The impact of study behaviour on the success of South African CTA students

Abstract

In South Africa, prospective chartered accountants are required to complete a postgraduate course that is recognised as a Certificate of Theory in Accounting (CTA) in order to qualify to write Part 1 of the SAICA Qualifying Examination (QE1). Students often struggle to complete this course in the prescribed time period, which causes them financial loss and emotional distress. The aim of this research was to determine study behaviours that contribute to the successful completion of a CTA. These behaviours were identified using data collected from the CTA classes of five different universities (statistically analysing their CTA marks and reported study behaviour). The results show that the attendance of classes providing additional help improves students’ chances of success, and specific study behaviours that are linked to success include good examination techniques, learning from mistakes made in previous tests by analysing where you went wrong and practising questions under time pressure.

Key Words:

• Success
• CTA students
• Accountancy
• CA(SA)
• Additional help classes
• Examination techniques
• Study behaviour
• South Africa