NIVRA and the RA syllabus
General information
For many years NIVRA was responsible for the provision of a theoretical education programme for prospective register accountants (RAs). In the nineteen-nineties NIVRA started to cooperate closely with Nyenrode Business University. The aim was to turn the NIVRA programme into a university (second level) degree programme. This led to a master programme in Accountancy in 1999. As a result of the introduction of a bachelor master structure, the master programme was converted into a bachelor of Science in Accountancy and two master programmes:
- A Master of Science in Accountancy: Accounting and Auditing
- A Master of Science in Accountancy: Accounting and Controlling
Due to a change in the Act on the register accountants (WRA) in 2006 University Nyenrode obtained total responsibility for the NIVRA-Nyenrode programme. However, NIVRA is still responsible for the practical experience part included in the register accounting training programme, as well as the final practical examination. NIVRA is also responsible for the professional profile towards which a curriculum for theoretical training should be directed. The professional profile also prescribes that an RA syllabus should meet the education standards of IFAC (IAESB) and of the Directive 2006/43/EC. It also indicates that the level of education for the entry of register accountants should be at postgraduate (academic) university level.
The Dutch system for Higher Education
For admission to a professional or academic university education a HAVO (five years) or VWO (six years) diploma is required in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a binary system of higher education which includes:
- scientific education, provided by (academic) universities
- higher vocational education, provided by universities of professional education (hogescholen/ HBO)
Economic and Business Administration programmes, including Accountancy /Accounting, are provided by eight (academic) universities, including the University of the Netherlands Antilles, and fifteen universities of professional education.
Academic universities organize, among others, postgraduate professional specialization programmes in Accountancy (Accounting and Auditing or Accounting and Controlling) and Phd-programmes. The final stage of the theoretical RA curriculum is a postgraduate programme. HBO bachelors have the possibility to enroll in research university Master programmes after having completed a mandatory (pre-Master) programme to redress deficiencies.
The Dutch educational system for register accountants
A brief summary
The first academic education programme was started at the University of Rotterdam in 1915. Twelve years later the first joint exam was set. In 1962 the profession of accountant was laid down in law and the statutory professional body of NIVRA was established. From then on NIVRA had the statutory task to provide a theoretical programme (syllabus) for register accountants. The NIVRA programme could only be completed in part-time study with training on the job and took approximately eight years. In addition to this programme, six universities provided an academic (post-degree) programme for prospective RAs, following a Master degree in Business Economics. The ‘academic route' to become an RA took six to seven years (four years fulltime and two to three years part-time study).
In the nineteen-nineties a joint programme for a university programme in Accountancy between NIVRA and Nyenrode Business University was introduced. By the year 2000 the full syllabus became an accredited Accountancy (drs.) degree programme. At this time tasks were divided between NIVRA and Nyenrode. Meanwhile Nyenrode University is responsible for the full syllabus, consisting of a Bachelor programme, a Master programme and a (one-year) postgraduate programme.
The current theoretical RA syllabus
Today, the theoretical study for all prospective register accountants is embedded in the Bachelor-Master system for higher education. The postgraduate programmes are mainly aimed at (further) specialization in (financial) auditing and (external) reporting. The basis for these programmes is shaped by Bachelor- and Master-programmes leading to Bsc- and MSc-degrees in Accountancy or in Business Economics. Programme content is determined by the Directive 2006/43/EC (as translated in national legislation) by the learning outcomes determined by the CEA (Commissie Eindtermen Accountantsopleiding) and by the broader (general) objectives of the Bachelor- and or Master-programme concerned.
The full syllabus is provided by seven (academic) universities in the Netherlands and by the University of the Netherlands Antilles at Curacao. The Bachelor part of the syllabus is also provided by fifteen universities of professional education. Bachelors from these universities have to complete a so called pre-Master (deficiency) programme before being admitted to the academic Master-programme which - together with the postgraduate programme - leads to the completion of the theoretical RA syllabus.
Practical experience training and assessment
In 1996 a three-year practical experience training programme, including a final practical examination, became an obligatory requirement for all RA students, due to the requirements formulated in the Directive 2006/43/EC for statutory audits of annual accounts. Preparation for the practical part of the final examination may start after admittance to the third year of practical training. The final examination can only take place after the certificate for the full theoretical syllabus has been obtained.
Practical training can be followed in public practice or related fields, provided that the actual work is comparable to and relevant for statutory audit.
The internship spans three years and is divided into six half a year's semester, four days a week. The three-year programme is concluded by a thesis that must be defended in the final practical examination.
Governance and quality assurance of the practical training programme
The NIVRA Internship Council is charged with the organization and implementation of the practical training programme and the related examination. In cooperation with 25 internship offices the Internship Council is responsible for the overall supervision and quality control of practical experience training. Internship offices are evaluated and visited by an evaluation committee every two years. The committee consists of members of the Internship Council and includes sometimes a member of other internship offices. The practical experience programme is also supervised by the CEA (Commissie Eindtermen Accountantsopleiding) as the programme also has to meet the learning outcomes determined by the CEA.