Developing professional competence in accounting graduates: An action research study

In 2014, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) introduced the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) as its final professional examination. The APC is an eight-hour case study assessing both the technical knowledge and pervasive skills that together represent the professional competence required of accountants entering the profession. In order to write the APC, candidates must first complete a preparatory programme designed to develop professional competence. This paper adds to the accounting education literature by identifying themes in programme design that informed the effective development of professional competence in the preparatory programme context. A four-year action research study was conducted. The initial programme design incorporated learning tools identified in the literature as effective in developing professional competence. Feedback from participating candidates was then elicited to assess the perceived contribution of each of those learning tools. This feedback was incorporated into the revised design of the next year’s programme, which was again assessed through candidate feedback. This cycle was repeated three times. The findings of this study are presented as themes emerging from the action research cycles. The study found that assessment continued to drive learning, while ‘value-adding’ material made little positive contribution. Skills development was found to be more effective when it was explicit. Individual feedback, groupwork and mentorship contributed positively to the development of professional competence, while the contribution of lectures was less clear. The study also found that large class sizes presented practical challenges to the implementation of effective learning tools.