Changed Course For Accountants

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29841, 6 June 1962, Page 14

Changed Course For Accountants

(From Out Uivn Reporter) WELLINGTON, June 5

The New Zealand Society of Accountants today announced a major rearrangement of the syllabus for its professional examination which will replace the present course next year.

The society’s secretary (Mr A. W. Graham) said the new syllabus would have nine subjects, all with two examination papers. The former one-paper subjects, trustee law and secretarial practice, would be merged with other degree and professional studies.

Now that each university grants its own degrees and has different prescriptions for its courses, the society has reached an agreement in each case providing for a new basis of recognition in its professional course of passes in the bachelor of commerce examinations.

The principal change in the professional syllabus affects the final stages of the examination.

The new syllabus will comprise: accounting one and two, commercial law one and two, economics, auditing, advanced financial accounting, cost and management accounting. and the ninth subject, taxation, trustee law and accounts.

At the Universities of Canterbury. Auckland and Otago, where auditing is no longer a degree subject, tuition will continue to be available and. under the agreement made with the universities, degree students will qualify for society membership on passing the society’s auditing examinations. The same will apply to the society’s taxation, and trustee law and accounts prescription and the three universities have agreed to provide the additional tuition to meet ’he more extensive professional requirements The new syllabus would incorporate trustee law in the three two-paper subjects replacing the present accounting three examination, said Mr Graham. There would be cost and management accounting, ad-

vanced financial accounting, and taxation and trustee law and accounts. Secretarial practice would be absorbed into the new commercial law courses, he said. “Cross-credits” The arrangement under which the society would credit candidates holding or completing subjects under the present syllabus with subjects in the new syllabus was still under consideration, he said. "Although the present onepaper subjects will be abolished, a pass in these will be necessary to qualify for maximum cross-credits to the new course,” Mr Graham said. “Candidates for these subjects this year should take no precipitate steps to abandon the subjects.’’ The society may conduct supplementary examinations in February or March in the subjects of accounting three and auditing It has approved the idea in principle but has to overcome administrative difficulties. Every endeavour would be made to hold supplementary examinations next year, said Mr Graham. They would be restricted to candidates who could not sit the November examinations because of illness or accident and to those who obtained an average of 40 per cent or more in the November examinations. Mr Graham said that a statement summarising the syllabus changes and the new prescriptions was now available from the Society and a detailed explanation would appear in the July issue of the “Accountants’ Journal.”