UKZN Academics Encourage Pupils to Consider Accounting as a Career

Mr Bhasela Yalezo (second from left) and Mr
Njabulo Khumalo (third from left) were part of a
panel addressing high school pupils in Zululand.

College of Law and Management Studies PhD candidates and Development lecturers, Mr Njabulo Khumalo and Mr Bhasela Yalezo, recently partnered with the South African Institute of Charted Accountants (SAICA) in a recruitment initiative aimed at encouraging pupils in Zululand to consider a career in Accounting.

This initiative formed part of SAICA’s KwaZulu-Natal School Symposium which took place at Ulundi and Nongoma with Khumalo and Yalezo speaking to around 500 Grade 11 and 12 pupils about accounting career options offered by the College and the requirements needed to study chartered accountancy.

Khumalo said such interventions were important in the cause of addressing the shortage of black Chartered Accountants in the country as well as serving as a meaningful contribution by UKZN towards the transformation of the Accounting profession.

‘During our visit, we found that learners believe that in order to qualify and be accepted to study a BCom in Accounting one has to have studied accounting – but that is not true,’ said Khumalo. ‘This is why such engagements are important as students can get correct information which is vital for their career plans and future.’

Yalezo believes it is important for academics to engage with pupils as these one-on-one interactions give them an opportunity to ask questions and get the answers they need to plan ahead.

At the symposium, UKZN and SAICA were joined by UKZN alumnus, Ms Hlengiwe Phewa, who is a Chartered Accountant, and Ms Thandeka Khuzwayo, a trainee in the office of the KZN Auditor General who worked as a teacher for 21 years before deciding to pursue a career in chartered accountancy.

Seeing and interacting with the successful Black women CAs provided motivation for the pupils to start thinking of accounting as a viable career option.