At the beginning of this year, the University of South Africa (Unisa) was the target of uninformed and negative media reporting regarding the status of its Accounting Sciences programmes. It must be noted that, at that time, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) had already publicly reaffirmed that it had never withdrawn the accreditation of Unisa’s qualifications.
Following these reports, the erroneous perceptions were corrected on various platforms by the Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, the then Acting Vice-Principal: Teaching, Learning, Community Engagement and Student Support Services, Professor Ramagoai Magano, and the management of the institution’s College of Accounting Sciences. Regrettably, the reporting in question persisted.
As a university, our point of departure at the time was that Unisa and SAICA saw each other as partners who actively engaged on quality assurance processes and other improvement plans to ensure that the university’s Accounting Sciences qualifications stand the test of time.
As the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of this august institution, I, on behalf of management and the Unisa community, have a good story to share with the public, our international partners and media organisations. Unisa recently received confirmation from SAICA that programme offerings of our College of Accounting Sciences has been moved from a previous rating of three to continued full accreditation. This means that SAICA has continued its affirmation of Unisa’s Accounting Sciences qualifications as they meet the expected requirements.
SAICA reported the outcomes of its interaction with Unisa to its Academic and Professional Programme Subcommittee (APPSC) and the Initial Professional Development Committee (IPDC), both of whom assessed the actions taken by the university in response to the recommendations contained in the initial reports earlier this year (2022).
Both committees concluded that the actions taken by Unisa in respect of the improvement plans constitute adequate responses to the earlier recommendations, and resolved that the following Accounting Sciences programmes offered by the university continue to be accredited:
These programmes will thus remain on the list of our accredited programmes on the SAICA website.
Unisa wishes to express its appreciation to the management of SAICA, Sizwe Nxasana, the lead evaluator/assessor, Jeff Van Rooyen, Unisa Foundation Trustee, the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority, and the Office of the Auditor-General, as well as a number of senior accounting gurus, for their support of and solidarity regarding reaffirmation of the full accreditation.
As Unisa we will continue to work with SAICA to promote and enhance quality assurance, monitor progress on improvement plans, and ensure that Unisa’s Accounting Sciences programme offerings remain relevant and aligned to the needs of the market as well as current trends in the profession.
As Dr Moses Hlongwane (Acting Dean of the College of Accounting Sciences) has confirmed, this latest positive SAICA report bears testimony to the hard work and long hours invested by Unisa’s management and the College of Accounting Sciences in improving the relevant programmes and addressing any deficiencies previously identified.
As Unisa’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, I would like to congratulate the College of Accounting Sciences team for working hard to ensure that we continue to keep up with the required standards of the Accounting Sciences profession.
Of all institutions of higher learning in South Africa, Unisa is the largest contributor to the ranks of South Africa’s Accounting Sciences professionals in the country, a pointer to the fact that the majority of these graduated from Unisa.
In my interaction with the college leadership, Professor Cameron Modisane, Acting Deputy Dean, reiterated that Unisa will continue with its social mandate to produce more chartered accountants in our country as well as driving the transformation agenda in the profession.
I, on behalf of Unisa’s management and Council, wish to assure the community and media organisations that the accreditation of all our SAICA programmes was never under any threat. This is a reaffirmation that our Accounting Sciences programme offerings are still relevant and enjoy full accreditation by SAICA.
As Unisa, we will thus continue to make a positive difference in the lives of our students, and the South African community at large.
Sincerely
Prof Puleng LenkaBula
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
Publish date: 2022-12-15 00:00:00.0