now Limpopo can be known as a province that can produce qualified CAs. For us to propel this province, we need to render services that will build economic growth. As the economy grows, so too will our needs. And now capacity to help us meet those needs can be provided right here at home.’ He added that the proof of the pudding is in the eating and he challenged the university not rest on its laurels, but to strive to be the best university that offers a CA degree. Greaver’s vision for the University of Limpopo also includes having the biggest mining school in the country as the province’s growth strategy is focused on mining. ‘Never embrace mediocrity,’ Greaver stated. ‘I am excited by what the university has achieved, but I will be even prouder when I hear that this degree is the best by far in the country. You have gone far and achieved a lot. We appreciate what you’ve done – that you’ve reached the top of the mountain. But there is no time to rest. There are other mountains to climb. Now is the time to pursue excellence,’ he concluded.
SAICA Chantyl Mulder, SAICA’s Senior Executive: Professional Development, Transformation and Growth, led the SAICA team in its bid to achieve accreditation for the School of Accountancy. Another of her noteworthy achievements in 2011 was winning the financial services category in CEO Magazine’s 2011 Most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards. ‘Tonight is incredibly special,’ Mulder said. ‘I am proud to be South African and proud to be a South African Chartered Accountant. We did it for ourselves; we set our own standards and now South African CAs rate tops. We don’t have to stand back for anyone. ‘Tonight’s celebration is a massive accomplishment for all of us. This is about great teamwork where the team’s motto was “never give up!” It is a consolidation of effort where everyone worked together; where everyone played a massive role. In fact, we could not have done it without the Department of Higher Education’s National Skills Fund, and other organisations. ‘It took seven years of diligence, commitment and hard work. Cosmas (Professor Ambe), your contribution has been phenomenal. When your team delivered your application for accreditation, we at SAICA were stunned. Never in all my years have I ever seen an application of such excellent quality. It told us right from the start that this School is not only going to be a player; it is going to be exceptional.’ Mulder said that the National Skills Fund is aware that as far as funding for the School is concerned, this accreditation process ‘is just the beginning. We are coming back with more proposals.’
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Mulder thanked Nedbank for its generous support, specially acknowledging Dr Reuel Khoza, Non-executive Chairman of Nedbank and Chancellor of the University of Limpopo, for the leading role he played in facilitating the support for the School. She then called on business leaders to commit to supporting rural students, exhorting them to be generous in their support and to remember that students need more than just fees, they need money to live – for accommodation, food, text books, and more. ‘Education takes money,’ said Mulder, ‘and students are worthy of support.’
Nedbank On that imploring note, Ms Kone Gugushe, Nedbank Foundation’s Divisional Executive for Corporate Social Responsibility, and Ms Nhlamulo Dlomu, HR Executive with Nedbank who grew up adjacent to the Turfloop campus and whose father lectured at the university for 39 years, together made a stunning announcement that the group would be increasing the R3 million it had already committed to the School of Accountancy by a further R4.2 million over the next three years.
ABASA
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Andile Khumalo, President of ABASA, said he had been part of the team that had worked on the SAICA accreditation of the University of Fort Hare’s Nkuhlu Department of Accounting and was thus not deterred by the challenges presented with the University of Limpopo’s accreditation. ABASA was instrumental in introducing Professor Ambe to the university as a potential head of department, a role he has fulfilled with extreme enthusiasm, skill and diligence since 2009. Khumalo said it was indeed worth celebrating that today young people no longer need to leave the province to obtain their qualification as a CA. He said there is a crying need to address the imbalance between white and black CAs. ‘Statistics on the CA profession show that about 30 percent of the country’s CEOs are CAs and about 70 percent of CFOs are CAs, but only 10 percent of the country’s CAs are black. This situation must continue to be addressed.’
Auditor General Imran Vanker, Corporate Executive: Auditor-General of SA, added his accolades to South Africa’s CAs and said South African auditors have been auditing the United Nations for the last 10 years. He mentioned that the AG employs 470 CAs, with 17 of them working in Limpopo Province, of whom 14 are black. The AG has a bursary programme worth in the order of R10 million per year, with the average bursary amount being R70 000. He then announced – to much applause – that the AG needs to match what it gives to other schools of accountancy to the University of Limpopo, and added – ‘watch this space’.
DHET’s National Skills Fund Eubert Mashabane, Director of the DHET National Skills Fund said he was bringing a message of congratulations and support from the Ministry of Higher Education and Training on the SAICA accreditation. He then encouraged students who have full bursaries not to squander the opportunities they were being given, to appreciate the resources they were using, and to focus on getting good grades. ‘As you travel the next mile with us (DHET), we ask you to make us proud.’
Mashabane’s welcome announcement was a commitment to students who were continuing their education at the University of Johannesburg to achieve their CTA qualification that the DHET would continue to support them throughout their journey. ‘We will continue to protect our investment in you and we will look for opportunities to strengthen the programme.’
Limpopo Treasury The Hon. David Masondo, MEC for Limpopo Treasury, was heartfelt in his gratitude to those who played a part in ensuring the accreditation. He thanked the university for creating an environment that enabled others to achieve this goal. He also acknowledged the support and contribution by his colleagues at the Provincial Treasury to the School of Accountancy and stated that the new degree being offered by the university will increase the pool of CAs and improve financial management in the country. He also committed the Limpopo Treasury to making sure that students get necessary support from the provincial government.
Hearty vote of thanks Professor Ambe had the pleasure of extending wholehearted thanks to all who had played a role in achieving this milestone, as well as those who were committed to continuing support. He mentioned Nedbank, ABASA, Auditor General, DHET’s Skills Fund, the Limpopo Provincial Government and Treasury, as well as a number of mining houses. At this stage, the total funding committed is R61-million over three years. Fourth year School of Accountancy student Thembani Bodirwa also thanked the funders on behalf of the student body and assured them that ‘your work is not in vain. You make sure we don’t need to worry about fees, which helps us concentrate on our books. We appreciate you.’ Ambe also heartily thanked the internal stakeholders at the university, including the management office of the VC, the finance team, the HR office – in two years the school of Accountancy has made more than 20 permanent appointments to meet the SAICA criteria for accreditation – the Quality Assurance and Marketing departments, office of the Registrar, library, the Faculty of Management and Law, academic and administrative staff of the School of Accountancy, and all support staff. To SAICA and the Thuthuka Programme, he said ‘You are stars!’ He closed by promising that the School of Accountancy will be exceptional players and, quoting Gandhi, reminded all present that: ‘We must become the change we seek.’ The celebrations continued long into the night with dinner, music, and much festivity.
