Oxbridge Academy, LH Education launch accounting school with internationally accredited AAT courses

Oxbridge Academy launched its brand new accounting school in Pretoria in March, after a merger with financial training institute LH Education (LHE) earlier this year. The newly founded Oxbridge Training Institute (OTI) will offer the UK's prestigious AAT accredited accounting courses across South Africa via blended learning.

What makes OTI different?

According to Oxbridge Academy's MD, Barend van den Berg, the Oxbridge Training Institute's purpose is to offer "specialised training in accounting and finance, not only in the private sector, but also in the public sector and local government." A big part of the school's focus, says Barend van den Berg, "will fall not only on the needs of private students, but also on those of corporate enrolments."

OTI will also be based on LH Education's well-established model of blended, or hybrid, learning. "The model is based on independent learning," says LHE's Annie van der Merwe, "following a structured learning programme, together with face-to-face tutoring before writing final assessments. The model has proved to be very successful with a very high success rate."

The cornerstone of OTI, however, is that they will be one of the few institutes offering AAT's internationally accredited qualifications in South Africa. Barend van den Berg, who is himself a registered Chartered Accountant, says:

"The AAT has one of the highest reputations. OTI is about creation an institution that endorses the highest quality of qualification. With the help of AAT in South Africa, and worldwide, this is the best way in which you can start with accounting or bookkeeping training."

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) is one of the UK's leading qualification and membership bodies for accounting staff, awarding "around 90% of all vocational qualifications in accounting" in the UK. They are also "sponsored by the professional accounting bodies CIPFA, ICAEW, CIMA and ICAS" (AAT).

AAT qualifications are not only recognised internationally, but also locally through a partnership between AAT South Africa and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). According to AAT South Africa, multinational corporations such as Vodafone, Telkom, and Toyota also "actively seek AAT qualified staff."

AAT Courses offered by OTI:

The AAT's qualifications are based on real-time and real-world knowledge and expertise. They are designed to equip students with the vocational training that will help them succeed as qualified financial professionals.

OTI offers 3 streams of AAT qualifications, each consisting of 3 levels that are also registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF):

To read the full course descriptions, you can click here.

Prospective OTI students will be able to undertake an initial assessment to identify their correct starting level, based on their individual academic level. Recognition of prior learning will also be taken into consideration.

AAT Membership

The AAT is one of the world's leading membership organisations for accounting professionals, boasting with over 120 000 members in over 90 countries.

AAT graduates can apply for membership to AAT South Africa:

"We offer you the opportunity to belong to a professional accountancy body that recognises your achievements and offers you a range of benefits. AAT(SA) membership offers professional status to reflect the skills you have gained and guarantees your commitment to maintaining and developing your competence." - AAT(SA)

As a professional organisation, AAT(SA) is "dedicated to the education, development, regulation and support of accounting technicians in South Africa."

Future plans

LHE's Annie van der Merwe and Oxbridge Academy's Barend van den Berg already have big plans for the newly launched financial training school. With OTI, Barend van den Berg aims to establish AAT accounting training as "the flagship of accounting training in Southern Africa". But, going forward, the plans for OTI do not stop with AAT either. "The merger with LHE is essentially about Oxbridge's willingness to work with institutes that focus on expanding education," Oxbridge Academy's MD says. "We want to co-operate with even more professional organisations going into the future."Find out more about OTI at www.oxbridgetraining.co.za, or call 012 3474936.