A critical evaluation of organisations attempting to increase the number of chartered accountants from the black community in South Africa

The research problem addressed in this research is the shortage of qualified chartered accountants from the black community in South Africa. This research attempts to identify what factors have resulted in this shortage, what efforts are being made to address this imbalance by which organisations and what factors could be considered as critical to the success of organisations, programmes and/or individuals. The study consists of a literature review and a three stage survey. Qualified black accountants and representatives of educational and other relevant organisations responded to questionnaires or were interviewed. The study is descriptive and exploratory in nature. Results indicate common trends amongst individual accountants and the opinions and experiences of organisations, rather than quantifiable data. The initial survey highlighted issues which have historically contributed to the shortage of black accountants, including awareness and perception of the profession, institutions, structures, racism, financial, macro and micro societal and educational factors. Educational factors were focused on for the remainder of the research. The literature review examined research in the areas of academic support programmes, cognition, learning and education and accounting education. Needs assessment, organisational objectives, educational methodology and evaluation were highlighted as potentially important factors in academic support programme design. The final section of the research drew on the practical experiences of support organisations and qualified accountants. The factors identified in the literature review appeared to be evident in most programmes. The group of qualified accountants participating in the study had not, however, participated in educational interventions by organisations, so the effectiveness of the hypothesized success factors could not be adequately assessed. Other issues which were identified in the study, and which are suggested for further research, were participation in facilitated or informal study groups, issues related to bilingualism and language and the importance of the locus of control over, and location of responsibility for, learning. The results indicate certain trends and commonalities which could guide further study, but the small population and sample size, and low response rates limit the generalisability of the results. Although the results are inconclusive as to the effectiveness of support organisations, a number of implications of the study for the short and long term, as well as suggestions for future research, can be made.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

College of Accounting

Year dc:date.issued

1993

Author dc:creator

• Bailey, Nadine

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Weil, Sidney
• Morphet, Tony

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17343

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17343