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THE SCHOOL ‘A REMARKABLE CHANGE in the leadership of the School of Accountancy became evident with the appointment of the Nedbank Chair in Accountancy, in July 2009, to direct the process of SAICA accreditation. A visible wave of active strategic innovations has placed the School on a higher pedestal … (and) the new leadership worked actively to mobilise resources at the university, recruiting appropriately qualified academic staff (especially black CAs), and meeting regularly with SAICA to discuss accreditation, and developing an action plan to ensure that the accreditation targets were met.’ This is how Professor Mahlo Mokgalong, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Limpopo, introduced the SAICA Accreditation Self-Evaluation Report, which was produced as a 158-page document by the School of Accountancy in 2011. The result of the School’s application for accreditation is well known. The University of Limpopo is only the second previously disadvantaged ‘Bantustan’ university in the country to be SAICA accredited. Before we look more closely at the School that has achieved this status for the University of Limpopo, it is worth examining something of the preamble. The university’s Thuthuka Project, designed to stimulate the production of black CAs, commenced with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the university and SAICA in 2004. The University of Johannesburg, already accredited with SAICA, joined the partnership, and the first 100 BCompt (Baccalaureus Computationis) were recruited. Funding was secured from FASSET (The Sector Education and Training Authority for Finance, Accounting, Management, Consulting, and other Financial Services), and later from the Nkhulu Subvention Fund (named after Professor Wiseman Nkhulu, pioneering academic in the training of black CAs) of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants in Southern Africa and also DHET (National Skills Fund). But the Thuthuka Project at Turfloop struggled to gain sufficient support during its initial stage and endured many difficulties. In 2006, the Nkhulu Subvention Fund was used to support the recruitment of three black CAs and to equalise racial disparities in the salaries of academic staff. This subsequently resulted (according to Professor Mokgalong) in the mass exodus, in 2007 and 2008 of non-black CA’s and other academics, and a serious leadership vacuum. Then Nedbank stepped in and Professor Cosmas Ambe arrived to take up the Nedbank Chair of Accountancy. Remarkable changes have occurred with the upgrading of the old Department of Accounting and Auditing to the new School of Accountancy. Here are a few of the most important that have occurred since mid-2009: • The full-time staff complement has been increased from 15 to 25. • The first-year student intake has increased from 50 to 75 in 2010, and to 167 in 2011. The intake figure will increase to 250 in 2012. • The 2009 operating budget for the Department of Accounting and Auditing was just over R450 000. This was increased to R660 000 for 2010, the first year of operation of the new School of Accountancy, and was increased again – to just under R2,5-million for 2011 – representing an increase between 2009 and 2011 of 428 percent. • Before 2010, students in the Department had to rely on the general university computer laboratories for access to ICT facilities. Now, the School of Accountancy has recently established two 20-seater computer rooms for the exclusive use of its senior students. • The old Department of Accounting and Auditing had no tutorial system. From January 2010, the new School organised regular tutorials, but these
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had to be held in the late afternoons, due to lack of tutorial facilities on the Turfloop campus generally. More lecture and tutorial facilities will definitely be required from 2012. • Without SAICA accreditation, the old Department required the University of Johannesburg to authenticate their BCompt degrees. The new School is now accredited in its own right, which means that both BCompt and the BAccSc (Bachelor of Accounting Science) degrees on offer (separately and in their new combined form) will lead directly to the CTA examinations, which it is planned will be available at the School from 2015. Other strategic goals include the continuous improvement of academic performance through targeted increases in pass rates and throughput rates; the provision of sustained professional development programmes for staff; the improvement of research and innovation opportunities and output; the improvement and maintenance of strategic partnerships with accountancy firms, local and provincial governments in Limpopo province, with the private sector, and with communities for sustainable development in the local, provincial, national and regional environments; and the establishment of collaborative research and innovation networks and partnerships both nationally and internationally. Ambe refers to the transformation of the old Department into the new School as having been ‘very challenging and difficult, but also an enriching experience’ that ‘provided the opportunity for self-reflection and engagement with expectations towards best practice’.
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Both academic and administrative staff had ‘finally’ embraced the process that had led to the successful accreditation by SAICA, he said. He went on to say that one of the results of this commitment, and of the hard work and careful reflection required to achieve this success, had been a solid improvement in student support structures and systems. ‘In fact,’ Ambe said, ‘we hope to create a sustainable system of student support of such quality that the educational opportunities provided here at our School will begin to attract non-black learners to our programme and our campus – but without diminishing our fundamental commitment to righting racial imbalances.’ Finally, as Ambe and his staff face the challenges of the future, he declared that the encouragement arising from SAICA accreditation, would ensure that ‘we shall remain resilient and committed to the accountancy transformation process we have begun’. ‘Our effort and investment in both time and money has proved successful. We shall accordingly strive to sustain and to improve on the gains made by the School of Accountancy in the run up to accreditation, as we responded to the call of full and equal academic citizenship.’
THE MAN PROFESSOR COSMAS AMBE came to Turfloop in July 2009 to fill the newly established Nedbank Chair of Accounting. He had a very specific mission: it was to transform the languishing Department of Accounting and Auditing into a top class School of Accountancy with SAICA accreditation for its Bachelor of Accounting Sciences degree programme. The mission was to achieve this in time for the start of the 2012 academic year. He (and the highly motivated team he has assembled) succeeded with a couple of months to spare. Late in 2009, Ambe was quoted as saying that he had told his staff: ‘This is not business as usual, but business unusual – business extraordinary. We’re already one of the biggest academic units in the university, but we want to expand. We also want to be the best. We want to tackle head on the challenges that Limpopo and South Africa are facing with regard to the shortage of financial skills. Some of you are suggesting that a revolution is going on here. I can confirm that this is an accurate perception. We will sweep away what is unproductive in the old and build something brand new.’
