Doctoral Degrees (Accounting)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/6933

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The corporate governance practices of audit committees in the KwaZulu-Natal local government municipalities.
(2020) Mqadi, Siphiwe Freddy.; Nomlala, Bomi Cyril.; Mkhize, Msizi Vitalis.
For several decades, the Audit Committee has been a subject of substantial research interest in developed countries, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia. However, in emerging economies, Audit Committee remains a relatively new topic with their current practices not ideal for municipalities to fully benefit from them, as their contribution remains an illusion to communities. The problem derived from the comprehensive academic literature is that Audit Committees in the public sector are not deemed to be an effective instrument (governance structure) of the governing body because the practices culminating in good corporate governance are not understood and supported by the governing bodies, or that the Audit Committees themselves are not cognisant of their practices, are not effectively constituted, or take on responsibilities outside of their remit. The study investigates the corporate governance practices of Audit Committees in KwaZulu-Natal local government municipalities, a public sector sphere. The primary data was collected through questionnaire surveys and supplemented with semistructured interview surveys from four distinct (although significant) sample groups (i.e., Audit Committee Chairpersons, Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, and Internal Auditors). The study employed a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach. Data were analysed using -Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitative data Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed qualitatively. The study emphasises the effectiveness of Audit Committee, which can execute its oversight role and responsibilities in relation to the quality of audit in the public sector. More specifically, the observations made in the study include: The lack of guidelines on minimum expertise (qualifications and “appropriate experience”) of Audit Committee members in the legislation creates room for wrong persons to be Audit Committee members; communities in KwaZulu-Natal local government have little to no knowledge of Audit Committees and their oversight roles; the municipal administration does not provide proper support for Audit Committees to discharge their duties; and although the Audit Committees are playing an essential role in some areas including financial reporting, external auditing, and internal auditing, there is a still considerate scope where the Audit Committees can play a more proactive and robust role. The study concludes by accentuating the need for Audit Committee effectiveness in KwaZulu-Natal local government, which includes: The adoption of a corporate governance framework (based on standardised sound governance principles) that will address the uniqueness of the local government sphere through a code of corporate governance and a corporate governance framework; strengthen municipal leadership to ensure that leaders possess official skills to enable them to realise the vision of the institution; promulgation of codes of ethics for local government to deal with problems of ethics, transparency, and accountability, and offer measures on non-compliance to this code of ethics; making financial sustainability center-stage of each municipality; and implementation of the municipal intervention (including local participatory governance) in a way it was initially conceived and written.
The impact of tax planning and corporate governance on firms’ value in East Africa.
(2022) Kimea, Alfred James.; Mkhize, Msizi Vitalis.
The study investigated the impact of tax planning on the value of listed firms in East African countries (EACs). Further, it examined the moderating influence of corporate governance on the relationship between tax planning and firm value. The data collected involved 99 firms listed on the capital markets of three EACs: Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The study used unbalanced panel data reflecting twelve years from 2008 to 2019. The research had four separate objectives. Regarding the first objective, the empirical findings revealed the existence of tax planning activities amongst the firms listed in EACs. The results showed a gradual increase in the tax planning activities in EACs during the twelve years represented. The study’s findings concerning the second objective showed that firm size, profitability, and age significantly influenced the level of tax planning in EACs. Moreover, these results suggested that large, more profitable, and older firms were less tax aggressive. Regarding corporate governance mechanisms, the findings were that large board size, an increase in directors’ compensations and ownership concentration increased the tax planning aggressiveness of the firms. The results further demonstrated that specific institutional arrangements in a country, such as management quality, culture, regulations, ethics and auditing quality, significantly impacted the firms' tax planning activities. Regarding the third objective, the findings showed that tax planning negatively impacted firm value. Lastly, concerning the fourth objective, the results established that the strength of corporate governance had a significant moderating influence on the relationship between tax planning and firm value. The study concludes that firms that engage in better tax planning practices can generate higher firm value when good corporate governance systems are in place. The researcher recommends higher transparency in firms’ tax-planning activities because they can potentially increase a firm's value. The study contributes to knowledge since there is a general dearth of published research studies that estimate the associations between tax planning, corporate governance and firm value in emerging economies. This thesis makes several recommendations from the study concerning tax planning activities to guide governments, managers, practitioners and shareholders of firms in emerging economies.
The role of pervasive skills in the academic and professional preparation of Accounting students in the University of KwaZulu-Natal=Iqhaza lokwandiswa kwamakhono emfundo ephakeme kanye nokulungiselelwa ngobungcweti kwabafundi abafunda isifundo esibhekene nezezimali eNyuvesi yaKwaZulu-Natali.
(2022) Mhlongo, Favourite.; Sibanda, Mabutho.; Mkhize, Msizi Vitalis.
