All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Associate Accounting Technician

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
48911	Associate Accounting Technician
ORIGINATOR
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
SAICA - South African Institute of Chartered Accountants			OQSF - Occupational Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
National Certificate	Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies		Finance, Economics and Accounting
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	192	Level 5	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 0480/09	2009-07-01	2012-06-30
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2013-06-30		2016-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

This qualification allows learners to develop a practical, entry level understanding into the profession of accounting. The definition of a profession is that of an occupation based on a unique scientific body of knowledge, whose practitioners have a service orientation as well as autonomy in the performance of their work. The specialised knowledge for this qualification is acquired through a formal education process, and the practical skills and experience are obtained through real-time work experience in a formal, recognised mentoring environment. The structured workplace experience also serves to instill the ethical standards essential to any profession. Practitioners who have earned this qualification will demonstrate competence in a range of accounting practices, which encompass the understanding and application of basic principles. The qualification will enable practitioners to establish themselves as credible participants in their field, and open doors to advance to more senior positions within the profession of accounting, especially if they choose to progress further with the qualifications. Rationale for the Qualification The typical learner identified to benefit from this qualification will be an individual who is either currently working or aspires to working in the accounting sector. The qualifications currently available belong very specifically to The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, membership of which is mandatory for practitioners in this field. This situation will be maintained through the appointment of SAICA as the ETQA for the three qualifications leading up to and including the Chartered Accountant qualification. These three are: The Associate Accounting Technician qualification The Associate General Accountant qualification The Chartered Accountant qualification The qualification is intended to provide recognition to the entry level practitioner in the field of accounting, and will qualify the graduate to begin their career in this profession. This qualification will facilitate national recognition of the skills involved in accounting at a junior level. It will add value to the sector by recognising the broad range of expertise required to be successful in this field. It will ensure that the required level of knowledge is acquired and applied in relevant working situations, and that the experience necessary to demonstrate sustained competence in a variety of situations is acquired. The qualification should attract many new potential employees into the sector.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Learners accessing this qualification are assumed to be competent in: Mathematics at NQF level 4 Communication skills at NQF level 4 Computer Literacy Skills at NQF Level 4 Recognition of prior learning and articulation possibilities This qualification may be achieved only through the channels described in this document. Approved secondary and tertiary qualifications are recognised and form part of the qualification. The way in which this qualification is achieved has its basis in many years of experience. It is ONLY through the combination of formal acquisition of knowledge, practical workplace skill application AND the prescribed number of years' experience that the established and respected standards of the profession are maintained. Thus these requirements are not flexible. The general guidelines for the training approach and philosophy are given in Annexure 1, and these are followed by the specific requirements for the Associate Accounting Technician's qualification.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