But who is this man, still only 37 in 2011, who has brought enormous kudos to the University of Limpopo – and to himself. Ambe was born in Tiko, a small coastal town not far from Douala, the major port of the West African country of Cameroon. He attended the nearby University of Buea-Cameroon where he graduated with a BSc Honours degree in Accounting. His attention then turned south: he wanted the sort of quality tertiary education that South Africa seemed able to offer. So in 1998 he enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand for his Masters in Commerce, majoring in Accounting. Within ten years, he had completed this degree – and had been awarded a doctorate in technology in Cost and Management Accounting by the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). At TUT, Ambe served for seven years as lecturer and senior lecturer and coordinator of research and postgraduate studies in the Department of Managerial Accounting and Finance. He also served on various TUT committees and structures, including the Central Research and Innovation Committee, the Ethics Committee, as well as the Faculty Board, Faculty Executive Committee and Faculty Research and Innovation Committee. Ambe has also served as an Associate Professor – Financial Management at the North West University Graduate School of Business Leadership, where he held the position of chairperson of the Faculty Research Committee chairing MBA and PhD colloquiums and defence. In addition to these academic activities, Ambe has had experience in the private sector, working for Pempcam Enterprises and providing training and technical and advisory services for clients such as the German Development Corporation, the National Treasury, the Local Government SETA and, among other corporate clients, Anglo Platinum. By 2009, he was certainly ready to tackle the major challenge of his career so far – the development of the School of Accountancy at the University of Limpopo, including the achievement of SAICA accreditation. At the heart of Ambe’s approach to this challenge – and indeed to the direction of his career in general – lies the refreshing assertion that to be African must never be an excuse for mediocrity. ‘Perhaps the most destructive thing about Afro-pessimism – that view that nothing ever works in Africa and that the whole continent is sliding irretrievably towards disintegration – is how it impacts on Africans themselves. There’s a syndrome of being African, of being disadvantaged. Too often, the syndrome means a lack of discipline and a habitually negative attitude. It’s like a state of chronic depression. Anything will do because we’re black, because the inevitability of failure lies so heavily upon us. ‘But it is a syndrome against which we must struggle at every level in our public and private lives. I believe we have to become advocates of our own importance and competence. We have to espouse passion and drive and consistency. We have to take the many challenges on our continent and convert them to advantages. The defence assessors for my doctoral thesis were Australian and German. Why not Senegalese and Kenyan? We need to find the confidence – that’s the missing ingredient – to be the best in the world. Then we will be.’ It is men like Ambe, men of vision and determination, who are helping to pull the University of Limpopo out of the entanglements of its apartheid past. In practice, separate development inevitably meant mediocrity and being second best. Men like Ambe are reversing a deeply embedded trend that has afflicted not only the university at Turfloop, not only African universities in general, but also large parts of the continent. ‘My credo,’ Ambe adds, ‘is to move from an understanding of problems to their resolution; from doing to mastering; from passion in one’s commitment to obsession; and from aiming to be successful to being truly significant.’
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The big issues
SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING AND MANAGEMENT Professor Collins Ngwakwe
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Introduction MODERN ECONOMIC EVENTS suggest that the dominant threat to and determinant of business success is the business environment (the market). Corporate titans of today are those who understand and respond to the dynamics of their market environment and culture. The contemporary business environment is being constrained by sustainable development culture2; hence corporations that would survive tomorrow’s capricious business terrain are those that would dance to the tune of sustainability. What does sustainability portend for accounting and management? This article offers a brief response to this question.
2 Ngwakwe, C C (2011) Toward an understanding of the influence
of sustainability culture on the accounting profession, International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 18(5):442-552.
The Sustainability Concept A frequent question that arises from non-accounting academics is ‘what has accounting got to do with sustainable development’. Perhaps the concept of sustainability accounting would best be understood by first revisiting the concept of sustainable development that entered the global business lexicon soon after the release of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987)3 – the Brundtland Report. The summary of the report is that economic activities should be carried out in a manner that ensures the survival of the present generation without jeopardising the survival of posterity (WCED, 1987)4. Posterity 3 World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Our Common Future, available at: http://www.brundtlandnet.com/brundtlandreport.htm 4 Ibid WCED
apart, there is also growing concern that even the present generation’s survival is being threatened by humanity’s wanton exploitation of natural resources. In all these, business is said to be at centre stage of rapacious exploitation, pollution and plundering of nature. Given the overriding influence of accounting in management decision, business investments and operations, it has become apposite for accounting to undergo a state of metamorphosis in consonance with the emerging societal culture of sustainability5.
Sustainability Accounting and Management The concept of sustainability encapsulates symmetry between economic growth, society, environment and indigenous culture. It is believed that business (advertently or inadvertently) tampers with these arms of sustainable development. Thus a desired sustainable business should be such that maintains a balance between economic growth, society, environment and indigenous culture. The veritable means for business to redress negative impact on development is to integrate the cost of business impact on environment and society into corporate decisions and performance evaluation; this is imperative since ‘what gets measured gets managed’. Hence current efforts towards sustainability accounting is on the internalisation of previously external costs in business operations and decisions, and eventual reporting of such impacts in corporate reports. Going this route in corporate reports is discussed in a separate article in this magazine (see page 18). Emerging systems that strive to recognise corporate societal and environmental impacts in accounting and business decision are collectively referred to as sustainability accounting6. Thus sustainability accountability requires the integration of sustainability initiatives into corporate tactical, strategic and operational activities including accounting and performance evaluation7. According to IFAC8 infusing sustainability into corporate strategy involves the defining of the individual corporate case for sustainability, aligning corporate vision and leadership with sustainability, engaging corporate stakeholders and suppliers in tune with sustainability, integrating sustainability in corporate goals and in risk management. On the other hand, sustainability can be embedded into corporate operations through: waste minimisation and cost savings, measuring and sequestering corporate carbon emission – carbon footprinting, enhancing information for decision making and performance evaluation by recognising different genre of environmental costs (internal and external). This requires in part that the cost of corporate negative external impacts be borne by the firm and/or department that cause it. 5 Ibid Ngwakwe CC
6 IFAC (2011) IFAC sustainability framework 2.0, available at: http:// www.ifac.org/publications-resources/ifac-sustainability-framework-20 7 AICPA (2011) Sustainability accounting, available at: http://www. aicpa.org/InterestAreas/BusinessIndustryAndGovernment/Resources/ Sustainability/Pages/Sustainability%20Accounting.aspx 8 IFAC (2011) IFAC sustainability framework 2.0, available at: http:// www.ifac.org/publications-resources/ifac-sustainability-framework-20
Attempts to address this are currently underway via emerging sustainability accounting methodology that includes environmental management accounting, material flow cost accounting, biodiversity accounting, environmental investment, life cycle costing and integrated reporting. The crux of environmental management accounting is on the overhead treatment of environmentally related costs using the Activity Based Costing Technique. In doing this, corporate environmental costs are categorised into internal and external environmental costs. Whereas firms are quick to embrace proper accountability for internal environmental costs, mostly because it enhances internal decision-making and divisional performance evaluation and profitability; some firms are still apathetic toward internalising external environmental costs (costs of corporate environmental damage borne by the community). However, due to growing environmental regulations, most previously external environmental costs are now being borne by firms in countries with stringent environmental regulations. Typical example is the clean air act of the USA; emission taxation, environmental restoration costs arising from mine closure (such as in South Africa). Such costs are also being factored into environmental investment analysis to arrive at the true cost of investments and to derive plausible net present values (NPV), it also assists in selecting the best pollution prevention investment alternative9. But in traditional investment analysis such environmental costs are scarcely considered. Another important but nascent dimension of sustainability accounting and management is biodiversity accountability and management – seeking to put biological diversity to the books through biodiversity valuation and accounting. Methods that are currently being piloted for valuing biodiversity includes the contingent valuation model, hedonic cost pricing, and market pricing. Determining the value and accounting for biological diversity would strengthen policy initiates toward preservation and management of biodiversity.
