Businesses see potential in accounting students
Correspondent | Friday July 22, 2016 13:03
Justin Kyriakou, Global Development Manager for the Association for Accounting Technicians (AAT) says there is a growing trend in Botswana organisations to invest in accounting students as a long-term strategy.
“Finance impacts on almost everything an organisation does, so it is almost impossible for any organisation to be successful without good financial management. It’s important to know where you are spending money and what you are earning. Well-trained finance staff contribute to an organisation’s stability and its growth,” Kyriakou says. A number of studies have attributed a lack of financial skills to business failure in Botswana and elsewhere. At the same time, the finance industry is one area in Botswana that has displayed steady growth as the mining industry takes strain. “Finance is a growing career area because there is a shortage of trained accounting professionals in Botswana. This means there are lots of opportunities out there. All growing economies need highly skilled accountants and accounting technicians to facilitate that growth,” Kyriakou says. “Botswana is also focused on developing entrepreneurs, so there are also opportunities for those with accounting and financial qualifications to use their skills to run their own successful business.”
Tertiary education can play a major role here, some analysts believe. In order to strengthen economies and by “truly useful”, tertiary training must work with industry to ensure that the right skills are being produced, says David Taylor, director of the African Institute of Financial Markets and Risk Management (AIFMRM) at the University of Cape Town.
He recommends three guidelines: “the acquisition of technical skills and a comprehensive understanding of the environment into which graduates will be placed; an apprenticeship ethos throughout the degree or programme; and a determined focus on ‘job readiness.” The difficulty, however, is that finance students cannot always afford the institutions they wish to attend.
Many of Botswana’s students receive government sponsorship, but there is a key gap when it comes to finance education, says Kyriakou, and forward-thinking businesses will need to step in to fill that gap. “Most student funding has come from the Botswana government,” Kyriakou explains. Botswana spends approximately 41% of its total education budget on tertiary education; it also has a relatively high literacy rate, coming in at 83.3% or 72nd out of 110 nations surveyed. This is a significant improvement on the state of education at independence in 1966, when less than half of primary school-age children were enrolled in school. Today, few of Botswana’s students opt to study abroad, with just three out of every thousand seeking greener pastures for tertiary education. Government funding continues to grow for students in all fields. Scholars of the current Botswana tertiary education system classify it into three main phases, with the most recent beginning in 2007. This phase is characterised by government funding being extended to international and local private institutions, which broadens the choices for students.
However, there is still room for businesses to become more involved, particularly in the area of financial education – which will both address the abovementioned skills shortage and deliver high long-term returns.
“At the moment there is little employer funding for (finance) students because the employer funds the studies and then claims it back from the government,” Kyriakou explains. “Companies are often reluctant to do this, citing cash flow problems and the length of time it takes to complete. However, it has been felt for some time that if more attention was focused on employers to train their teams not only in accountancy, then not only would this be more cost effective for employers, but they would also be able to benefit instantly from employees with greater skills, resulting in a healthier, more sustainable business.”
With Botswana having targeted 4.4% average economic growth in the next four years – hoping to maintain its momentum despite tough global and local conditions – Kyriakou believes it is essential to begin by investing in the country’s financial skills.
“Well-trained finance staff are more productive because they have the right skills and knowledge to do their job efficiently. Countries with strong labour productivity tend to have higher rates of growth so there is a real impact on the economy,” he says.
These skills should be tailored to what is most needed, he adds. “Skills should always be developed alongside employer needs, and where the economy sees future growth. Botswana has identified a need for more entrepreneurs, and finance skills go hand in hand with this. “It seems only logical to try to bridge that gap,” Kyriakou says.