DESCRIPTION AND PROGRAMME PURPOSE

The Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting provides students with a well-rounded foundational education in preparation to become a Chartered Accountant who can lead responsibly in a variety of roles in the business sector. Through a deep understanding of finance and accounting, the programme aims to develop in students the required competencies and innovative thinking skills to ensure that they are capable of adding sustainable value through founding, managing and leading a business within its context.

The primary teaching and learning context for the development of these core domains will be a business operating in South Africa. The business will expand from a private start-up company to a listed group of companies throughout the three-year undergraduate period. Naturally, this core context sits within the broader context of the South African economy and society, which is influenced, either directly or indirectly, by a global economy and its associated politics, policies, and social trends. Due to this unique contextualisation of the programme, modules are presented in line with specific delivery themes over the three-year period.

Graduates are equipped with diverse professional skills that are founded on a thorough understanding of accounting theory and legislation with a focus on translating these into practical, real-world application and problem-solving. Students are required to take initiative and responsibility for a range of project work, research and preparation for written assessments such that they develop confidence in their ability to learn and are not afraid of change, as is required in the context of a changing economy.

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WHO SHOULD ENROL

The BCom in Accounting would be suitable for candidates who want to:

• Prepare themselves towards qualifying as Chartered Accountants, registered with SAICA. (SAICA Accredited CTA)
• Enter the accounting industry and apply for accreditation with professional associations, such as ACCA, CIMA and SAIPA.
• Equip themselves with financial and business acumen as a foundation for starting up their own businesses.
• Enter the business world with a view to progressing into a variety of roles, whether operational, strategic or as a future executive

PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

Successful completion of this qualification should enable the student to:

1. Develop commercial, accounting-based solutions that can be adapted according to the community and business context in which they are applied.
2. Apply economic, legal and technological principles to the business environment.
3. Analyse the business environment to develop or adapt an appropriate business strategy.
4. Apply principles of risk management and corporate governance to the business environment.
5. Compile, analyse and critically discuss financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice (GAAP) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS).
6. Apply management accounting and financial management principles to advice in the financial decision making process.
7. Determine and explain tax liabilities in the business context.
8. Analyse the external auditing environment in terms of legal, information technology and regulatory requirements and the impact these elements have on accounting practice.
9. Apply the external audit process from planning the audit through the execution of audit procedures to the issuing of the audit report.
10. Identify ethical threats and implement the appropriate safeguards associated with the duties and roles of a professional accountant.
11. Develop a cognitive awareness of the social responsibility and associated ethical decision-making of a business leader.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

COMPULSORY MODULES ARE OFFERED ACROSS THE DELIVERY THEMES THROUGHOUT THE THREE-YEAR PERIOD. THE DELIVERY THEMES ARE:

• Analysis and Decision-making (within the business context)
• Financial reporting and Compliance (within the business context)
• Risk and Governance (within the business context)
• Strategy and Leadership (within the business context)
• Assurance and other engagements (outside the business context).

Year 1

The admission criteria for the Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting are as follows:

If the candidate matriculated in 2007 or earlier

A Senior Certificate with matriculation endorsement/exemption for degree studies. Candidates who have a Senior Certificate but who do not meet the matriculation endorsement/exemption requirements stated above, may apply to Universities South Africa (USAF), for mature age exemption (https://mb.usaf.ac.za/).

A symbol of E or higher for Mathematics on HG, or a symbol of D or higher for Mathematics on SG.
Candidates who do not meet the Mathematics requirement may be offered admission on condition that
they successfully complete the BCom bridging programme, if they have achieved at least a symbol of
E on HG or a C on SG in any two of the following subjects:

• Economics
• Business Economics
• Accounting
• Physical Science or Physics/Chemistry
• Natural Science or Biology

If the candidate matriculated in 2008 or later

Candidates who matriculated in 2008 or later require:
1. A National Senior Certificate (NSC) with a minimum of 50% in four NSC 20-credit subjects, including
English (at Home Language level) as the language of instruction at Milpark Education, as certified by
Umalusi. A minimum mark of 60% for English at First Additional Language level will be expected where
candidates did not complete English at Home Language level.

A minimum mark of 50% for Mathematics or 70% for Mathematics Literacy.
Candidates who do not meet the Mathematics requirement but who have achieved a minimum mark of
50% or higher in any two of the following subjects may be offered admission on condition that they
successfully complete a bridging programme:

• Economics
• Business Economics
• Accounting
• Physical Science or Physics/Chemistry
• Natural Science or Biology.

Candidates who have completed a relevant Higher Certificate (NQF 5) or Diploma (NQF 6) in the field of
business or commerce with specialist modules in accounting, may also be admitted to the BCom degree.

Other certificates

Any applicant who has a certificate other than a South African National Senior Certificate has to provide:

• a SAQA Certificate of Equivalence, if they want to enrol for a Higher Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Diploma or Postgraduate qualification (www.saqa.org.za);
• or a USAF Exemption Certificate, if they want to enrol for a Bachelor’s degree (https://mb.usaf.ac.za/).

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) applications 

Milpark admits a small number of students onto its programme via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

A matric exemption, or equivalent, is the usual route to admission. However, in unique cases, students withoutsuch qualifications, and whose age, work and proven expertise and competency have provided them with equivalent levels of learning, may apply for admission in terms of the Recognition of Prior Learning Policy.

Applicants interested in applying via RPL will be considered individually by the relevant Programme Head. Full
details of employment, such as a detailed curriculum vitae, and academic transcripts of any completed
qualifications or courses should be submitted together with the application.

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