The perceived advantage of work experience as a learning tool for university auditing students

In 2010 the accounting profession in South Africa adopted a new competency framework (SAICA 2009), in terms of which students are required to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical business environments. The ability to do this requires insight into real life work situations and consequently, tertiary institutions use role-play, case studies and simulations as substitutes for work experience. The primary objective of this research is to determine whether having work experience, obtained through vacation work, contributes to improving students' understanding of the discipline of auditing. Following a review of literature on the benefits of work experience in fields other than auditing, (Sykes (2009), Herrick (2010) and Zeng, Woodhouse and Brunt (2010)), a questionnaire was developed to investigate students' perceptions of skills developed while taking part in work experience; to determine their views of its benefits; whether having work experience makes it easier to understand auditing, and whether students subsequently find it difficult to stick to theory when being assessed. The questionnaire was distributed to students in their second through to honours years of the Auditing courses for the Bachelor of Accounting degree at Stellenbosch University. The findings of this research demonstrate that work experience enables students to reflect on and contextualise their theoretical knowledge when applying this knowledge in a business scenario and vice versa. Students are also able to understand the scenarios in examinations better after gaining work experience. Work experience further develops a variety of personal skills which cannot be developed in an academic environment. The benefits of work experience, as found by this research, could therefore address the lack of practical insight demonstrated by the majority of students. It also highlights the need for co-operation between the education providers, potential employers and the accounting profession to make work experience feasible and more accessible to a larger number of students.