The Advanced Diploma in Accounting [CU017ACC01] aims to provide an efficient path for relevant graduates to become Chartered Accountants. This is in line with the general purpose of an Advanced Diploma, which is to strengthen and deepen the student’s knowledge in a particular discipline or profession or enhance flexibility in the event of a change in circumstance, thus enabling change in career path. Graduates are provided an efficient route to completing the relevant university qualifications required to be eligible to pursue the Chartered Accountant qualification.

The Advanced Diploma is directly linked to employment opportunities for students who have a diverse educational background, particularly in view of the requirement for integrated reporting and combined assurance providers.

Programme outline:

This programme aims to replicate the final year of the Bachelor of Commerce specialising in Financial Accounting: Chartered Accountant for graduates of other programmes who meet the requirements for the prescribed courses. Successful completion of this programme may allow admission into the Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting as part of the pathway to attaining the CA(SA) designation as regulated by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Duration: One year, full-time.

Entrance requirements:

A graduate of this university who has completed ACC2012W (Financial Reporting II), ACC2018H (Governance, Audit and Assurance I), ACC2022H (Management Accounting I), and ACC2023H (Taxation I) with a 55% weighted average, as well as CML1001 (Business Law I), and FTX2024 (Financial Management).

Graduates who have not completed Information Systems (INF2004F) will be required to complete these courses concurrently with the prescribed courses of the programme, pending the availability of the summer term.

Graduates of other universities who have completed the equivalent of Financial Reporting II, Governance, Audit and Assurance I, Taxation I and Management Accounting I will be required to write entrance exams in these four UCT courses in order to satisfy the 55% weighted average requirement for entrance in the Advanced Diploma. Entrance exams are written in January of the intended year of registration.

Prescribed curriculum:

The Advanced Diploma requires the successful completion of these courses:

For more information on the courses, please refer to the Commerce Postgraduate Handbook.