FINAL WORK RELATED REPORT.

STUDENT: ONEAS NDAWI

REGISTRATION NUMBER: R0432791

PROGRAMME: INFORMATION SYSTEMS

ACADEMIC YEAR: 3rd

COMPANY: KUDENGA AND COMPANY (CA)

SUPERVISOR: MAKOWE TC (IT Manager)

Kudenga & Co

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements 2

Organisational Structure 7

Expectations 9

Nature of Industry developments 13

Products and service markets 15

Company-Society Connection 22

Personal development 24

Handling conflicts between Personal / Organisational objectives 32

Key skills development 33

Re-entry 39

Overview 41

Appendix n/a

Approval form 44

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Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to thank all the partners, management, staff and clients at

BDO Kudenga & Company for the support they afforded to me during my entire

work related learning period. From the 10 th of March 2006 (the day I joined the

firm) to date, I have learnt a something new each day. From the IT related

functions to the work etiquet, the experience and knowledge that was imparted

upon me are invaluable. The industrial attachment period has truly broadened my

horizons in respect to the IT field and also given me a better outlook on my

future. Over the entire period, I was given the chance to venture into various

fields and sectors of the economy and industry. Special mention goes to my

supervisor T.C Makowe for his endless patience and interesting approach to

work.

My gratitude also extends to the Midlands State University which affords its

students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and not just text-book

knowledge. I also want to thank my best friend Precious for the encouragement

and support

Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents Prof O.P and Mrs J. Ndawi for

their unwavering emotional, financial and moral support.

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE/ CULTURE

BDO KUDENGA & COBDO KUDENGA & CO. was formed in HARAREHARARE in 1981 by local Chartered

Accountants under somewhat trying conditions in light of the fact that they were

the 1st Indigenous accounting firm. Failure has never been an option and today,

the firm boast of being the largest local accounting firm. Growth comes in leaps

and bounds and today the firm has two offices in HARARE and MUTARE and

has been divided into Kudenga & Co CA (Z), Kudenga & Co Business

Management Consultancy. Kudenga & Co CA(Z). This unbundling has been

necessitated by the dynamic shift in the environment now operated in by client

firms and is intended to allow each of the various units to better focus on

providing it’s valuable clients with:

Assurance and business advisory services covering attest services,

economic and financial consulting services, business and computer risk

management services.

Business consulting, including business process re-engineering.

Information technology consulting

Taxation services

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1.2 International Affiliation

Kudenga and Company is affiliated with the BDO International group, which

has over 500 offices in over 99 countries throughout the world. The group was

founded in Europe in 1963 by accountancy firms from the United Kingdom East

and West Germany, The Netherlands, United States of America and Canada

which joined to form the Binder Seidman International Group. In 1973, the

European member firms took on the common name of Binder Djiker Otte & Co

(BDO). The group is part of the “Big Five” which is a grouping of the 5 most

successful accountancy firms in the world. These are, K.P.M.G, PWC, DT, BDO

and EY.

BDO has numerous offices in Southern Africa with representation in the following

countries:

South Africa - 10 offices

Botswana

Zambia

Namibia

Zimbabwe

Angola

Mozambique

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1.3 Objectives of the affiliation

In order to fully benefit from the expert knowledge and experience of personnel in

member firms, affiliation is maintained and ties are strengthened. This expert

knowledge may range from information technology, audit programmes and other

related technical aspects.

Some of the benefits of belonging to the international grouping are as follows:

Because legislation differs from country to country, each office may refer

to another member firm in matters relating to territorial law.

Member firms are able to access specialized expertise from other offices.

The introduction of international aspects on the operations of the member

firms, in that they are able to refer assignments to the international offices.

The international affiliation also has provisions for secondment to other

firms. This contributes to the technical development of the individual and

the seconding firm.

Research and development is made easier due to the pooling of expertise.

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MISSION

Kudenga & Company’s mission is:

“To provide innovative business services to our clients paying special

attention to their individual needs so as to achieve complete satisfaction.”

1.4 Objectives

(i) To provide tailor-made solutions for client satisfaction

(ii) To provide world class auditing, accounting, taxation and financial

management and consultancy service, to its clients.

(iii) To accelerate the development of local manpower resources in the

accounting profession by using local resources towards self-

sufficiency.

