The relationship between devoted study time and auditing learning approaches followed by prospective chartered accountants in South Africa

Abstract

Learning approaches in accounting, distinguishing between deep, surface and strategic approaches, have been researched in several countries other than South Africa. The study reported in this article provided a South African perspective by investigating the auditing learning approaches of prospective chartered accountants in relation to time they spent studying during their final university postgraduate programme and their preparation for auditing topics examined in the first part of their professional accounting qualifying examination. The widely accepted research instrument, the Approaches and Studies Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), was applied. Statistical analysis revealed a preference for the strategic approach by candidates who passed the auditing question in the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ 2010 Qualifying Examination Part 1. The study found that those who devoted more time were more inclined to follow a strategic or deep approach, while less devoted study time resulted in a surface approach. Various areas for future research were identified.