An assessment of the preparedness of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) students for use of information and communication technology in professional practice

Abstract

The increasing need for Chartered Accountants to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for professional work makes it especially important for Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) students to be well versed in ICT before they qualify as Chartered Accountants. This paper reported on a study carried out to assess the state of preparedness of students at different stages of the ICAN qualifying examinations in major tuition centres in Ibadan, Nigeria using ICT in professional practice. The results showed that though ICAN students generally had favourable attitudes towards ICT use, most felt that their current ICAN training was not adequately preparing them for ICT use in professional practice. A major barrier observed was the lack of appropriate ICT equipment at the tuition centres.
ICAN students needed to appreciate and learn how to use ICT as working tools before going into professional practice. The current ICAN Syllabus is deficient in preparing students for using ICT in professional practice. It is recommended that practical ICT examinations be integrated into the ICAN curriculum so as to ensure that tuition centres make ICT facilities available for practical training of students.


The Information Technologist Vol. 5 (1) 2008: pp. 19-41