(iv) To contribute to the economic development of our country.

(v) To identify develop the individual skills of every employee.

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1.5 Core values

The core values of the organization are

Tailor-made solutions for client satisfaction

Highest quality work and efficiency

Flexibility to suit each client

Adapting to the dynamic environment

Internal teamwork between employees as well as with client employees.

Continuous growth for the firm and client firms

Professionalism at all levels

Maximizing employee potential and quality of life

The Kudenga & Company motto “Grow With Us” reflects the firm’s main thrust

that is growth and welfare of its clients’ businesses.

1.6 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

STAFF INFORMATION

Kudenga & Co’s mainstay is in its people. It’s low staff turn-over reflects

employee satisfaction. employs adequately qualified and experienced staff after

a thorough vetting process. In all assignments, Kudenga & Co’s teams comprise

of the right combination of individuals who posses insight, judgement and

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technical skills. Most important is the right blend of experience and know-how to

compliment each other’s expertize to complete the assignment effectively.

1.6.1 Partners

Kudenga & Co. has four partners, namely Mr Ngoni Kudenga(founder member

and Senior partner), Sonny Mabheju, Gladman Sabarauta and the latest addition

Jonas Jonga. Mr. Kudenga at one time was the partner in charge of the

management consultancy when it was still a department but is now one of the

directors of the firm Kudenga and Company Managent Consultants. Mr

Sabarauta is the partner in charge of administration and human resources. Mr

Mabheju is the partner in charge of the audit function and Mr Jonga is the

figuredhead of the IT function.

1.6.2 Professional Staff compliment

The Firm currently employs 138 members of professional staff. The distribution of

these members of staff is shown in the organization chart overleaf.

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1.7 ORGANISATION CHART

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BDO Kudenga & Co

BDO Kudenga & Co Chartered Accountants (Zimbabwe)

Managing PartnerN. Kudenga

Audit & Information Technology

J. Jonga

Audit Training & Technical

S. Mabheju

Audit & AdministratorG. Sabarauta

Information Technology Manager

T.Makowe

Senior Audit Managers

x2

Administration ManagerMuchena

Audit Managersx7

Staffx3

Audit Staffx90

Admin Staffx10

BDO Kudenga Management Consultants (PVT) Ltd

Management Consultancy

N. Kudenga

Director(Business

Development Services)

R. Mangena

Tax Director

M. Ngorima

Director(Business Risk Consultancy)R. Mangena

Manager Consultants

x2

Consultants

x3

Staffx8

Staffx2

Staffx2

Kudenga & Co

2.0 EXPECTATIONS

When the author (Oneas Ndawi) joined Kudenga & Co on 10 th March 2006, he

had a myriad of tasks he would be tasked with performing and the responsibilities

he would be given. He (the Author)was to later discover that some of his

expectations gravely differed from reality and were not to be realized and some

of his expectations were to be fulfilled to a greater extent than he had imagined.

Prior Expectations

Upon being accepted into the organization, the author had a number of

expectations, these are highlighted below:

2.1 First Expectation – Computer Programming

The author expected to take part in a lot of software development and a chance to work

with world-class programmers. This was not to be because the company employs

packaged software to which no source code is available. Also, due to the aspect of

internation affiliation, the firms has to adhere to guidelines in accordance to software, this

makes in-house software development a non-entity.

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2.2 Second Expectation – Application of Accounting, Management and

Business Communication Principles

The author expected to implement the accounting, economics, management and

Business Communication application skills that he had learnt over his first two

years at university. Some of his expectations were realized as he was frequently

faced with decisions relating to these aspects of operations. The auditing aspect

he had to tackle involved the employment of audit software like Caseware and

BDO Compass ©. The accounting aspect introduced him to accounting packages

like Pastel, Belina and Time-bag. Although the author lacked familiarity with

some accounting concepts and principles, his knowledge and expertise in

computer operations more than compensated for his accounting shortcomings.

The author discovered that the auditing of client information systems exposed

him to a greater degree of management decisions than he had expected. He also

got to realize that the audit function involved a lot of report writing for the various

tasks he tackled. The author soon realized that the concepts he had learnt in

Business Management as a 1st year student would greatly come in useful and

dispel the popular student’s myth that most non-core modules are useless to an

individual. These reports were difficult in that the author had to ensure that he

adhered to professional conduct and overcame the urge to be vindictive to the

client. Some of the audit findings had to be put across in a manner that was firm

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but not threatening. The supervisor (Makowe T.C) made it clear that auditing was

not a witch-hunting exercise but a process to assist the client in identifying their

weaknesses and suggest solutions to these short-comings.

