The Department of Financial Accounting under the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics at the Durban University of Technology hosted a two-day Accounting Workshop, which recently took place at ML Sultan Campus.
The event was honoured by Professor Msizi Mkhize: Dean of Teaching and Learning in the College of Law and Management studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Ayanda Shandu; Bonakude Human Resources Officer, Miss Lungile Mnqayi: Chartered Accountant with the Auditor General of South Africa; Sifiso Mthembu: DUT Co-operative Education Representative; Miss Zamekile Mthiyane: Professional Accountant (SA) and Entrepreneur; Dr Gavin Isaacs: Current Chief Operations Executive (COE) at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA); Bonakude industry partners; Dr Ferina Marimuthu: HOD (Financial Accounting); DUT staff and students.
The event was a collaboration between Accounting professionals and academics to help provide guidance to Accounting students as they find their way into the Accounting profession and to further their studies.
Giving the welcome address was Dr Haruna Maama from the Department of Financial Accounting at DUT, who welcomed the guest speakers and everyone who was present at the event. He also spoke about the purpose of the event and what they were hoping to achieve with the event.
This was followed by the keynote address which was given by Prof Mkhize who is the Dean of Teaching and Learning in the college of Law and Management studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
Prof Mkhize spoke on the wider Accountancy profession, what the future industry is going to look like for students with a National Diploma in Accounting.
He further went on to speak about the funding opportunities that are available for students who want to pursue their careers in Accounting.
Speaking on how to write a Curriculum Vitae (CV), cover letter, how to prepare and conduct oneself during interview was Ayanda Shandu, a Human Resource Officer at Bonakude. Further on into the discussion, Lungile Mnqayi, who is a Chartered Accountant (CA), registered Auditor and South African Institute of Chartered Accountant (SAICA) Assessor, spoke on what it is to be a Chartered Accountant and what qualities one needs to be an accountant. She spoke on the funding support and mentorship available within her organisation that they offer to students who wish to pursue their studies in BCom Accounting.
She also mentioned that trainee auditors are allocated mentors who help them during their journey of articles with both work and other issues.
On the event’s second day, Mr Xolani Ngcobo, who coordinated the programme, motivated the students by giving a brief background about himself and how he became a lecturer at DUT. The speakers were Ms Zamekile Mthiyane, Mr Mark Regenald, Mr Vela Mtshali from Bonakude Consulting and Dr Gavin Isaacs, current chief Operations Executive (COE), South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). Ms Zamekile Mthiyane presented on behalf of the the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and provided more insights about the ACCA qualification.
She said: “The ACCA qualification is the world leading accountancy qualification for aspiring financial professionals, providing our students with the skills, knowledge and values to have successful careers and lead the organisations they work with into the future.”
The next speaker was Mr Reginald, who has over 20 years industry experience. His area of expertise involve management decisions as a turnaround /change agent at operational, management and strategic level.
He delivered his presentation on the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). He commenced his presentation by highlighting what CIMA mean and what CIMA qualification entails. The next presentation was by Dr Ferina Marimuthu who is a Head of Department in the Faculty of Accounting & Informatics under the department of Financial Accounting. However, due to other commitments, Dr Anchal Ramsarghey presented the speech on her behalf. She spoke on academic progression and the need for the students to be confident, disciplined and ambitious.
Dr Isaacs is the current Chief Operations Executive (COE), South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). He is responsible for the institute’s operations, inclusive of communications and marketing, legal and quality assurance and many other operations within the institute. His presentation was on South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). His presentation underlined the significance of obtaining a SAIPA professional status and the route to becoming a professional accountant.
The event concluded with a question and answer session and positive feedback from students who enjoyed the interactive workshop.
Lindokuhle Sibisi who is offering Advanced Diploma in Accounting, commented that the workshop was an eye-opener for him and really assisted him to pave his way in the accounting field.
Pictured: The guest speakers with Dr Ferina Marimuthu, HoD: Financial Accounting at DUT.
Siphokazi Dlamini