Conclusion This article has attempted to evoke the implication of sustainable development for accounting and management. It recalled that corporate resilience and longevity is currently influenced by sustainability and may be entrenched in corporate strategic, operational and reporting activities. The growing impact of sustainability on business success means that corporations will require accountants and managers who understand the strategic impact of sustainability in business decision making. Consequently, the School of Accountancy is proactively responding to the United Nations call to use education as a pedestal for infusing sustainability in the psyche of tomorrow’s managers by narrowing its research niche on sustainability accounting and management. There is a need to expand accounting curricula in the Republic to produce managers who will champion corporate sustainability. 9 Ngwakwe CC (2011) waste costing as a catalyst in pollution prevention investment analysis, Journal of Industrial Ecology http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00370.x/ abstract
15
The big issues
INTEGRATED REPORTING AND KING III Professor COSMAS AMBE
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The meaning of Integrated Reporting King III specifies that companies should issue an annual Integrated Report that provides a reliable, comprehensive and holistic overview of the company, from both a financial and a non-financial perspective. A key aspect of Integrated Reporting is that companies should be able to outline the impact of their businesses on all three spheres within which it operates: economic; social and environmental. These three elements are known as the Triple Bottom Line. Essentially, King III recognises that companies cannot separate their business objectives and drive for profitability from sustainability. Integrated Reporting should therefore provide a more informed assessment of a company, based on both its economic and social value, and not only its book value. 'Sustainability is the primary moral and economic imperative for the 21st century,' according to Mervyn King.
The key components of a King III Integrated Report One of the essential principles of King III is the view that governance, strategy and sustainability are inseparable. In line with the Code’s recommendations, good practice requires that economic, social and environmental issues be included in corporate strategy, management, reporting and assurance throughout the year, in the same way as financial matters are dealt with. Comprehensive, forward-looking information is the new benchmark in corporate reporting. Internally, the benefits of managing on the basis of holistic data are measurable, while the external integrated report allows the company to reflect its management practices and impacts. Human, social, natural, manufactured and economic capitals are tangible asset bases and each should be managed over time to encourage net added value. Sustainability data, used as management information should form the framework for the non-financial information contained in the integrated report. When it comes to the actual reporting process – most companies in South Africa follow the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Guidelines. These guidelines not only provide the context for ‘what to report’, but also ‘how to report’ and additionally, provide guidelines for reporting across the triple bottom line. It is important to note that an Integrated Report does not mean one single report – it simply means integrating both financial and non-financial information to provide a realistic, future orientated picture of an organisation so that its stakeholders and shareholders can make more informed decisions relating to the company.
How companies should approach King III integrated reporting The nature of corporate reporting has evolved tremendously over the past few years, and now even more so since the inception of King III in March 2010. Many have subsequently dubbed Integrated Reporting a complex process. But the rationale behind Integrated Reporting was not to complicate reporting on business operations. It was rather created to stimulate integrated corporate strategies that are driven towards truly sustainable businesses which are conscious of the negative impact its operations have on communities. Companies that fully understand these King III principles and incorporate it in their core business strategies will have no trouble at all with providing an Integrated Report on their business activities. It is vital for companies to build sustainable business objectives and processes into the fabric of their business strategy in order to ensure that business not only remains viable from both a financial and sustainability perspective in the long run but also be able to report to their stakeholders thereon. This is why it is imperative
for companies to plan ahead and be cognisant of the multitude of factors that relate to King III and the development of a sustainability report. COP 17, the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to establish a way forward with regards to climate change, hosted in South Africa in December 2011, has brought a renewed focus to sustainability. Therefore, business must implement strategies which comply with these new reporting standards or explain why they are not. Organisations and companies should begin by identifying key stakeholders who need to be engaged with for the sustainability reporting process, ascertain what material aspects should be reported and how they will be reported on This would include the processes, both business and IT, that need to be put in place to achieve the reporting requirements. Compiling and capturing the information needed for a sustainability report, and an integrated report as per King III, is more time-consuming than many companies expect. Just as an annual financial report is the output from a year’s worth of operations and trading, so too will an integrated or sustainability report need to disclose the past year’s performance against sustainability objectives and targets.
Role of the UL School of Accountancy and the Africa Centre for Sustainability Accounting and Management (ACSAM) One of the strategic directions and objectives of the School of Accountancy (SoA), in addition to achieving SAICA accreditation in accountancy; is to make the nascent SoA a research incubator in 'sustainability accounting and management' in South Africa and the continent of Africa. This vision was not a mere dream: it was followed closely by initiating a contemporary research focus in accountancy – Sustainability Accounting and Management in Africa. In addition, a research centre was created, known as ‘ACSAM’. The SoA showcased the research vibrancy of this Centre in September 2011 by hosting a collaborative international conference on Sustainability Accounting for Emerging Economies with Environmental Sustainability Management Accounting Network Africa (EMAN) on the Turfloop Campus of the University of Limpopo. To give the desired boost in Sustainability and Integrated Reporting , the SoA provides companies with the following ‘thought leadership’ services: • Specialised management training in sustainable development and integrated reporting • Sustainability systems and process development; Sustainability strategy and policy formulation • Facilitation of the stakeholder engagement process • Technical health, safety and environmental services • Climate change strategy development, carbon footprints and life cycle assessments • Integrated report writing, among other services.