2.3 Third Expectation – Professional conduct and Work etiquette

The author expected to learn professional conduct and work etiquet from very

experienced individuals. He certainly was not disappointed here because he was

afforded the opportunity to work as collegues with some of the most respected

individuals in industry and commerce and the entire experience humbled him

greatly. Whether in the Kudenga and Company ranks or at clients, the author

found himself working with some remarkable individuals who were professionals

in whatever sector of the economy they.

2.4 Fourth Expectation – Information systems auditing

The author was under the initial impression that he would get to rifle through

each and every client computer in an attempt to determine the security measures

in place but this was not to be. He soon discovered that auditing was more than

just trying to find any exploitable loop-holes in a client firm’s system. He

discovered that all software had some form of audit trail within it and that there

were audit packadges such IDEA and CaseWare which were used to enable the

audit function to be easier and more thorough. He was also to discover that the

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IT audit was used primarily to ascertain that data to be used in the financial audit

was reliable and a proper representation of the operations of the client. The

author further discovered that it was essential to posses have some basic

familiarity with information systems security requirements for many types of

software packages used by different organizations he would be auditing. He

worked with several packages such as JBA, Sage, Pastel, Timebag and different

operating systems like Unix, Linux, CS3, OS400, and Windows 95 ,98 , ME,

2000 ,XP and Vista

2.5 Fifth Expectation – Hardware Maintenance

the author expected minimum time and effort to be spent on hardware

maintanance and repair. This was a misconception because in reality, a lot of

time was devoted to troubleshooting and hardware maintanence and repair at

Kudenga & Company. The author found that IT technical support was a core

function of the IT department and he frequently attended to users complaints

relating to their computers, printers, scanners and other hardware such as

projectors. He was also involved in troubleshooting all networking problems as

and when they arose. At Kudenga & Co the author was oriented in the I.T.

department’s internal technical support division, where he learnt hardware

maintenance. The hardware, which the author worked with, included laptops,

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workstations, and servers. He discovered that he had to have knowledge on the

maintenance, configurations and operations of hardware from different

organizations. Another function he had not anticipated was general hardware and

electrical installation. This was in the form of drilling into walls, mounting pvc

trunking and many other tasks using power tools. Fortunately for the author, he

had long had a background in power tools and hardware instalation.

3.0 NATURE OF INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

Due to the large volumes of data inputs and outputs in most industries as well as

the need to follow the trend of automation and computerization, most business

functions have become overly dependant on computers. This has presented the

need to ensure adequate controls are put in place to eliminate any inherent

errors, risks or exploitable loopholes that will pose financial or security risks to

the organization. It is the role of the Information Systems Auditor to analyze the

Information Systems controls in place and ascertain the security and reliability of

the information that is produced by the information systems. The thrust on

information systems auditing is now to ensure that data generated by the system

is accurate enough to be used by financial auditors. This entails that the I.S audit

has to be conducted before the financial audit.

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TLSM Coates

Kudenga & Co

Office automation and computerization has also been another of the firm’s

development aspects. The company is in the process of continously acquiring

more computers in an bid to ensure that all staff have computer to work on

whatever function that they are responsible for. Because some of the firm’s

clients are fully computerized and also, competition requires that the firm

computerize fully. Computerization would also allow importation of data from a

clients accounting package into Caseware and IDEA. It is within these Audit

Applications software packages that the auditor can analyze the data in the

imported files for consistency and accuracy. Data analysis would take far less

time and be more effective.

4.0 PRODUCTS / SERVICE MARKETS

Services Offered:-

Kudenga & Co is committed to providing a tailor-made sevice of the highest

standard to all its individual clients in whatever sector they may be in.

The firm offers a wide range of services, which include:

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4.1 Audit

Types of audits:

Statutory audits

Special investigations (including forensic audits)

Investigative audits

4.2 Accounting

Monthly financial assistance to owner managed and family businesses.

Preparation of financial statements for client’s use and submission to

tax department.

