Stellenbosch University BCom Course

About the ACCA qualification

Founded in 1904 with headquarters in London, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a global professional accountancy body, with 154 000 members and 432 000 students in 170 countries. The ACCA qualification offers you status, security, financial reward and respect throughout the world. The designation for ACCA members internationally is ACCA, meaning ‘Associate of the Chartered Certified Accountants’. After five years of membership, it changes to FCCA, which means ‘Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants’.
As an ACCA you can work in any size or type of organisation, in any employment sector, in any country throughout the world. ACCA accountants in the corporate and public sectors transform the finance capabilities of their organisations through their in-depth skills in finance strategy, business analysis, investment appraisal, cost control, financial management, performance management, risk management, and financial reporting. In public practice, ACCA accountants provide advice from a business perspective through their deep skills and knowledge in corporate and business law, taxation and audit and assurance.
Chartered certified accountants:

• Advise management to enable them to make informed business decisions
• Evaluate financial performance
• Monitor spending and financial control
• Independent reviews
• Provides financial advice
• Prepare financial statementsFor more information about The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, visit their website at www.accaglobal.com​

How to become an ACCA member

There are three parts to the qualification: 1) the examination syllabus, 2) practical experience and 3) a professional ethics module.
Following the route offered by the University of Stellenbosch, a student has to register for the BCom (Financial Accounting)-degree (3 years). Currently students studying through Stellenbosch University are exempted from the first nine exam papers of the ACCA syllabus, which is also the maximum exemption that could be awarded by ACCA.
Successful completion of the BCom (Financial Accounting)-degree will allow a student to write the final five qualifying examinations through the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
To qualify as an ACCA member, learners have to demonstrate that, in addition to passing the examinations, they have met ACCA’s practical experience requirements. All learners are required to obtain a minimum of three years’ relevant supervised accountancy experience and meet the minimum competence requirements for membership. Details of the learner’s practical training and experience must be recorded in the Trainee Development Matrix.
Within these requirements, ACCA offers you the maximum possible flexibility, enabling you to match work experience to ACCA’s training requirements in a variety of ways. For example, you can:

• obtain the practical experience required for membership either before, during or after completion of the examinations
• gain the experience in any business sector or combination of sectors (e.g. corporate sector, public sector or public practice)
• gain the experience in any size or type of businessIn addition to all the technical skills and capabilities assessed throughout the ACCA Qualification, central to ACCA’s mission and core values is the requirement that students learn about and demonstrate ethical values and professionalism. ACCA students are required to complete an online training professional ethics module.

BCOM (FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING) PROGRAMME

Aim

The objective with the BCom (Financial Accounting) degree program entails the following:

• To address the basic content of the first nine subjects of the curriculum of the certified accountant career, as determined by ACCA.
• To present the study material in just a way that independent and constructive/critical thinking is encouraged amongst students.
• To impress the virtues of integrity, a sense of responsibility and a positive attitude, which are necessary for a professional career in future, upon students from the first year of study.This program is also aimed at students who want to obtain a qualification as a Chartered Accountant (CA), but who did not study BAcc at an undergraduate level.   At successful completion of this degree students can do a bridging year in order be able to apply to the HonsBAcc- program.Alternatively students can enrol in the HonsBCom (Management Accounting) programme as soon as their BCom (Financial Accounting)-degree is successfully completed. This honours programme is relevant to the Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA)- qualification.
  See these links for more information on the BAcc (Chartered Accountant)​ and BCom (Management Accounting)​ (Charted Management Accountant)-programme.
  Please note: Both the BAccHons and HonsBCom (Management Accounting) programmes are selection programmes.  Contact the School of Accountancy for more information on this.

Admission requirements

The formal admission requirements are available in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences yearbook (available on the website of the university).
Students who do not qualify to register for the BCom (Financial Accounting) programme in terms of the formal admission requirements are allowed to change over to the programme at the end of their first year on condition that they comply with the following:

• They must be registered for a BCom course in their first year.
• All the subjects for the first year must be passed.
• A written application for conversion must be submitted to the School of Accountancy at the end of the first year.Students who wish to follow the above route to gain admission to the BCom (Financial Accounting) program are advised to register for subjects Statistics 186 and Information Systems 188 (instead of Information Systems 112) and Information Systems 152 in their first year (if possible).

Contact details

Any further questions in relation to the BCom (Financial Accounting) programme may be directed to the course co-ordinator, Dr. George Nel.
Tel: +27 (0)21 808 3422​
E-mail: gfn@sun.ac.za​
Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602
Office 2031, van der Sterr Building, C/o Bosman & Victoria Street, Stellenbosch, 7600.​

About the qualification

Most accounting qualifications train people for private practice, working on external audit and tax issues. The CIMA qualification prepares people for a career in business. It teaches skills for strategic advice, managing risk and making key decisions.
Our syllabus is designed to deliver a strong understanding of all aspects of business so our students can contribute in many areas of an organisation. The syllabus focuses on business, giving you more than just accounting knowledge. You will not only be financially qualified but also professionally trained in business management, capable of advising on business strategy and risk management.
When you qualify as a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), you will join the world’s largest and leading international professional body of management accountants with more than 218,000 members and students operating in 177 countries. You will become a Chartered Management Accountant and be able to use the letters ACMA (Associate of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) after your name.  You will also be able to register as a Chartered Global Management Accountant, which is a joint venture between CIMA and the AICPA of the USA. (For more information about the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, visit their website at www.cimaglobal.com​.)
Management accounting combines accounting, finance and management with the leading edge techniques needed to drive successful businesses.
Chartered management accountants:

