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Unisa strengthens ties with the accounting profession
The executive management of CAS, alongside representatives from top professional bodies
Unisa’s College of Accounting Sciences (CAS) reaffirmed its commitment to professional collaboration and academic excellence during a stakeholder engagement breakfast with professional bodies, held on 7 November 2025.
The engagement, themed “Engage. Align. Advance. Aligning Competencies for Collective Impact”, brought together senior representatives from leading accounting professional bodies and academics to strengthen alignment between the different professional bodies and Unisa’s qualifications.
The event provided a valuable platform for open and constructive dialogue on the evolving needs of the accounting profession. CAS used the opportunity to highlight its unwavering commitment to producing graduates who are competent, ethical, and workplace-ready, while positioning itself as a strategic partner to professional bodies that guide, endorse, and co-create its qualifications.
Delivering the official welcome, Dr Moses Hlongoane, Executive Dean of CAS, expressed deep appreciation for the support and collaboration of professional bodies in shaping the College’s teaching and learning strategies. He emphasised that CAS is the largest accounting academic institution on the African continent, with over 37 000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and more than 250 highly qualified academic staff, including those holding master’s and PhD degrees. “We cannot walk this journey alone,” said Hlongoane. “We rely on our professional partners to help us shape graduates who are ready to serve, adapt, and excel in the modern workplace.”
An open and frank discussion followed about the competencies that accounting graduates are expected to possess. Drawing on feedback from the stakeholder engagement breakfast with training officers, the College acknowledged the growing demand for “plug-and-play” graduates who are academically strong, ethically grounded, and prepared to function independently in professional settings.
Top professional bodies endorse Unisa’s qualifications
Dr Nicky Tjano from the Office of the Vice-Principal: Teaching and Learning joined the engagement virtually and delivered an insightful presentation on the strategic role of stakeholder engagement in higher education. He stressed that Unisa must no longer operate in isolation but co-create knowledge with its partners. “The era of the ivory tower is over,” he said. “An engaged university must work alongside professional bodies and industries to ensure relevance, accountability, and meaningful social impact.”
Additionally, Mlungisi Hlongwane, Manager: Quality Assurance at CAS, presented an overview of the college’s multi-body professional accreditation landscape. CAS is recognised as a “full house” institution, with its qualifications endorsed by nearly all major accounting professional bodies, including the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT), Chartered Institute of Business Accountants (CIBA), Institute of Certified Forensic Practitioners (ICFP), South African Institute of Government Auditors (SAIGA), and the Institute of Internal Auditors South Africa (IIA SA). “Our professional partners are more than evaluators,” said Hlongwane. “They are co-creators in ensuring that our qualifications remain credible, competitive, and globally recognised.”
Partnerships strengthening the future of accounting
The breakfast concluded with a renewed commitment to continuous engagement and collaboration. Professional bodies were encouraged to continue partnering with Unisa through advisory boards, mentorship programmes, curriculum review, and research initiatives. The college reaffirmed that these partnerships are vital to advancing its mission of producing well-rounded, competent graduates who can immediately add value in the workplace.
Through events such as this stakeholder breakfast, CAS continues to demonstrate its leadership, scale, and unmatched commitment to professional excellence, reinforcing its position as the benchmark for accounting education in Africa.
* By the CAS Communication and Marketing Section
Publish date: 2025-11-19 00:00:00.0
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