University of Stellenbosch Accountancy Department
School of Accountancy
Who are we?
The School of Accountancy’s existence goes as far back as the former Faculty of Commerce and Administration, namely 1925 – only seven years after the establishment of what is now the University of Stellenbosch. The first staff member in the Department of Accounting was a local accountant, who was appointed as senior lecturer in Accounting Sciences: Mr. BJA Thomas.
In 2013 the structure and name of the Department of Accounting changed to the School of Accountancy, the name and structure we still use today.
Presently the School is the largest academic environment in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and in Stellenbosch University, with more than 90 lecturers and support staff. We serve an intake of more than 2000 new first-year students in our modules every year, as well as more than 3300 undergraduate and 480 postgraduate students in total..
The School strives to expand access for students to its programmes without sacrificing academic excellence.
The School has a record of excellent performance in the external professional examinations, taken by our alumni every year. As an example, the pass rate of our alumni BAccHons students is amongst the best three of universities nationally every year, while we also regularly have alumni under the Top 10 students nationally in these challenging examinations.
The School’s graduate BComHons(Management Accounting) students do equally well in the CIMA professional examinations.
As a large academic environment within Stellenbosch University, research (in order words, creating knowledge) is a further priority for the School. Lecturers in the School are therefore continuously busy with innovative research in the respective subject fields in the Accounting sciences, be it in their individual capacity or as student supervisors and mentors for students.
Staff, in their personal capacity, and also the School as an entity, strive towards making a positive impact on both the community of Stellenbosch, as well as neighbouring areas and on a national level.
Strategic focus areas
- Maintaining excellent student throughput rates (undergrad and postgrad).
- Maintaining excellent pass rates of alumni students in professional examinations.
- Having a transformed, demographically representative student body holistically developed through the intergation of the curriculum and the co-curriculum.
- Appointment and retention of excellently qualified lecturers with a continued focus om employment equity.
- Maintaining comparatively excellent levels of research outputs.
- Impacting on local and national society through the application of our fields of expertise.