South Africa, like many developing countries, has a skills shortage at all levels of employment and the government has specifically identified that the country requires a skilled labour force at management and senior levels. As accountants often take on the role of business leaders it is evident that there would be a need for more, better trained accountants as business leaders.
This study aims to identify the skills gap between professional accountants at an operational level compared to those at a management level and make recommendations regarding the Continued Professional Development (CPD) necessary to enable professional accountants to step into leadership positions within organisations.