Faculty of Accounting and Informatics
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Item Preparing underprepared students for higher education and beyond: the development and implementation of an integrated project(Taylor and Fancis Online, 2016-02-20) Mungal, Avika; Cloete, Melanie BerniceA current problem faced in South Africa is that university graduates are weak and underprepared for the work environment. The purpose of this study was to assist students in bridging the aforementioned gap and to ease the transition from theory to practice. The aim of the study was to critically analyse the development and implementation of the integrated project. This study targeted first-year (Extended Curriculum Programme) students, who had been identified as being underprepared for higher education. The factors that initiated the design and development of the integrated project were the South African Qualifications Authority, Critical Cross Field Outcomes and the University of Technology's National Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting exit level outcome, which promote lifelong learning. The integrated project was an authentic assessment which required students to transfer their theoretical knowledge obtained in the classroom to assist small businesses within the community. Academics should be encouraged to use authentic problems in the designing of assessments which will promote student-centredness and lifelong learning. With the continuous engagement of an integrated project, these first-year underprepared students will be better equipped to adjust and excel in the work environment.Item Cash management challenges of small businesses in a developing community(MCER Publishing, 2014-12) Mungal, Avika; Garbharran, Hari LallSmall businesses are vital for employment and job creation in South Africa. The implementation of sound cash management practices is essential to ensure the profitability and sustainability of any successful business. The purpose of this paper is to identify the cash management challenges faced by small businesses in a developing community. This research targeted small retail businesses in the Tongaat area in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research design for this paper was descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional. The data instrument was a questionnaire. These findings indicate a significant relationship between cash management knowledge and managing cash flow. The findings also indicate a correlation between profitability in the business and implementation of cash management practices as well as a correlation between the challenges of cash management practices and their ability to ensure profitability in their business. This paper recommends that businesses should implement cash management procedures to eliminate cash management difficulties.Item The impact of cash management on profitability and sustainability of small retail businesses in the Tongaat area, KwaZulu-Natal(2015-01-15) Mungal, Avika; Garbharran, Hari LallSmall businesses are vital for employment and job creation in South Africa. The implementation of sound cash management practices is essential to ensure to profitability and sustainability of any successful business. The commonly used expression, “Cash is king” cannot be contested as its validity was more prevalent in this research study. The aim of the study was to identify the current cash management practices of small retail businesses in the Tongaat area and identify the impact of such practices on their profitability and sustainability. This descriptive, cross sectional study, using a quantitative research paradigm and a non-probability sampling method targeted a sample of 69 businesses in the chosen area. The sample structure consisted of small retail businesses in the Tongaat area of KwaZulu-Natal. There was a significant relationship between drawing budgets and sustainability. This finding suggests that the more often the business draws up cash budgets, the more viable and sustainable the business is. 78.3% of the respondents acknowledged the importance of keeping records in the business, however, only 29.9% drew up cash budgets. The findings of this study could be useful to potential, emerging and established owners of all types of businesses since effective and efficient cash management is an integral component of any successful business. There should be more emphasis placed on the impact of how proper cash management practices can affect profitability and sustainability of a small retail business. A recommendation that adds value to the study was to engage the final-year, National Diploma: Cost and Management Accounting students in an integrated project, where they can provide cash management advice to these businesses. This will enhance the small businesses’ knowledge of cash management and encourage implementation of these procedures to assist in increasing profitability and sustainability in their business.Item The perceptions of small businesses in the implementation of cash management techniques(International Foundation for Research & Development (IFRD), 2014-01) Mungal, Avika; Garbharran, Hari LallThe purpose of this paper is to ascertain the perceptions of small business owners on the implementation of cash management techniques in their businesses. This paper also highlights the importance of managing cash inflow and outflow in the business and examines the impact on business profitability and sustainability. The study focused on small businesses in the Tongaat area, South Africa. This research was quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional in nature. The instrument used to extract the relevant data from respondents was a Likert type questionnaire. The findings of this research identified the perceptions of small business cash management techniques. A short course on cash management could be offered by the Durban University of Technology to small business owners and managers to enhance their basic cash management knowledge in the implementation of cash management techniques.