4.3 Management information Systems

On Information Systems, the organisation offers the following services:

General consulting services in IT.

Specification of user requirements.

Analysis, design and implementation of IT supported systems including

hardware, software and data communications.

Project management and control.

Design IT courses and conduct training there from.

Reviews, audits and post implementation analysis of installed systems.

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4.4 Internal Audit/Business Risk Consulting

Core services:-

Business risk identification and advise on how to manage those risks.

Advise on Corporate Governance issues.

Designing and installation of controls and systems.

Regular systems checks for relevance, effectiveness and compliance.

4.5 Management Consultancy and Corporate Finance services

BDO Kudenga & Co. Management Consultancy is well placed to assist

clients with the following services:-

Consultancy, which takes the form of investigations, financial

management, financial and procedural systems, profit analysis and

business valuations.

Financial accounting, budgets and management control.

Secretarial services where advice on company formation and legal

requirements is necessary.

Financial advice, which includes mergers and takeovers, cash and

budgetary control and investment management.

Due diligence exercise for businesses going into privatization.

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Privatisation and listing of companies.

Systems design and development.

Individual ideal management.

4.6 Taxation

The tax services offered by the organisation include:

International tax service

Mergers and acquisitions; management buyouts

General tax consulting on personal and corporate tax

Tax investigation support

Tax computation

VAT

Estate planning and trusts

P.A.Y.E including payroll structuring

Outsourcing services - running payrolls on behalf of clients

Customs duty.

4.7 Human Resources Management

Kudenga & Co. is a leading service provider in the following areas:

Recruitment, selection and placement of staff.

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General Human Resources Consultancy and Human Resources

advisory services.

Attending key interviews or conducting important interviews for clients

or assisting clients to make decisions on key positions.

Downsizing, redeployment and retrenchment of staff.

Conflict management training.

Performance management training.

Developing employment manuals, codes of conduct, conditions of

service manuals, and incentive schemes for clients.

Assisting organisations to review or come up with strategic plans.

Designing and running skills development programmes.

Assisting organisations to come up with effective succession plans.

4.8 Personal Financial Planning

Core services are:

Drawing up of wills

Formation of trusts

Estate planning

Retirement planning

Remuneration structuring.

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4.9 Family Business Services

Core services are:

Family constitutions

Succession plans

Specialist tax advice

Valuation of shares

Corporate re-organisation

4.10 Service Markets

Client Base

The following is a list of some of the major clients and their respective sectors

Quoted Companies

Parastatals

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Commercial Bank of ZimbabweRainbow Tourism GroupFidelity Life Assurance LimitedBarbican HoldingsZimpapers LimitedEconet Wireless

Air ZimbabweZimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA)Net OneTel OneZimpostGrain Marketing Board (GMB)Agricultural & Rural Development Authority (ARDA)Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC)Sports & Recreation Commission

Kudenga & Co

Other Major Clients

4.11 Curatorship Appointments

One of the firm’s partners, Mr Ngoni Kudenga was appointed as a curator to

Intermarket Building Society in March 2004. This appointment shows the

Reserve Bank's confidence in the firm when tackling sensitive assignments.

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Copro (Private) LtdCapitol Insurance Brokers (Private) LimitedUniversity of Zimbabwe Midlands State UniversityZimbabwe Open UniversityBeitbridge Bulawayo Railway (Internal Audit)Fidelity Life Assurance CompanyZimbabwe Red Cross Society Zimbabwe Building Society (Consultancy)City of Mutare (Consultancy)Southern Granites (Pvt) LtdModzone EnterprisesMetallurgical Construction Company of ZimbabweJairos Jiri AssociationLever Brothers (Consultancy)Privatization Agency of Zimbabwe (Consultancy)Consumers International – Africa RegionIntermediate Technology – Southern African RegionAfrican RegionComarton ConsultantsStandard Fire and General Insurance CompanySouth Medical Hospitals Group

Kudenga & Co

5.0 COMPANY – SOCIETY CONNECTION

Attachment Students Programme.

The company has an on-going training programme for attachment students.

Each year, there are two intakes whereby the firm enrolls university students

for work related learning. Students are taken from all universities in the

country. This exercise is an important way of preparing students for future

employment. Many of these students return to the firm for permanent

employment after completion of their studies.

