Aspects of higher education and black chartered accountants: empirical findings

Abstract

A shortage of black people in the accounting profession in South Africa is a major cause for concern. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants set itself a target of 3 000 black chartered accountants by 2005. Currently there are only about 245. This article is based on the results of a survey among black chartered accountants in South Africa. The purpose of the article is to furnish insight into the reasons why so few blacks have chosen to study accountancy, particularly on a postgraduate level and the problems they experienced whilst studying towards the chartered accountancy qualification. The accounting profession, business, institutions of higher education and black students should work together in order to make a significant contribution towards integrating blacks into the accounting profession.