Y

QUALIFICATION RULES

N/A

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

The qualified Associate Accounting Technician will be able to display competence in the following areas: They will be conversant in basic accounting terminology. They will be able to perform basic functions relating to purchase accounting, including outlining relevant accounting principles, describing the organisation's purchasing procedures, working with the purchase ledger and other records, drawing up and issuing orders to suppliers, and coding and checking invoices, credit notes and payment authorisations. They will be able to perform inventory related accounting by entering invoices in the purchase journal and maintaining and controlling the purchase ledger. They will be able to carry out payroll accounting, and will be able to describe the organisation's procedures for appointing, promoting and dismissing staff, as well as the way in which such actions are authorised and notified for payroll purposes. They will be able to describe the procedures and documentation for time recording, piece work, overtime, measurement of output for bonuses and commissions, holidays, sick leave, authorised paid time off and statutory or other agreed deductions. They will also be able to ascertain the availability of all relevant data and calculate gross pay including bonuses, commissions and non-routine payments. They will be able to calculate and make statutory and agreed deductions, prepare wages and salary payrolls and check the total and balance, as well as prepare bank withdrawals for authorisation and pay employees. They will also explain the make-up of the pay package correctly and identify and present in an appropriate manner, various aspects of payroll information required to meet specified external or management or financial accounting requirements. Finally they will be able to maintain pay records for accounting purposes and for tax and other statutory purposes. They will be able to carry out costing and budgeting. This entails outlining the cost accounting system in use in the organisation, including the relationship to productive processes, management accounting processes, budgeting processes and to financial accounting processes. They will prepare data for costing purposes such as raw material usage, machine utilisation rates, manning levels, etc. They will be able to allocate and post labour and material costs, check material purchases and issue documents. They will compile and allocate overheads, including apportionment and absorption, and distinguish variable from fixed overheads. They will compile job order and process costs, compile and revise product standard costs, prepare operating statements, cost returns and information statistics, code according to prescribed classifications, prepare inventory and work-in-progress schedules and summaries for use in the production of periodic and final accounts and in comparison with budgets. They will also be able to reconcile cost accounts with financial accounts. They will carry out sales accounting and credit control. They will be able to outline the organisation's procedures for dispatch and invoicing of sales and the collection of debts. They will be able to receive and process orders, prepare, check, issue and record invoices, and control the sales ledger. This area also includes customer contact through resolving queries. They will be able to carry out the necessary procedures associated with cash and banking, including describing the organisation's cash control procedures and the functions of the cash book. They will be able to record payments, receipts, transfers and reconciliations, prepare cheques and credit transfer documents, make deposits, operate a petty cash system, maintain the security of cash and maintain float levels. They will be familiar with the organisation's ledger accounts and will be able to prepare accounts. This includes maintaining the ledgers and preparing supporting vouchers, controlling and balancing the ledger, preparing a trial balance and finally preparing and interpreting the periodic and final accounts of the organisation. They will develop a framework of professional values for exercising good judgement and for acting in an ethical manner that it in the best interests of society and the profession. They will be competent at a basic level in office skills (administration and clerical), communication, basic supervisory skills, computing and information technology.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Integrated assessment Assessors should design assessment tools and conduct assessments against the unit standards specified in the qualification. These should take into account established assessment principles and make use of a range of formative and summative assessment methods. The qualifications are specifically designed to be acquired in the worlds of work and of professional practice, and assessment should take place in those environments, using naturally occurring evidence. Where it is impossible to perform an assessment in a specific area in the working environment, the assessor should simulate the work environment as realistically as possible. Assessors should specifically check for the following: Demonstration of competence of the specific outcomes in the context of the relevant accounting environment. The meeting of all of the assessment criteria associated with the outcomes. The demonstration of an integrated understanding of the factors at play in the accounting sector. In doing so, it may be possible to assess a number of unit standards, outcomes or assessment criteria together. The ability to analyse a given situation using selected financial, statistical and economic tools and methods in order to come to a conclusion and make recommendations appropriate to the findings. The understanding and correct usage of accounting terminology and language. The relevant parts of the range statements. The ability to constructively engage with clients in order to build and maintain professional relationships to mutual long-term benefit. The integration of the critical cross-field outcomes. The following formative and summative assessment methods are recommended: Log books Written reports of portfolio management activities and results Written reports of analyses and recommendations Actual work done in relevant areas Work related assignments Verbal presentations Portfolios Projects Practical exercises and demonstrations Observation Simulations Role plays Case studies Oral questioning and / or interviewing Peer assessment

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

The qualification has been compared to other equivalent accounting qualifications internationally, to ensure that graduates meet globally recognised standards. As such, learners who obtain the qualification are expected to contribute to the effectiveness, productivity and ethical reputation of practitioners within the accounting sector and provide an impetus for improved global competitiveness.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

This qualification may be achieved only through the channels described in this document. Approved secondary and tertiary qualifications are recognised and form part of the qualification. The way in which this qualification is achieved has its basis in many years of experience. It is ONLY through the combination of formal acquisition of knowledge, practical workplace skill application AND the prescribed number of years' experience that the established and respected standards of the profession are maintained. Thus these requirements are not flexible. The general guidelines for the training approach and philosophy are given in Annexure 1, and these are followed by the specific requirements for the Associate Accounting Technician's qualification.

MODERATION OPTIONS

N/A

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

N/A

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009.

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

NONE

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All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.