Using an annual report as a group project in accounting education

Recent accounting literature (PAAB 2001; SAICA 2000) indicates an increasing emphasis on the need for individuals, studying chartered accountancy, to acquire appropriate professional skills such as personal, interpersonal, communication and intellectual skills. The University of Natal uses an annual report project in the third year of the Financial Accounting course to develop these skills in its students. This questionnaire‐based study reports on students’ perceptions of the project and indicates what changes have been made for future projects. The findings of the study are useful for accounting lecturers as it highlights some of the issues that are involved in the use of an annual report as part of an Accounting course.