In his 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa said South Africa had chosen to be a country of the future at a time when the world was changing at a pace and in a manner that was unprecedented in human history. Together, SAICA and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) have heeded this call and last week launched a first-of-its-kind series of short online learning programmes to equip accountants with skills to navigate the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
4IR for Accountants is the first of a suite of four courses designed especially for CAs(SA) to assist them in their lifelong learning journey to adapt to the interconnected technological world we live in today. This fully online course provides an introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution by exploring key topics within this realm. These topics include artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, blockchain and ethics.
At the launch at the UJ Council Chambers, UJ Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tshilidzi Marwala shared his insights into the technologies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He touched on various technologies, as well as concepts such as machine learning and computational intelligence. He also explored how the Fourth Industrial Revolution impacts market efficiency, economics, finance and political science. In conclusion, the consequences of 4IR in the future were discussed, with Prof Marwala noting that UJ is a leading institution in Africa with regard to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
SAICA’ Executive Director: Nation Building, Chantyl Mulder stressed the importance of continuous professional development for SAICA members.
She noted that the new course would allow members to gain deeper insights into a topic.
Prof Amanda Dempsey, (Senior Director – School of Accounting) provided insights into the process that was followed to design the course. Prof Dempsey stated this course was designed like no other course within the institution and was truly ground-breaking.
The design is a self-paced 100% online Short Learning Programme (SLP) for SAICA CPD. The SLP is driven by competencies that directly relate to SAICA’s 2025 vision for a CA(SA).
Prof Dempsey highlighted that a potential student could complete the application and registration process within 10 minutes. She went on to explain that engineers, Prof Babu Paul and Dr Wesley Doorsamy, created the technical aspects of the SLP while Husain Coovadia brought in the perspective of accountants.
Coovadia (Senior Lecturer – School of Accounting) provided insights into the various topics covered by the course. He emphasised that it was an inter-disciplinary course which meant that topics had both a technical and business focus. Coovadia also gave a demonstration of the course to the audience and thanked all the staff who played a role in creating the SLP.
