Today‘s changing business environment versus the change in curricula creates a potential shortfall in the competencies gained by the students who complete their degree course against the expectations of prospective future employers. The universities however endeavour to teach a tax syllabus that will equip the students with sufficient information and skills to be able to provide tax compliance on a corporate and personal level without much learning subsequent to university level. To some it would appear that the dominant guideline for universities as to what level of knowledge is required of graduates, is what is considered by regulatory bodies to be sufficient. It would follow then, that future employers may require a more technical and detailed knowledge of tax for their type of business than what the graduate would have been taught as a result of a curricula suited to professional bodies. In addition to a potential disconnect in theoretical knowledge, the dynamic working environment requires graduates to be adaptable and maintain a skill set that will aid them more than their theoretical knowledge. Using a questionnaire, data was obtained from the senior personnel employed in the tax departments of the top 30 listed companies of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (―JSE‖) in South Africa. The results showed that there is a variation between the current views and preferences of employers in respect of the theoretical tax knowledge of certain topics listed in the study, as well as in all the types of practical skills listed in the study. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Taxation / unrestricted

With all the changes and renovation in South Africa’s tax legislation, taxation is emerging as a profession in its own right. While the role and demand for tax practitioners in the market are increasing, it is uncertain what the “current” views and preferences of employers of small accounting firms are. A questionnaire was used to determine employers’ “current” views and preferences in terms of qualifications obtained by newly qualified graduates, as well as the theoretical knowledge, practical skills and personal characteristics of these newly qualified graduates. The participants were from small accounting firms that provided tax services at the time of this study. The results indicated that there was no major difference between the qualifications of the “current” employees and those the employers preferred the employees to have. However, employers demanded more newly qualified graduates who possessed the necessary qualifications. There were, however, sufficient differences between the “current” views and preferences of employers in respect of theoretical knowledge of most topics listed in the dissertation, as well as in almost all the types of practical skills listed in the study. Even in respect of personal characteristics, employers preferred newly qualified graduates to strive for a higher level of personal characteristics. The conclusion drawn in this research was that different stakeholders had different preferences. In order to provide newly qualified graduates that would satisfy the needs of future employers, all stakeholders should be taken into consideration when determining the level of theoretical knowledge, practical skills and personal characteristics that these newly qualified graduates should develop. Results indicated that there was room for improvement in order to provide better newly qualified graduates to the market who were ‘all-rounders’ in taxation. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Taxation / unrestricted