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The big issues
18
CLIMATE CHANGE, BUSINESS AND THE ACCOUNTANCY PROFESSION Professor Collins Ngwakwe
Introduction CLIMATE CHANGE IS no longer a myth; its impact has become ubiquitous in our contemporary environment. Why is the climate change phenomenon a topic of concern to business and accounting? This article discusses briefly the climate change phenomenon and how business and accounting are impacted.
Climate Change Phenomenon Climate change is a scientific term being used to describe the increasing deviation in such environmental variables as temperature, rainfall, wind direction, and snow. Aside from natural causes of climate change, human activities10 are 10 EPA (2011) Climate change facts, available at:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment/downloads/ EndangermentFinding_ClimateChangeFacts.pdf
believed to aggravate climate change to the detriment of humans and the environment. One of the effects of climate change is global warming, caused by excessive release of greenhouse gasses (GHGs)11 into the atmosphere. Naturally, the ecosystem requires a moderate level of GHGs as it traps the sunshine to keep the earth moderately warm for healthy life12. However, excessive usage of fossil fuels and industrial activities contribute to escalate the level of GHGs in the atmosphere, which results in excessive warming of the earth13. This in turn contributes to the erratic variations in weather patterns. 11 There are six Greenhouse gasses recognised by Kyoto Protocol
- carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). (see the GHG Protocol at: http://www.ghgprotocol.org/standards/corporate-standard ) 12 Pew Center (2011) Climate Change, available at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/ Global_warming/Climate101-FULL_121406_065519.pdf 13 Jaccard, M (2005) Sustainable fossil fuels, New York: Cambridge University Press.
The Climate Change Impact on Business and Accounting Although no definite formal agreement has been reached for GHG reduction, climate change phobia is stimulating national climate-change regulations in many countries14, hence placing several restrictions on business operations. Consequently, businesses are confronted with climate change risks and opportunities15. Climate change risks to business includes ‘regulatory risk, supply chain risk, reputational risks, competitive risks, product and technology risks, compliance risk, regulatory risk and physical risk’16. On the other hand, climate change opportunities to business comprise, among others, positive branding and image positioning, selective suppliers, diversification to new markets, attracting new customers, cost savings through waste reduction and cleaner production, profit margin contribution from enhanced turnover, and trading on and profiting from emission permits17. Thus, business policies, operations and planning are currently being constrained by carbon and climate change. Accordingly, business accounting systems have become involved in aligning corporate operations toward adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts. This has compelled innovation in traditional accounting systems to pilot business in a green economic landscape. Current accounting innovation in an era of climate change is triggered by carbon trading schemes that have given rise to carbon accounting. Carbon has perhaps become one of the biggest business assets and/or liabilities appearing in corporate balance sheets; and may become the world’s biggest commodity to be traded in the market18.
Carbon Trading and Accounting Currently there are three approved mechanisms for carbon trading by the Kyoto protocol19: Emissions Trading (ET); Joint Implementation (JI); and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). However, there is not as yet a globally recognised uniform accounting standard for trading on emission rights (carbon trading). This quagmire has kept businesses around the world confused. For those countries that have commenced emission trading, there are diverse accounting treatments of trading on emission rights20,21. 14 For instance although the USA did not ratify Kyoto Protocol for GHG
reduction for the period 2008-2012; however the state of California has enacted its regional GHG reduction regulations. 15 Ibid - Pew Center (2011) 16 CTI (2009) Prospering and profiting in the low carbon economy, available at: http://www.slideshare.net/Robitup/ ctiprosperingprofitinglowco2150509 (p.3) 17 Ibid CTI (2009) 18 KPMG (2008) Accounting for carbon, available at: http://www.kpmg.no/arch/_img/9472057.pdf 19 Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE) (2002) Fact Sheet: greenhouses gasses and the accountancy profession, available at: http://www.fee.be/fileupload/upload/Fact%20Sheet-Greenhouse%20 Gasses173200551357.pdf 20 KPMG (2008) accounting for carbon, available at: http://www.kpmg.com/BE/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/ Documents/Acccounting_for_Carbon.pdf 21 IAS (2010) Emission trading schemes, available at: http://www.iasb.org/NR/rdonlyres/D0D0B44A-254A-4112-9FCE34178B236D07/0/ProjectUpdateEmission022008.pdf
In 2004 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), through its arm the International Financial Reporting and Interpretations Councils (IFRIC) issued IFRIC 3 which dealt with accounting for emission rights. However, in 2005, a request from the European Commission (EC) resulted in temporary withdrawal of IFRIC 3 to enhance further finetuning of the standard22. With the withdrawal, there is no longer a universal standard for accounting for emission rights. Nevertheless, accounting for trading schemes such as the UK Emission Trading Scheme (UK ETS) mimics the accounting treatment recommended in IFRIC 3. The major issues with the accounting treatment of emission rights as covered in the above documents are23 • emission allowances should be treated as intangible assets in the ledger • allowances issued by government free of charge should be treated as a government grant • during a fiscal year, a liability is recognisable by an entity that emits CO2, such liability being to provide allowances that covers the CO2 emissions at year end • the allowances reported at year end use the current market value • emission allowances are amortised to the profit and loss account at year end. However, it should be noted that allowances are derecognised if the entity sells them. Consequently, similar to the involvement of the accountancy profession in other commercial activities, its role in carbon trading is important and challenging. It is thus involved in three major areas of carbon marketing – carbon accounting, reporting and assurance24.
