Advanced Auditing and Assurance Preparation Course

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has a global footprint in approximately 200 countries with over 200 000 members. The NWU is currently accredited with ACCA and thereby gets nine exemptions for our BCom Accounting degrees. Over and above the nine exemptions there are four exams which participants need to write directly with ACCA and for which we cannot get recognition even if we align our syllabus fully with ACCA. The aim of this course is to prepare participants to write the exams with ACCA. Similar courses are only offered by a handful of institutions in South Africa including WITS, Academic Institute of Excellence, Polytechnic and the Institute of Management Accounting and Strategy.

Purpose of the course

The purpose of this course is to prepare participants to sit for the ACCA Strategic Professional exam. The NWU has a well-established track record of preparing participants for professional exams. We wish to use this knowledge and experience to expand our offering to the ACCA professional exams as well.

Admission requirements

Registered ACCA participants who have completed the Audit and Assurance and Financial Reporting exam through ACCA or obtained the exemption for the Financial Reporting and Audit and Assurance exams.

Learning assumed to be in place

The Advanced Audit and Assurance exam builds upon the skills and knowledge in the Audit and Assurance exam (Applied skills exam). Candidates are expected to demonstrate an integrated knowledge of the subject. English language proficiency and computer literacy are also expected.

Course outcomes and assessment criteria

Course outcomes and the associated assessment criteria

Outcomes	Assessment Criteria
After completion of this course, participants will:	Participant will be assessed on the following criteria:
Recognise the legal and regulatory environment and its impact on audit and assurance practice.	Analyse and conclude on a case study in the legal and regulatory environment and its impact on audit and assurance practice.
Demonstrate the ability to work effectively on an assurance or other service engagement within a professional and ethical framework.	Evaluate in a case study the professional and ethical framework that will be applicable in an effective assurance or other engagement.
Assess and recommend appropriate quality control policies and procedures in practice management and recognise the auditor’s position in relation to the acceptance and retention of professional appointments.	Conclude whether appropriate quality control policies and procedures in practice management are in place in a scenario and identify the auditor’s position in relation to the acceptance and retention of professional appointments.
Identify and formulate the work required to meet the objectives of audit assignments and apply the International Standards on Auditing.	Evaluate business risks, audit risks and risks of material misstatement for a given assignment and design appropriate audit procedures relating to all material accounts.
Evaluate findings and the results of work performed and draft suitable reports on assignments.	Recommend audit procedures, or evaluate evidence that might be expected to be available, and assess the appropriateness of the going concern basis in given situations.
Identify and formulate the work required to meet the objectives of non-audit assignments.	Describe the main categories of assurance services that audit firms can provide, and assess the benefits of providing these services to management and external users.
Understand the current issues and developments relating to the provision of audit-related and assurance services.	Discuss current developments in auditing standards including the need for new and revised standards and evaluate their impact on the conduct of audits.

Assessment

The overall strategy includes the use of technology as well as inquiry-based instruction. Instructors will guide students towards knowledge with a strong focus on self-discovery of the student. The final ACCA exam takes place in an online format therefore students will be required to test their knowledge on the same platform to prepare themselves for the exam.

Method of assessment

Basic knowledge checks will be done through the use of informal quizzes. After the completion of each chapter an assignment will be given as a formative assessment. At the end of the course one summative assessment will be given to the student to complete in the form of an online exam.