• Advise managers about the financial implications of projects.
• Explain the financial consequences of business decisions.
• Formulate business strategy.
• Monitor spending and financial control.
• Conduct internal business audits.
• Explain the impact of the competitive landscape.
• Bring a high level of professionalism and integrity to business.Management Accounting is not about recording the past, in the way that financial accounting does. Instead, management accountants focus on the future; influencing and shaping strategies to develop their business’ potential. They are often involved in forecasting and budgeting, cost control, risk assessment and project management. They do not compile or audit accounts, but focus on assessing the unique business environment. It’s not about number crunching.In addition to strong accounting fundamentals, CIMA teaches strategic business and management skills:

• Analysis – they analyse information and using it to make business decisions.
• Strategy – they formulate business strategy to create wealth and shareholder value.
• Risk – they identify and manage risk.
• Planning – they apply accounting techniques to plan and budget.
• Communication – they determine what information management needs and explain the numbers to non-financial managers.

How to become a Charted Management Accountant

Stellenbosch University offers the following route to become a Chartered Management Accountant:

• BCom (Management Accounting) (3 years)
• BCom Honours (Management Accounting) (1 year)
• Qualifying examinations through CIMA
• Three years’ relevant work experience at any organisation worldwideStudents studying through Stellenbosch University are exempted from some of the CIMA qualifying examinations.Students can also enrol in the BCom Honours (Management Accounting) after studying BCom (Financial Accounting) or BAccounting, but CIMA may potentially grant fewer exemptions.

BCom (Management Accounting): Undergraduate programme

Aim
The BCom (Management Accounting) degree programme is primarily aimed at the instruction of students who intend to qualify as chartered management accountants.   Exemption from certain examinations of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), with head office in London, is currently obtained by individuals who are in possession of a BCom (Management Accounting) degree from this university. (Exemptions are always at the discretion of CIMA.)
The broad objectives of the BCom (Management Accounting) degree are:

• To address the basic content of the curriculum of the chartered management accountant career, as determined by CIMA.
• To present the study material in such a way that independent, constructive and critical thinking is encouraged amongst students.
• To impress the virtues of ethics, integrity, a sense of responsibility and a positive attitude, which are necessary for a professional career upon students from the first year of study.

Admission requirements

The formal admission requirements are available in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences yearbook (available on the website of the university).
Students who do not qualify to register for the BCom (Management Accounting) programme in terms of the formal admission requirements are allowed to change over to the programme at the end of their first year on condition that they comply with the following:

• They must be registered for a BCom course in their first year.
• All the subjects for the first year must be passed.​

Students who wish to follow the above route to gain admission to the BCom (Management Accounting) program are advised to register for subjects Statistics 186 and Information Systems 188 (instead of Information Systems 112) and Information Systems 152 in their first year (if possible).

BCom Honours (Management Accounting): Postgraduate programme

Aim

The aim of the postgraduate programme is to prepare students further for a career as management accountant. The programme places a strong emphasis on skills required of top management, e.g. strategic thinking and risk management. The programme prepares students for the final examinations of CIMA.

Admission requirements

Student in possession of a BCom (Management Accounting) or BCom (Financial Accounting) degree from Stellenbosch University can follow the BCom Honours (Management Accounting) programme if they achieved performance marks of at least 60% in Management Accounting 388 and 60% in Financial Accounting 389.
Student in possession of a BAccounting degree from Stellenbosch University can follow the BCom Honours (Management Accounting) programme if they achieved performance marks of at least 60% in Management Accounting 378 and 55% in Financial Accounting 379.
Students from other universities may also be eligible to enrol for the BCom Honours (Management Accounting) programme. Programmes that may be considered have to include at least three years Financial Accounting and minimum two years Management Accounting (which includes Strategy, Financial Management and Cost Accounting). The selection criteria of 60% for both Financial Accounting and Management Accounting would be applied. Students can contact the faculty secretary, Miss Daniels (NDaniels@sun.ac.za​) to obtain an application form.
The above marks must be obtained within the two years preceding the intended year of study.
The admission requirements were set by the School of Accountancy after proper consideration of recent results achieved by students in the postgraduate programme.  Consequently students are required to inter alia already show the necessary devotion in their undergraduate studies in order to become eligible for admission to the honours program.
The closing date for applications for the honours course is 31 October of the preceding year.
The abovementioned admission requirements are applied consistently.  This programme is a selection programme and a limited number of students may possibly be admitted.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Please refer to this document for answers to questions you may still have: Please click here for FAQs​​
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Contact details

Any further questions in relation to the BCom (Management Accounting) or BCom Honours (Management Accounting) programmes may be directed to the course co-ordinator, Mr Roelof Baard.
Tel: +27 (0)21 808 3470
E-mail: RBaard@sun.ac.za  
Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602
Van der Sterr building, Victoria Street, Stellenbosch, 7600​