Sponsoring Hockey:

Kudenga & Co is one of the largest sponsors for hockey in Zimbabwe. This

shows it’s interest in the physical well-being of the people. Every member firm

of BDO international is involved in hockey at some level.

Career Guidance training courses for students:

The firm offers career guidance for university, college and high-school

students. This is part of social responsibility to the nation and is very helpful

for the affected individuals.

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Social Soccer games with other Accounting firms:

Kudenga and Co is also heavily involved in soccer at a social level. The firm

takes part in the CASSH which are a sporting tournament for all audit firms in

the country. The tournament is taken seriously as it allows employees to

socialize with those from other firms and build a culture of friendly

professional rivalry.

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6.0 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The entire attachment period was packed with experiences that were core to the

author’s personal development. Some of which are outlined below.

6.1 Strengths

Personal Responsibility

The author was made responsible for some tasks that were highly

sensitive and important to the company. This showed him that every

employee is important to the firm and it does not take a super human

being to carry out the essential tasks but it takes many ordinary, hard-

working people for a firm of Kudenga and Co’s magnitude to run smoothly.

The author learnt how to handle important tasks and was able to do so

with extreme care and diligence. This was shown on all assignments given

to the author. The author was quickly weaned of his supervisor and he

was sent to large clients to conduct the I.S audit on his own, These large

clients included ZESA, Net-one, Fidelity Life and Air Zimbabwe. He

successfully conducted the audits and compiled the necessary reports t

were used within the firm for review and also sent to the client for

management response and comments. The author took responsibility for

all the work he carried out and the outcome of the audit. By submitting all

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his reports to the supervisor for approval, he was able to get advice on the

proper procedures as well as guidance on the presentation, following this

valuable advice allowed him to develop his communication skills and

further his development goals.

Time Management

By strictly adhereing to set schedules and meeting set deadlines, the

author managed to fine-tune his time-management skills. He also got to

be able to plan ahead and budget his time effectively. Fore sight was one

of the essential skills for He always planned how he would tackle each

audit assignment. The author was expected to attend to all hardware and

software problems that arose within the organization since the IT

Department was under-staffed. He learnt how to budget his time between

performing audits for various clients and attending to all I.T. This was

essential to ensure completion of client audits as well as Kudenga and Co

responsibilities.

Integrity

Due to the nature of audit work, the author was expected to maintain

unquestionable integrity as well as maintain confidentiality of his findings

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on client information. His findings were only to be divulged to individuals

who had a direct interest in the entity and who absolutely needed the

information in question. He was priviledged to some of the most

confidential information in some client firms and was expected to maintain

this confidentiality. He showed competence in this aspect of work ethics.

Teamwork

In order to complete an audit in the set time and thoroughly fulfill all

required tasks, the author learnt that he had to be a team player. An audit

team is usually comprised of 6 to 8 individuals. The author had to work

closely with these audit team-members to complete the audit. He also had

to liase closely with client firm employees in order to gather the necessary

data.

Speed and efficiency

The author learnt to work with maximum speed and yet achieve the best

possible results. He learnt that it is more beneficial to tackle a problem as

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quickly as possible so as to allow time for testing the solution and verifying

its results.

Empathy

The author learnt not to scoff at the problems faced by users regardless of

their simplicity. He learnt to take every problem seriously and deal with

users at a layman’s level because they may not be adequately computer

literate. Dealing with a problem promptly also ensured minimum user

down-time hence igher productivity.

Good Oral and Written Communication skills

Allowed the author to fine-tune his oral communication skills and

interpersonal skills. Confidence was a key requirement as he was to

conduct meetings and interviews with many top company executives Each

audit assignment allowed the author to further develop his communication

skills.

Good Professional Presentation

Because he was frequently meeting with top company officials like

Financial Directors, Chief Executive Officers and IT Managers, the author

developed very good professional presentation skills during these

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meetings. He was able to present himself in such a way that all the people

he had meetings with could actually communicate with him at the same

wavelength. Professional presentation was also evident in the author’s

dressing whenever he at work. It was mandatory for the author to look

professional and he was well able to do this. Office work required smart

casual attire and he was able to look the part. He even dressed in formal

apparel when going client’s offices.

Pro-activeness

The author found it increasingly easier each time to give constant feed-

back to his superiors on any tasks he had been assigned. He did not

always wait to be asked for progress reports but was pro-active and forth

coming with these.

