Abstract:
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.
