Abstract:
This article reports on the introduction of a business communication course in
the curriculum of postgraduate internal audit students at a higher education
institution in South Africa. Internal auditors should have excellent verbal and
written communication skills in performing value-adding assurance and consulting
services to their engagement clients. A hands-on applied business communication
course was developed in collaboration with a number of stakeholders to
improve the communication skills of postgraduate internal audit students using
the action research methodology. Data were gathered from these students to
determine the benefits of an applied business communication course. The study
found that a learning need had been addressed and that an applied business
communication course has several benefits, such as promoting teamwork,
building confidence, improving presentation skills and ultimately preparing
postgraduate students for communicating effectively at work.
