Public Accounting Administration (ICB)

Course details

On completion of the ICB National Certificate and Diploma in Public Sector Accounting, you will be able to…

• Administer public accounts
• Work as a qualified accounting technician in the public sector
• Make a positive contribution to the country by improving public sector financial management
• Add value, efficiency and productivity to government departments

UniCollege provides tuition and support towards this ICB qualification and is an accredited ICB training provider.

About the programme

• Considering getting a job in the public sector?
• Already working in government and want to switch to finance?
• Interested in helping your municipality / local government run smoothly?
• Keen to serve your community?
• Known to have a good head for numbers?

This programme consists of eight subjects, but you can get your first qualification (Public Accounts Administrator) after completing just four. If you build on the first four subjects with the remaining four, you can qualify as a Technical Public Accountant.

There are two qualifications in this study programme. Each group of learning areas makes up a qualification and the previous one must be completed in order to progress to the next level.

What you’ll be able to do...

• Administer public accounts
• Work as a qualified accounting technician in the public sector
• Make a positive contribution to the country by improving public sector financial management
• Add value, efficiency and productivity to government departments

About the ICB

• The ICB is a professional body that was established in 1931 with the objective of promoting quality training and qualifications for the bookkeeping and accounting profession. All ICB qualifications are South African based and registered on the NQF and the outcomes are relevant to the South African market. The ICB is owned by the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) and the International Association of Bookkeepers (IAB), both based in the United Kingdom. Together, the ICB, IFA and IAB represent over 35 000 Bookkeepers, Accounting Technicians and Financial Accountants in over 100 countries around the world. Learners, who have achieved certain qualifications of the ICB, may apply for membership of the IFA and IAB.

Programme Benefits

• The programme is unit standards based and aligned to the NQF (National Qualifications Framework)
• The programme is under the scope of FASSET
• Successful learners can continue with studies towards the NQF Level 4 FETC: Bookkeeping, the
• NQF Level 5 Diploma: Technical Financial Accounting and the NQF Level 6 Diploma: Financial Accounting

National Certificate: Public Sector Accounting NQF L4 - SAQA ID 20352
Subjects / Learning areas:

Bookkeeping to Trial Balance (48 hours, 12 weeks part-time)

• A skills programme introducing the learner to source documents, the rules of double entry, subsidiary journals, the general ledger, bookkeeping for the different inventory systems and bank and creditors reconciliations. This programme will provide skills for the Accounts Clerk (the inpidual that processes monthly financial transactions) and the Debtors and Creditors Clerk functions.

Public Accounting Administration (48 hours, 12 weeks part-time)

• Learners will cover the following topics: Income tax, employees’ tax, completing tax returns, the structure of the South African public sector, the role of the financial management system in the public sector, revenue and expenditure as key aspects of public financial management, the legislative framework governing financial management in the public sector, ethics in the SA public sector, supply chain management in the public sector, introduction to cash management and credit management.

Computerised Bookkeeping (12 hours, 3 weeks part-time)

• mputerised Bookkeeping (12 hours, 3 weeks part-time)  It is essential that bookkeepers are able to work effectively on a computer. Learners must demonstrate this competence in basic business computing and a computerised accounting package.
• This skills programme is designed to prepare learners for completing the ICB Computerised Bookkeeping Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) which will include the completion of the monthly bookkeeping cycle on Pastel Accounting and Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Learners are required to have basic computer skills and working knowledge of Pastel Accounting for Windows before doing this programme.

Business Literacy (40 hours, 10 weeks part-time)

• A skills programme that covers the key principles of effective business communication – spoken and written. Learners get to grips with fractions, percentages, ratios, equations and interest rates. Measuring and analysing workplace data is also covered.

Diploma: Public Sector Accounting NQF L5 - SAQA ID 20353
Subjects / Learning areas:
Financial Statements (48 hours, 12 weeks part-time)

• This skills programme provides skills for depreciable asset disposal, year-end adjustments, preparation and analysis of financial statements for sole proprietorships, partnerships, close corporations and companies. It includes a comprehensive study of cash flow statements.

Cost and Management Accounting (48 hours, 12 weeks part-time)

• In this skills programme, learners are introduced to accounting for a manufacturing concern, break even analysis, cost-volume-profit analysis, budgeting and standard costing, financial management and business ethics.

Technical Public Accounting (48 hours, 12 weeks part-time)

• Basic economic principles: the market mechanism, government’s fiscal policy, government’s monetary policy
• Management information systems: improving the quality of information systems, managing the accounting system, preventing fraud in an accounting system
• Public sector financial statements: the framework for drafting public sector financial statements, statements of financial performance and position, confidentiality procedures, identifying and resolving discrepancies, interpret public sector financial statements, draft consolidated financial statements
• Risk management in the public sector: interpret risk management strategy, policy and related processes and procedures, recommend possible mechanisms to minimise risks
• Performance management in the public sector: outcomes and benefits to be achieved with performance management, understand and implement the steps in a performance measurement system
• Project management in the public sector: constraints on the completion of projects; draft, manage and evaluate a project plan

Business Law and Accounting Control (48 hours, 12 weeks part-time)

• A skills programme in basic contract law, insolvency law, estate planning, internal and computer auditing.

Disclaimer

• The information contained in this fact sheet is accurate at the time of printing. UniCollege reserves the right to change the programme content due to changes in the regulatory environment, legislation, market requirements and other reasons. In the event of any such change, UniCollege will notify current students. All possible measures will be taken to minimise inconvenience to students.