Research

The Department of Accounting is committed to research, both for its own value and its impact on teaching. Because of the importance attached to research and scholarship, members of academic staff are expected to engage in research and research activities. It is also the department’s general policy to encourage the publication of research results in the form of articles in scholarly journals and in terms of presentation of papers of scholarly merit at appropriate conferences. In order to achieve these objectives, meaningful support systems have been established such as regular departmental seminars, a working paper series, and facilities and financial support are provided for staff undertaking formal research for higher degrees.

Research in the department is carried out in five broad areas, namely auditing, financial accounting, financial management, management accounting and taxation. The research effort is conducted on three general levels: directly usable research, the results of which are translatable into professional practice; applied research of a more general nature; and pure research on the broader frontiers of the discipline.

This research is carried out by staff and post-graduate students.

Academic Forum

Aim

To enhance the research culture of the department and the professional and academic development of the academic staff.

Our academic fora are an opportunity for the department to share our research and practical experiences with our colleagues within the department, the University and other academic institutions within the Western Cape, and to keep up to date with the developments in the profession. These sessions are designed to be constructive and affirming and are part of the departments internal quality assurance procedures in respect of research findings that are to be presented for public scrutiny.
Topics and issues which reflect on our educational and teaching practices are addressed in the fortnightly Commerce Education sessions (CEG) organised by Dr June Pym (June.Pym@uct.ac.za  Tel: 6503866).

In the main the sessions are arranged for:

• academic staff wishing to test run their papers prior to presentation at a conference
• feedback from academic staff who have attended a conference, workshop or seminar
• visiting academics or professionals who wish to share their expertise
• academics wishing to present their research proposals or their research findings.
• any topics of general research interest
• any topics of professional interest particularly those that assist with the continuing professional development of the Accounting profession

Departmental Policy

In order to assist academic staff in their research endeavours the following categories of staff are required to present an academic forum session:

• academic trainees during their year of academic traineeship
• academic staff members who are in receipt of University funding to present a paper at a conference.

Format

The sessions are presented from 12:50 13:50 to accommodate the teaching timetable with a light lunch and refreshments available from 12:30.

Wherever possible the presentations take place in the Postgraduate Seminar Room, Room 614 of the Robert Leslie Commerce Building Upper Campus UCT. This room offers the following facilities, seating around tables that accommodate two to three people which may be arranged in classroom style or in a square, a whiteboard and a dataprojector. Additional facilities are available on request from the programme administrator Ms Asia Brey (Asia.Brey@uct.ac.za Tel: 650 2257)

For record purposes a register of attendance is circulated at each session

How to Arrange a Session

If you have a session that you wish to present please liaise with the programme administrator who will assist you in selecting a suitable date. All academic forum sessions are entered onto the Faculty administrative calendar and invitations are circulated via email to all academic staff within the faculty and subscribers to the mailing list. You are welcome to invite anyone who may be interested to attend your session. Where applicable, an individuals research supervisors are encouraged to attend.

Academic Forum Presentations 2008

To be scheduled.