Conclusion The impact of climate change on business and accounting is made apparent in the above article. Aside from the physical impact of climate change on business, regulatory impacts also pose restrictions to business operations. Hence business has to fashion mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change, in addition to compliance to regulations. For its part, the accountancy profession is hugely involved in GHG measurement, recording and reporting of carbon trading. Furthermore, chartered accountants are also expected to offer assurance on GHG reports. But the expertise to do this onerous task has to be developed; there is therefore an immediate challenge to the accountancy education institutions to initiate courses and training in carbon accounting to produce specialised skills in the area of carbon accounting. This challenging task of innovation in accounting education is among the strategic education and research plans of the School of Accountancy at Turfloop.
22 Ibid – IAS (2010) 23 Ibid – IAS (2010)
24 Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE) (2002) Fact
Sheet: greenhouses gasses and the accountancy profession, available at: http://www.fee.be/fileupload/upload/Fact%20Sheet-Greenhouse%20 Gasses173200551357.pdf
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Stimulating academic success
INDUCEMENTS, AWARDS, JOBS
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WHEN IT COMES to quality academic achievement, there’s no alternative to good management and personal dedication, from both staff and students. Nevertheless, special incentives do help. At Turfloop’s School of Accountancy, four main thrusts in this direction have been established. On the inducement side, and in the perpetual search for quality raw material, a programme of secondary school visits and a special student recruitment expo have been established as regular annual events. For students already studying in the School, there are best student awards; and for staff, administrative as well as academic, there are performance awards as well. What follows are details of inducement activities and awards that took place and were dispensed during 2011. There’s also a section on graduate recruitment when prospective employers are brought on campus to advertise themselves to students who are about to graduate. Most of the events and activities described below were initiated only after the new School of Accountancy was inaugurated in January 2010. They ring with the enthusiasm and determination to be ‘the best’ that characterises every aspect of the work of the School.
SCHOOL VISITS AND OPEN DAYS
‘THE AIM,’ SAYS Tshifhiwa Gift Mulaudzi, ‘is to improve the standard of students coming into the School. We are trying to make the School of Accountancy – and the accounting profession – really attractive to the brightest learners in Limpopo schools.’ Mulaudzi is 25 years old. He came to the University of Limpopo in 2005 to do a BCompt degree under the Thuthuka programme. Now he lectures in accounting while studying for his Masters degree in the same subject. At the same time, he’s taken on the responsibility of selling the School of Accountancy at the annual Open Day for school leavers held on the Turfloop campus of the university, and through wide-ranging school visits where Grade 10 to 12 learners are targeted. ‘We identify a suitable venue in a village and bring several high schools in the area together,’ explains Mulaudzi. He shows the PowerPoint presentation he uses. On the first slide is written ‘Welcome to the School of Accountancy. Empowerment solutions for accountancy professionals. New beginnings. Out with the old – and in with the new. You are the change you seek.’ Other slides deal with the mission and vision of the School, as well as the admission requirements for school leavers wishing to study for the accredited Bachelor of Accounting Science degrees that will lead them directly to the CTA qualification and a career in accounting. The basic admission requirements are a minimum of 32 matric points from six recognised subjects, with English at least at level four and Mathematics at level five, or at level four if a level five pass has been obtained for accounting. Other slides show the range of career opportunities available to graduates with BAccSc or BCompt degrees, and the final slide says inspirational things like: passion + focus + attitude + self belief + action = champion results. ‘Your contribution to transformation is an obligation to sustaining the professional accountancy skills in South Africa,’ the presentation concludes.
‘We also talk to them about the money side of tertiary education,’ Mulaudzi says. ‘The Thuthuka project used to offer full bursaries, but the Thuthuka project has now come to an end. This does pose a challenge. Some of the larger accounting firms – like Deloitte and KPMG – are offering bursaries; and we also explain that the University of Limpopo is a lot cheaper than, say, the University of Johannesburg, which is five times as expensive as Turfloop. There are also fewer distractions for the student at a rurally placed university like ours,’ he adds with a faint smile. On the widespread problem of the mainstream urban-based universities poaching talented school leavers from a deeply rural province like Limpopo, Mulaudzi (who was born in the old homeland of Venda) believes that accreditation and the possibility of graduating with a quality accounting degree from Turfloop, will considerably ease the situation – particularly when coupled with the obvious financial advantages of studying close to home. Mulaudzi gave the same messages to the thousands of students who came to the School of Accountancy table at the Turfloop Open Day at the end of July in 2011. More than 23 000 secondary school learners passed through the new Anglo-Platinum Multipurpose Centre, and a fair percentage of them were attracted to Accountancy. ‘Certainly, all our brochures were taken away by interested potential students,’ Mulaudzi recalls. ‘Yes, of course it’s hard work,’ he continues. ‘I’ve been actively involved in these recruitment activities since the beginning of 2011. Actually, I volunteered for the work. But I don’t regret it. Professor Ambe provides a powerful incentive. When he says “I can’t make it to this or that visit; you’re on your own; don’t let me down”, the motivation levels are set extremely high. There is a sense that I am helping to build the country. Accounting is a scarce skill; it’s also a skill where integrity is paramount. Attracting the right candidates for this crucially important profession is hugely important – and I’m part of the process.’
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HERE’S ANOTHER FIRST for accountancy students studying on the Turfloop campus of the University of Limpopo: special awards for top performances – and lots of them. In fact, no fewer than 58 awards were presented to 37 students at the School of Accountancy’s inaugural Best Student Awards Ceremony that was held in March 2011.
Award-winning student Ms Culita Mhlongo flanked by Mr Gavin Pratt from the Provincial Treasury and Mr Benny Boshielo
‘It’s never happened before. The students were very excited. And we can now (at the end of the year) see that the possibility of winning an award has definitely improved our pass rates. It has also increased the number of students from other disciplines enquiring about the possibility of changing their courses to include accountancy and auditing.’
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BEST STUDENT AWARDS
This is two administrative officers at the School of Accountancy talking. They are Principal Administrative Officer, Felicity Mathye, and Administrative Officer, Anna Mphela, the two women who were assigned to organise the student awards and indeed to select the recipients.