The accounting profession has changed dramatically over the past few years. Some perceive the changes that have taken place to have possibly resulted in an added focus on pervasive (or soft skills) in the profession. However, an expectation gap still exists between what employers of accounting graduates and what graduates have to offer in terms of pervasive skills is revealed in several studies. Hence, the pressure on the accounting academic programme to produce employment-ready, professional, and flexible graduates is increasing as various stakeholders, including employers and professional bodies, make more calls. Various Higher education institutions in South Africa that offer SAICA accredited accounting qualifications have responded to the concerns by implementing various interventions designed to ensure that accounting students as aspirant chartered accountants are equipped with skills, both technical and pervasive, necessary for them to be work-ready for a professional accounting environment and also achieve the best possible academic performance. Despite that, research studies indicate that employers of accounting graduates believe that accounting graduates still enter the job market with a poor command of pervasive skills and are ‘not job-ready.’ Following a case study design, using the mixed-methods approach, this study addressed the aim of the study through five research questions. Firstly, it explored the factors that have resulted in pervasive skills coming to the fore in the accounting profession in the recent past, guided by the Human Capital Theory. Furthermore, it sought to determine which of the selected pervasive skills were rated highly for securing entry-level employment in the field by two critical stakeholders, the accounting students, and academics in the professional academic programme. Additionally, the study investigated the factors that hinder or promote the development of pervasive skills by accounting students from Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological theoretical lens. Lastly, the influence of the selected pervasive skills on the work readiness and academic performance of accounting students aspiring to be chartered accountants was explored. From the results, it emerged that several factors have resulted in pervasive skills coming to the fore, including globalization and increased competition. It also emerged that there were similarities and differences in the rating of the selected pervasive skills by accounting students and academics. For instance, both cohorts of respondents believed critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills are important for entry-level employment in the accounting profession. The results also showed that the factors that affect the development of pervasive skills by accounting students are multifaceted and include a range of person, process, context, and time-based factors. The selected pervasive skills were also discovered to have a significant association with the accounting students’ work-readiness and academic performance in the professional degree. These findings motivate the continued prioritization of pervasive skills by SAICA-accredited accounting programmes in South Africa, as suggested by the CA2025 project, particularly in the current era marked by global economies, increased use of technology, and shifting accounting/audit client demands. Additionally, based on the findings, the continuous emphasis on pervasive skills is justified, as these skills have a favourable influence on the academic performance and work readiness of accounting students striving toward becoming chartered accountants. Iqoqa Isifundo ngezezimali sesishintshe isibhudukani emva kweminyaka embalwa edlule. Abanye bakubuka lokhu kushintsha okwenzekile kwaba nomphumela ekugxileni kokwandisa amakhono angatheni okhalweni lobungcweti. Onalokhu engqondweni, isifundo ngezezimali ezinhlelweni zemfundo ephakeme siyazama ukukhiqiza asebekulungele ukusebenza, ubungcweti kanye namathwasa agobekayo esifundweni sezezimali njengoba abaneqhaza ngokwehlukana, kufaka abaqashi kanye nezigungu zezingcweti, zihlaba ikhwelo kakhulu. Kulandela lolu hlelo lokufunda oluyisiqopho kanye nezindlela ezixubile zokwenza, lokhu okufundwayo kulungisa izinhloso zokufundwayo ngemibuzo yocwaningo emihlanu. Okokuqala, luhlola izimbangela ezibenomphumela ekwandiseni amakhono avele obala ebungcwetini besifundo sokubala izimali, kuholwa injululwazi yeHuman Capital. Phezu kwalokho, sifuna ukuqinisekisa ukuthi kwakhethiwe amakhono andiswayo imaphi alinganiselwe phezulu ukugcina izinga lokungena mayelana nokuqashwa kulomkhakha ngabathile abaneqhaza, izitshudeni zalesi sifundo ezilangazelele ukuba ongcweti kwezokubala izimali kanye nakubafundisi bemfundo ephakeme. Ukunezezela, lokhu okufundwayo kwaphenya izimbangela ezithinta ukuthuthuka kwamakhono andiswayo izitshudeni zesifundo sokubala izimali kusukela ngehlo lobunjululwazi bukaBronfunbrenner’s Bioecological. Okokugcina, yaphenya ukusondelana phakathi kwalamakhono kanye nokulunga komsebenzi wezitshudeni zesifundo sokubala izimali kanye nokwenza emfundweni ephakeme. Kusukela emiphumelweni, kwavumbuka izimbangela ezimbalwa emakhonweni andiswayo avele obala, kufaka okomhlaba kanye nokwanda kokuncintisana. Kuphinde kuqhamuke ukuthi nhlangothi zombili zethimba labaphendulile bakholelwa ekucabangeni okujulile, ukuxhumana, kanye namakhono okuxazulula izinkinga abalulekile ezingeni lokungena ngokuqashwa kulo bungcweti bokubala izimali. Imiphumela ikhomba ukuthi izimbangela zokuthuthukiswa kokwandiswa kwamakhono ngabafundi besifundo sokubala izimali amacala maningi kanye nokufaka abantu ngokuhluka, umzuliswano, indawosimo kanye nezimbangela ezigxile ngesikhathi. Amakhono andiswayo akhethiwe kwatholakala ukuthi anokubaluleka kokuhlangana nabafundi balesi sifundo mayelana nokulungela umsebenzi kanye nokwenza ngokwemfundo ephakeme eziqwini zobungcweti. Lokhu okutholakele kugqugquzela ukuqhutshwa kokubekwa phambili kwamakhono andiswayo abe-SAICA abagunyazwe ngokwezinhlelo zokubala izimali eNingizimu Afrikha njengoba kwaphakanyiswa inhloso yeCA2025, kakhulukazi kulesi sikhathi esigxivizwe umkhakha wezezimali umhlabawonke, ukwandisa ukusetshenziswa kwezobuchwepheshe, nokuqhubezela izidingo zamakhasimende kwezokubalwa nokucwaninga amabhuku.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Accounting) by Author "Mkhize, Msizi Vitalis."