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ACCA Accredits UFS Accountancy Programmes

06 May 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath

The quality of the following University of the Free State (UFS) Accountancy programmes is internationally recognised, as it has been accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) after a thorough review of the modules offered:

• Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc)

• Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Accounting (BComHons in Accounting)

• Postgraduate Diploma in General Accounting (PGDip [General Accountancy])

The implications of this accreditation are that graduates of these programmes will be eligible for direct admission to the Strategic Professional level (i.e. the highest level) of the ACCA qualification structure – a level aimed at preparing students for future leadership positions. Graduates of the BCom Accounting (BCom [Accounting]) programme will receive exemption from all of the ACCA’s ‘applied knowledge’ examinations as well as many of its ‘applied skills’ examinations.

According to the ACCA website: “We’re a thriving global community of 219 000 members and 527 000 students based in 179 countries that upholds the highest professional and ethical values.”

Internationally recognised accreditation

Haneke van Zyl, the Programme Director: General Accountancy and Research at the UFS, commented: “As this designation is internationally recognised, the ACCA accreditation of our programmes is vital in the School of Accountancy’s quest to acknowledge our diverse student body and to provide a wide range of opportunities to our Accounting students. We believe that each of our students should be empowered to become the best versions of themselves – and this accreditation will open more doors for them.”

As a result of this accreditation, ACCA will also actively assist UFS graduates of the aforementioned programmes to pursue ACCA membership through programmes such as ‘Accelerate’, which subsidises the various fees payable by aspirant members of ACCA.

Prof Frans Prinsloo, the Director of the School of Accountancy at the UFS, added: “We are very proud of the quality of our programmes – which are now accredited by all the leading professional bodies that operate in South Africa, i.e. the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the SA Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and most recently, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). This is testament not only to the quality of the school’s curricula and teaching and learning resources, but vitally important also to the calibre of academic staff – who are not only highly qualified and experienced in facilitating teaching and learning, but also committed to their students’ success.”

Van Zyl added: “We have drawn on the curriculum structures of these leading professional bodies to inform our curricula – thereby ensuring the continued relevance of our graduates in the fast changing world of work that is being transformed by the 4th Industrial Revolution. Far from becoming obsolete in this environment, appropriately qualified accountants will become key providers of credible information for organisational decision-making – a function without which no organisation can be successful and thrive.”

Prof Prinsloo acknowledged the hard work of the colleagues in developing all the required documents needed to obtain the ACCA accreditation: “The accreditation is the result of a combined effort by the colleagues from the School of Accountancy, guided by the responsible programme director, Mrs Haneke van Zyl. It is testament to the hard work and effort that the lecturers involved in the programmes have put in.”

News Archive

New challenges for animal science discussed

2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006. The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961. Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya. Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities. The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector.

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years. “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education. Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues. This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development. “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods. It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts. “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications.

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed. This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

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