Principal Administrative Officer, Felicity Mathye
The awards were made possible through a partnership between the School of Accountancy, the Limpopo provincial government, and First National Bank. FNB has committed R1,5-million over five years to support the annual awards at a rate of R300 000 a year. Of that amount in 2011, ‘winners shared a whopping R108 000,’ according to School director Professor Cosmas Ambe, ‘with the overall best student going home with R10 500. ‘The awards event,’ Ambe explains, ‘was held in the presence of the entire School of Accountancy student body to spur other students to work hard in their studies. FNB’s continuing sponsortship will ensure that the number of black accountants being produced in South Africa generally, and at the University of Limpopo in particular, continues to increase.’ The overall winner of the 2011 awards was Culita Mhlongo, a 23-year-old final year student who has consistently topped the marks listings throughout her undergraduate career in such subjects as Accounting, Management Accounting and Auditing. She is currently enrolled for a B.Com (Accounting) Honours degree.
Administrative Officer, Anna Mphela
Mathye and Mphela point out that Mhlongo was born in a small rural village not far from Tzaneen – an unlikely source for high quality accounting skills. Mathye herself hails from a similar village outside Tzaneen (she then took her National Diploma in internal auditing at the Pretoria Technikon and worked for Nedbank until 2006), while Mphela was born in Mankweng, adjacent to the Turfloop campus, but took her National Diploma in Management at the Tzaneen Technical College before joining the university staff in 2002. She obtained her B.Admin in 2011. So are these rural areas and small villages such unlikely sources for high quality accounting skills? Obviously not. This is precisely why the push for SAICA accreditation by the School of Accountancy has taken place – to more directly tap into previously untapped human resources. It also explains the sense of excitement and purpose that pervades the School. Access to opportunity: that’s the name of the game. And the recently inaugurated Best Student Awards reinforces the general trend.
IN SUPPORT OF the university’s ‘staff attraction and retention policy’, the School of Accountancy has introduced the concept of annual awards for various categories of staff. In 2010, three awards were made: for most consistently dedicated administrative staff, for best lecturer, and for best head of department or subject leader. In 2011, a fourth award – for researcher of the year – was added.
Most dedicated administrative staff, Anna Mphela
The criteria used in making the selection for best lecturer included elements from the normal student evaluation process, with particular emphasis on the lecturer’s knowledge of subject, presentation, and student support. Selecting the best head of department or subject leader took into account the leadership skills of the participant, as well as the ability to establish and maintain stability and attract respect of students and other academic staff. ‘The introduction of these awards,’ says Professor Ambe, ‘has helped with staff commitment. It’s become part of the performance appraisal; it unashamedly rewards for high quality service; and recipients receive certificates, a floating trophy, and a cheque.’
BEST STAFF AWARDS
In 2010, the winners were Eva Satheke (most dedicated administrative staff ); Funchi Malasa (best lecturer); and Sabert Tayob (best subject leader).
Best lecturer, Ilse de Beer
Best head of department or subject leader, Tessaye Lemma
Researcher of the year, Professor Collins Ngwakwe
In 2011, the four award winners were as follows: Most dedicated administrative staff: Anna Mphela, who received a cheque for R5 000. Best lecturer: Ilse de Beer, senior lecturer, who received a cheque for R6 000. Best head of department or subject leader: Tessaye Lemma, HOD and academic subject leader, who received a cheque for R7 500. Researcher of the year: Professor Collins Ngwakwe, who received a cheque for R6 000.
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FELICITY MATHYE AND Anna Mphela, Principal Administrative Officer and Administrative Officer respectively in the School of Accountancy, have been responsible for the organisation of the School’s Recruitment Expo which was launched in 2010 and enlarged in 2011.
24
GRADUATE RECRUITMENT EXPO
‘The purpose of the expo,’ they say, ‘is to bring prospective employers into contact with our students. We invite the employer companies to man stands and to make presentations about their requirements, the individual skills they seek, and the opportunities they offer to successful job applicants.’ The inaugural event in 2010 attracted three prospective employers and 530 interested students from the School of Accountancy and also from the Department of Economics. In 2011, the number of prospective employers setting up stands and making presentations rose to five, but the number of visiting students fell slightly, because the date chosen for the event clashed with several important examinations in the School. ‘Our aim,’ say Mathye and Mphela, ‘is to grow the event. The more prospective employers are represented the more useful will the Graduate Recruitment Expo be for our students. The contacts being made with potential employers also help to reverse the negative views that many people have had about the University of Limpopo’s ability to produce viable accountancy students.’ The 2011 event attracted the international accounting firms of PWC and KPMG, as well as the Auditor General of South Africa, the South African Graduates Development Association, and the Standard Bank. The results of the expo included four placements of School of Accountancy students with KPMG. ‘Coming from the University of the Witwatersrand,’ says Professor Ambe, ‘where such recruitment expos are common practice, it was inevitable that I should introduce the practice at Turfloop. It provides good networking opportunities for our students – and not only for those who are graduating. Students still in the system can look out for bursary opportunities – a process that not only provides financial assistance while still studying, but that also virtually guarantees a job at the end of their university studies.’
CALLING
ALL
ACCOUNTANCY
ALUMNI
THE NEW SCHOOL of Accountancy is looking for accounting alumni, not least those students who graduated with B Compt and B Compt (Accountancy) degrees in recent years. Professor Ambe is particularly keen to find out where they are and how their careers are progressing. ‘Why not become part of the School of Accountancy family, a vibrant new constituency of professional people who have a lot to offer the School, and current students – and of course themselves – by making sure they’re on the alumni list.’ Contact Anna Mphela at the Turfloop-based School (telephone 015-268 2604 or e-mail anna.mphela@ul.ac.za) or Gloria Plaatjie, Turfloop’s alumni practitioner (telephone 015-2683282 or e-mail Gloria.plaatjie@ul.ac.za )
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programme leader profiles
Profile: PROFESSOR TEMBA ZAKUZA IT’S DIFFICULT TO envision a person better suited than Professor Temba Zakuza to the job in hand.