Good Administration skills

As the I.T department wad sunder-staffed, the author learnt good

administrative skills because he had to attend to a lot of the faults as well

as co-ordinate the activities of those below him.. It was the authors

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responsibility to attend to all I.T. problems that arose and would only refer

some problems to his superiors if they were beyond his capabilities or they

required decisions beyond his jurisdiction to be made. This administration

aspect was also demonstrated in handling the purchase of I.T equipment

such as printers, laptops, networking components and other hardware

devices and software packedges.

P rioritization of Tasks

The author learnt that because of the hierachical nature of organizations

and also because of the fact that some tasks were of imparative

importance to the organization, faults were not to be attended on a first –

come- first- serve basis. He learnt how to asses the importance of a task

and prioritize it accordingly.

Logistical planning

Due to the scarcity of some resources and to the ever-present time limit

factor, the author learnt to allocate resources and plan ahead. He was

able to set out which task were to be executed in what order so as to

minimize resource wastage and maximize productivity.

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6.2 Weaknesses

Knowledge

The author initially lacked knowledge on the main server operating system

for the firm which is LINUX Fedora Core 5. This lack of familiarity hindered

his ability to carry out many tasks but he eventually managed to school

himself on it buy researching on the internet and practicing using the

software itself. By the end of the first three moths, he was much more able

to manipulate it than he had been before.

Following Orders blindly

The author was at times given instructions which he had to follow

expressly but were not explained or justified. The author had trouble

following such orders without proper explanation being given as to their

purpose and their justification. He and several clashes with authority on

this issue and showed slight defiance on the matter.

.

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7.0 HANDLING CONFLICT BETWEEN PERSONAL /

ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The author set his personal objectives throughout the attachment period. These

objectives would sometimes conflict with the organizational objectives.

Sometimes the author had to download some material from the Internet in areas

where he felt that he needed to research further. He would hardly have time to go

through all the material during working hours so he had to take it home after

hours and spend time going through it on his personal computer. Each time there

was such a conflict, the author would try to balance the two by creating more

time after working hours to ensure that he was not found wanting in any of the

two areas. In times when there were too many computers that needed to be

fixed, the author would attend to some faulty computers during working hours

and some of them after working hours to make sure that they were all ready for

use the following morning. This had the effect of creating more time for the

author to also concentrate on areas of self development during working hours

rather than spending much of the time doing routine work such as reloading

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operating systems and attending to printer problems. The author always created

time to fulfill his own learning objectives during and after working hours. If these

objectives conflicted with the need to carry out certain duties, the author always

made sure that those duties were done first then he would concentrate on

fulfilling his learning objectives. Sometimes the duties that needed to be done

also addressed the authors learning objectives.

8.0 KEY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

During the placement period the author developed some key skills through

training courses, exposure and experience.

8.1 Outline of work carried out

The author was introduced to hardware and software used at the firm in

the IT Department. He did hardware and software maintenance. The

author learned how to install applications software on computers,

configure email, configure machines on the network, install and connect

printers, replace network cards and add memory (RAM) to slow

computers, hub dressing, recovery of corrupt hard drives, install printer

drivers to hp laser jet printers and configuring Linux Servers.

Familiarisation with the Audit tools used in Information Systems Auditing.

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The author was taught how to perform certain operations using IDEA, an

audit application. He was also taught how to carry out a General Controls

Review. It involved going to organizations to review and analyse the

controls they had over their computer environment and identifying the

weak and key controls available. Organisations would be advised on how

to improve the weak controls in order to mitigate risks that may arise from

these weak controls. Areas of review include:

Business continuity and disaster recovery

Change control

Network controls

Systems development lifecycle (if an organization has

introduced a new application)

Operational controls

Operating system review

Hardware and software review

The Author also actively contributed towards the drafting of an IT strategy

for Kudenga & Co. There was no IT strategic document that had been

prepared at the time that the author joined Kudenga & Co. He made quite

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a substantive contribution towards the drafting of an IT Strategic document

for Kudenga & Co.

The author was expected to write and format reports on findings and

recommendations after an audit.

8.1.1 Technical Skills

The author applied technical expertise both acquired from his university and most

of which he developed during the placement period.

