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Faculty of Accounting and Informatics

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    The adoption of target costing as a contemporary management accounting technique in a public higher education institution : a case study of Durban University of Technology
    (2022-05-14) Thango, Thobelani Sabelo; Marimuthu, Ferina; Nzuza, Zwelihle Wiseman
    There is a growing need for public higher education institutions (HEIs) to opt for all cost management tools following the government’s shortfalls in the budget allocation for public HEIs. The focus should be on the suitable pricing methods that will consider the students’ perception of the value of education and give fees that are reasonable and accepted by students, while ensuring that the institution meets target returns. The biggest concern is that fees are based on the cost-based pricing model. Cost-based pricing always results in higher prices, where the accurate costs are unknown, despite the strategy used to implement it. Furthermore, fees are based on historic cost models, not on a continuously reworked costing model. Following cuts in the budget allocation to HEIs, the institutions have increased fees rapidly to remain sustainable. A fee calculated on uncertain historic costs while government support falls results in a rapid increase in fees. Target costing can assist in cutting down on unnecessary costs and ensure acceptable fees for students. Target costing is a known cost management tool that assists in ensuring costs management and keeping fees low. Despite the cuts in government spending on HEIs, adoption of target costing will result in reasonable costs to keep the fees low. Considering the limited empirical studies conducted on the adoption of target costing in South African public HEIs, study's main aim is to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of target costing in public HEIs, using the Durban University of Technology (DUT) as the case study. Therefore, this study will massively contribute to research pool on the adoption of target costing in HEIs. The study used the quantitative research method with a sample of 52 Heads of Departments and 15 finance staff. The research instrument employed was a questionnaire, which was dominated by close-ended questions. The study was guided by the positivist philosophy where data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 27 ®), in which descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were undertaken. The results have shown that DUT is using the full cost-plus method to account for fees. The costs are allocated using the traditional absorption method. The results showed that target costing had not been fully used but exists in selected areas of the university. Findings further reveal that costs to fees are subject to historic judgement, implying that costs to fees are not reworked annually. While the fees increase, many respondents perceive the current pricing methods to be the best for the university and that the cost-plus pricing method is most appropriate to ensure it’s the university’s sustainability. Findings revealed that the variables which influenced the adoption of target costing at the DUT included: size of DUT, management style and staff inclusion, information system and technological advancement, vertical differentiation and centralisation, formal support to accounting for adoption of target costing, resource adequacy, intensity of competition, and government regulations. The respondents have disagreed that sufficiency in the expertise of target costing has an influence in the partial adoption of target costing at the DUT. The students’ perception on the value of education is also not the reason that the concept of target costing exists in some parts of the DUT. Overall, the results help to understand the current pricing method used at DUT. It has further brought a clear indication of the factors that influence the adoption of target costing and whether the elements of target costing exist at the university.
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    Lecturer perceptions of general education in enhancing self-efficacy of accounting students
    (AMH International Conferences and Seminars Organizing LLC, 2020) Naidoo, Suntharmurthy Kristnasamy; Govender, S.
    The research paper aims to obtain the perceptions of lecturers on the influence of General Education in enhancing the Self-efficacy of accounting learners. Interviews with lecturers from Durban University of Technology (DUT) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) were conducted to tap into their views on the aspect of General Education and establish y impact on learners’ Self-efficacy. The researcher has observed, over many years of lecturing experience at the university that some learners are eager to learn and can address new tasks, while others appear uninterested or unmotivated. Many learners display a high degree of faith in their skills, while others appear uncertain of themselves. The question then arises: What strategies can a classroom teacher or lecturer use to increase learners’ confidence to learn new material? There is an opportunity for the improvement of General Education skills that can enhance learner performance. Hence, the main strategy would be to incorporate General Education Modules into the curriculum. Similar to General Education skills, there is also a lack of Self-efficacy in current learners. Further attention must be devoted to General Education skills, as these are essential. Moreover, these skills appear to be very poor amongst current learners and respondents believed that Self-efficacy could have a positive effect on the academic performance of learners. Methods for enhancing Self-efficacy reveal that the main strategies should revolve around innovative teaching, learning and research methods; increasing skills development such as critical thinking and computer skills; and promoting more Self-efficacy based workshops and programs.
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    The effect of biographical variables on self-efficacy of management accounting students
    (AMH International Conferences and Seminars Organizing LLC, 2022) Naidoo, S. K.
    The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether biographical variables such as Gender, Race, Home District, School (urban/rural) and Language proficiency play any role in the Self-efficacy of Cost and Management Accounting (CMA) students and to assess whether Self-efficacy. A descriptive, longitudinal, and mixed-methods approach was used in this paper. In the current study, the quasi-experimental design used for the pre-test and post-test control groups was non-equivalent. The population targeted was CMA students. A census survey was performed. The comparative analysis between the variables revealed no significant difference. However, females, Africans, Urban Home District, Urban School, and English Second Language learners scored more in the post-test. The paper recommends that the implementation of General Education modules into the curriculum be instituted. Additionally, current learners appear to have very poor General Education skills, and respondents themselves believed that self-efficacy can have a positive impact on academic performance