Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting

The Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting give students who already have a business related degree, or extensive business experience, an opportunity to pursue study in accounting directly leading to the opportunity to gain provisional membership with CA ANZ or CPA at an advanced undergraduate level.

The programme provides opportunities for students to further develop their abilities to critically evaluate and analyses data and qualitative information and to identify, implement and promote decision making that is innovative and value adding for their enterprise.

• One year full time or longer part time (excluding CA ANZ/CPA requirements)
• Open entry for any person with an undergraduate business related degree
• CA ANZ / CPA recognised courses that meet competency area requirements for provisional membership
• Use recognition of prior undergraduate study, or extensive work experience, to skip courses you already hold the necessary skills and knowledge in (see 'Recognition of Academic Credit’ below)

Study full time over one year (two semesters plus study breaks), or part-time. Courses are run on our Nelson/Marlborough campus.

See 'Classes and study hours' for more information.

*In most cases the NMIT qualification can be completed in one year full time. However, if you want to gain membership to a professional body, you may be required to complete additional courses to meet the requirements of your chosen professional body (see note below) and therefore add time to your total study period.

The majority of classes will be video linked from our Nelson campus for students studying on our Marlborough campus. Video link students meet and study together on the Marlborough campus then interact with their fellow students, and the lecturer, in Nelson via the video linking software.

Marlborough students have full access to Library Learner Services and one on one tutor sessions as required.

Academic requirements

A Bachelor’s Degree in Business or a related discipline.

Alternative requirements

Applicants who are unable to evidence that they meet Academic Entry Requirements, but who can demonstrate acquired skills for tertiary study gained through study, work and/or life experience, may be approved for alternative entry by the Curriculum Manager (or delegate).

English language requirements

If English is not the applicant’s first language, applicants will need to provide a result from a test or qualification on the acceptable alternatives English Proficiency Outcomes Table:(external link)

• IELTS 6.0 Academic (no lower than 5.5 in each band),

Note: Applicants who do not have evidence of English language skills and are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, may contact NMIT for an assessment

Applicants who have achieved NCEA Level 3 University Entrance requirements are not required to provide evidence of English language skills

IELTS scores used must be taken from a single IELTS Test Report Form and are valid for two years from the date of the test

Other Requirements

Applicants will be required to provide evidence of prior study or work experience relating to introductory accounting.

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Recommendations

It is strongly recommended that applicants:

• provide a CA ANZ or CPA Australia assessment letter to ensure an accurate study plan is developed prior to commencement of study at NMIT
• are able to competently utilise digital applications and technologies and have access to same

On completion, students will have met the academic requirements for provisional membership of the professional accounting bodies (CA ANZ and CPA Australia). Graduates will be qualified to work in a range of accounting disciplines including financial accounting, financial management, taxation, auditing, and business consulting in many industries.

Potential roles after graduation include:

• Auditor
• Financial Accountant
• Management Accountant
• Systems Accountant
• Taxation Accountant
• Financial Advisor

Graduates will have completed the CA ANZ or CPA Australia academic requirements and will be prepared to start their mentored practical experience and professional programmes to become a Chartered Accountant or Certified Practicing Accountant. They will also have the skills and knowledge to progress to postgraduate study in business or related fields.

For further information on the requirements for admission to CA ANZ or CPA Australia, refer to the following websites http://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com(external link) or http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au(external link)

This programme is run on the NMIT Semester model with two 17 week semesters plus an optional 8 week summer school semester in a calendar year. Four courses per semester is considered full-time study.

When will I attend class?

A face to face student can expect to attend two, two hour sessions each week per course.

Therefore a full time student (taking four courses per semester) can expect to attend eight, two hour sessions each week.

These sessions are run between 8am and 7pm on weekdays (Monday to Friday).

How much time do I need to spend studying each semester?

As a general indication, for all level 5-7 (15 credit) courses, you can expect

• 60 hours of teaching (4 hours per week for 17 weeks) in a classroom environment, face to face or online.
• 90 self-directed learning (averaging 6 hours per week) working through course material and assignments in your own time.

To be awarded the Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting, the student will have met the requirements below:

Note: All pre-requisite requirements for the Compulsory Courses must be met. Where a students’ previous study or work experience is not considered equivalent to a pre-requisite requirement, they will be required to complete the pre-requisite course. This may result in students completing more than 120 credits.

Level 5 courses completed to meet pre-requisite requirements will not contribute to the completion requirements for this qualification.

Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate and apply core business competences, such as but not limited to - critical thinking, decision making, negotiation, presentation, problem solving, managing self and others.
• Research, assess and critically evaluate business information relevant to their selected business areas and business environment and communicate this information in both written and oral form.
• Evaluate and adopt different approaches to decision making as required by the environment.
• Practise business in a legal, sustainable, ethical and culturally appropriate manner.
• Prepare and analyse information about economic transactions and events in a range of business environments and use this to support effective decision making.
• Process and evaluate a full set of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices in New Zealand.

Evidence of previous study or extensive work experience can be used to apply for recognition of academic credit (RAC), also known as Recognition of prior Learning (RPL) or Cross credit (CC) potentially allowing you to skip courses which you can show you hold the required skills and knowledge for already.

If you think you may be eligible for Recognition of Academic Credit (RAC), contact us about making an appointment to discuss this with our Student Learning Advisor. It is useful to bring along documentation such as:

• Previous academic transcripts
• Course Descriptors or Syllabus including Learning Outcomes
• Curriculum vitae and work history

The Student Learning Advisor will help you assess your eligibility for Recognition of Academic Credit, and advise you on what further evidence you may need to provide and fees. It is recommended the RAC processes is started a minimum of eight weeks prior to the course start date to ensure time for assessment and processing.

Find out more about the NMIT Policies and Procedures(external link) around Recognition of Academic Credit.