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The job is to direct the Bachelor of Accounting Sciences degree programme, for the first time available exclusively through Turfloop, upon which the hopes of the School of Accountancy are pinned. The SAICA accreditation of the School has made this advance possible, and opens direct access for Turfloop students to the Certificate in the Theory of Accountancy (CTA) qualification. In fact, the University of Limpopo intends to develop and offer a full CTA programme (the basic requirement for SAICA registration as a chartered accountant) from the year 2015. A glance at Zakuza’s career shows how his qualifications, and especially his experience, have equipped him for the complex task of bringing the university at Turfloop into line with the mainstream institutions in the country, and at the same time of making major inputs into the process of rectifying the huge racial disparities existing in the nation’s cohort of chartered accountants. ‘The intention,’ he says, ‘is to enrol 120 students each year into the Bachelor of Accounting Sciences four-year programme. These numbers will make an important contribution to the current situation where only around five percent of the country’s around 30 000 chartered accountants are black.’ Zakuza (now 47) was born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape. After matriculating in Flagstaff, he proceeded directly to the University of the North (now Limpopo) where he successfully completed a B.Com degree majoring in accounting in 1985. After working at a variety of jobs and making several attempts to further his studies (which were thwarted by the demands of his young family) Zakuza joined the University of the Transkei (now Walter Sisulu) as an internal auditor, a position he held in the crucial transformatory years of 1990 to 1996. By the end
of this period, he had completed a bridging CTA and a CTA proper; and by 1998 he was a junior lecturer at the University of Cape Town lecturing students on the syllabus required to pass the bridging CTA. At the same time, Zakuza sat for the SAICA Board examinations I and II. A year later, he returned to the Transkei where he moved into the academic Department of Accounting as a Senior Lecturer, and simultaneously acting Head of Department at Walter Sisulu University. ‘By the end of 1999,’ he recalls, ‘the senior class in the department was ready to take their studies further. Their course was non-accredited, just as Turfloop’s was before the SAICA accreditation. So they went to UCT to prepare for their CTA exams. Meanwhile, I approached the AttorneyGeneral for assistance with funding. The upshot was that Attorney-General funding was ultimately spread across all the old homeland universities.’ In this way, Zakuza became intimately involved with the eventual SAICA accreditation of the Bachelor of Accounting Sciences degree being offered at Walter Sizulu University. But his usefulness to Turfloop’s School of Accountancy did not end there. In the years that followed, and after a brief stint running his own accountancy company, he worked for the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants in South Africa. The Association sent him to Fort Hare to stabilise the accounting department there. Indeed, he worked for Fort Hare until he was enticed to Turfloop in September 2011. Meanwhile, he had become involved with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors, where he is currently chairman of the Education, Training and Professional Development Committee, and serves on the ‘monitoring’ and ‘examinations’ sub-committees of this committee. No wonder he’s such an invaluable addition to the expertise being assembled at Turfloop’s School of Accountancy.
programme leader profiles
Profile: PROFESSOR COLLINS NGWAKWE AT FOUR YEARS old, Collins Ngwakwe was a refugee from Nigeria’s bloody Biafran civil war (1967-1970). Today, he’s associate professor and co-ordinator of research and postgraduate studies in the University of Limpopo’s School of Accountancy. ‘My mother and I escaped on foot from Aba, the town in the Niger delta where I was born. I remember the bombardment. Our house was destroyed. I had also lost my father. I can remember everything perfectly. It made a deep impression.’ Of his profession, he says: ‘Accountancy has a great deal to do with morality and ethics. Sometimes I call it a life science because it’s about human survival, development and well-being.’ It’s not difficult to see how the experiences of the four-year-old Ngwakwe left their mark on the 46-year old professor. But there were other significant influences as well. When Ngwakwe had finished school, he went to Lagos to look for a job. He found work in a shrimp-packing factory. ‘My employer found honesty in me,’ Ngwakwe recalls. ‘I worked as an accounts clerk. My boss trusted me with whole briefcases full of cash money. His trust meant a lot to me. I had done economics and maths at school, but not accountancy. Now I became interested.’ He entered university back home in Abia state in 1986 when he was 21. His plan was to study accountancy, but the course was full, so for a year he studied sociology instead. ‘That was the best thing I could have done,’ he says. ‘It brought me a broader view of humanity, and it gave me a context into which I could place accountancy.’ By 1997, he had added an MBA (Accountancy) to his undergraduate qualification. He worked in the university treasury department for some time. ‘I hated it. It was all figures, figures, figures, and those bulky hand-written ledgers that were used before computers. Later I worked as a junior lecturer, which brought me
back into contact with people. It also allowed me to actualise my dream of teaching and helping others.’ Ngwakwe’s interest in research developed early. His first degree included a ‘research methodology’ component. He produced a dissertation entitled The role of accounting control systems on managerial decision making. For his Masters, he broadened his original perceptions and wrote on The role of accounting control systems on human behaviour. And for his PhD (which he took at the same Abia State University) he concentrated his broadened and essentially humane view of accountancy on the concept of environmental accounting. Not altogether surprising, since he had grown up and now worked in the oil-rich Niger Delta, an area known for its degradation at the hands of profit-hungry multinationals. ‘Accountancy is not just a tool for profit making,’ he stresses, and his articles on ‘sustainability accounting’ and ‘climate change accounting’ (on pages 14 and 18) lend substance to this assertion. ‘Accountancy is about humanity and how people go about their business,’ he adds. On a pin-board in his office is a poem, My Son Accounting, that Ngwakwe published in the influential journal Critical Perspectives on Accounting. I heard business is risk – profit or loss – do or die … Herein is the peril in me and my son accounting Together we crush, we kill and we impoverish … You have declared profit amidst brutal wars … How irreconcilable the acts of inhumanity and Declaration of truth, fairness and sustainability! There are echoes of the Biafran War, and of the exploitation of the Niger delta, in these powerful lines.25 25 Ngwakwa came to South Africa in 2007 to work at the
University of Cape Town. He came north to Limpopo two years later.
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Looking forwardS
HIGHLIGHTS
IN THE
2012 CALENDAR 28
2 January: First semester begins 9 January: School reopens for 2012 18 to 20 January: Registration of returning students 20 January: General staff meeting 1st School Board Meeting 23 January: Lectures for returning students commences 23 to 28 January: Registration of first-time students 30 January: Lectures for first-time students commences
27 to 28 March : SAICA CEO visit 28 March: FNB Accountancy Student Awards
2 to 9 April: Easter recess for students 13 April: General staff meeting 2nd School Board Meeting
22 June: First semester ends 25 June: Winter recess for students begins
13 July: Winter recess for students ends 16 July: Second semester begins 27 July: 3rd School Board Meeting
August: General staff meeting
1 to 5 October: Spring recess for students 4 October: General staff meeting 4th School Board Meeting 17 to 18 October: SAICA monitoring visit
7 December: 5th School Board Meeting 14 December: Second semester ends