He was able to configure emails, connect machines to the network, and

add users to the domain and to network printers, software installation of

windows 9x, XP, 2000, Linux and other application software. He learnt how to

upgrade operating systems to a higher version e.g. from Windows 2000 to

XP. He was able to transfer a user’s documents to another machine and to

partition hard drives when installing an operating system. He was able to fix

technical problems such as when a user failed to send emails by archiving

mails and searching for missing archive folders and restoring them. He was

able to share printers between users and fix scanner problems. He learnt how

to fix laptops that failed to synchronise offline documents. He was able to do

backups of systems.

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. The author managed to gain experience in identifying risks involved in

information technology application processes. He was able to perform testing

procedures and identify controls on different applications and operating

systems. The testing included password policies, validation and

completeness checks and user rights. With his technical knowledge he was

able to identify validation controls on systems and identify how different

systems were configured. He was able to identify good network management

and to review network diagrams.

8.1.2 Good Time Management

The author improved his time management skill he had acquired during his two

years at university. The information systems audit work that the author did

involved carrying out meetings with top company officials such that the author

always had to be punctual for appointments in order to portray a professional

image. The work he did was always based on a budget and so he was required

to finish assigned work in a defined period of time. His work was always

completed in time (on or before the deadline unless other things with higher

priority came up). This was one area where conflict arose since the department

was understaffed. Prioritization of tasks was of paramount importance seeing

that no-one else was available to do certain urgent tasks as they arose. It was up

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to the author to decide which tasks were of higher priority than the others then he

would work on those tasks first.

8.1.3 Analytical Skills

The author’s work required great analysis to be made and so this skill was

developed and perfected through the experience he was exposed to. The author

had to analyse different application controls from different organizations and

identify risks involved. In certain circumstances he had to give professional

advice to clients on certain issues. One incident involves a client who requested

Kudenga & Co to appraise an accounting package that it was about to buy. The

client wanted a professional opinion on whether this package would meet the

their requirements given the nature and size of their business. The author

attended a meeting with both the client and the seller of the package to try and

establish whether the two parties could actually settle for a business deal. The

author was to give advice on the security of the system after he had appraised it.

This involved analyzing the requirements of the client and then weighing them

against the functional specifications of the package to see whether it really met

the client’s requirements and the extent of further modification that was required

in order to customize the package to the specifications of the client. The author

was tasked with providing a professional opinion on whether it was feasible to

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acquire the package(economically, technically and organizationally) This involved

application of all the concepts learnt in Systems Analysis and Design. This

process of appraising the package was actually an audit of the package to a

certain extent.

8.1.4 Communication Skills

Computer auditing requires a lot of meetings and interviews. These interviews

and meetings would involve top officials of companies such as Managing

Directors, Financial Directors and Chief Executives. The author developed good

communication skills through experience as well as the theory he learnt in the

Business Communication module during his first year at Midlands State

University.

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9.0 RE - ENTRY

The major thrust of the industrial attachment is to put theory into practice and

help the student acquire and develop skills that he will use within the Information

Technology profession. The integration of theory with practice is achieved when

the student is given meaningful tasks that call for the full utilisation of knowledge

and values learnt in class whilst at university. In essence, this means that the

tasks given to students determine the nature and quality of the learning

experience and the degree to which skills are acquired and developed.

The author has developed a variety of skills and experiences that are beneficial

in enhancing his learning when he re-enters the university. The author is now

familiar with and has knowledge on a large spectrum of software being used in

industry. He has gained a lot of knowledge and has been exposed to different

kinds of hardware. He acquired technical skills in analysing different applications

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and has an understanding of the concepts behind the integration of software and

hardware. This knowledge will help the author grasp easily the concepts to be

learned in the final year, as he will be putting his practical knowledge into theory.

The author also learnt the various aspects and controls to consider when

performing information systems audits. The author realized that any IT

professionals seeking to enhance the operation of their computer systems within

their organization could actually apply all these concepts and controls in

Information systems auditing. This has made the student a different person, as

he is now aware of the minimum requirements for setting up IT infrastructure in

such a way that will minimize data loss in the event that a disaster occurs. The

author has been enriched with this knowledge and will be able to apply it in any

organization that he is to work for in the future.

Teamwork has developed the author into a better individual. It will be easy for the

author to relate to others during discussions as he has learnt that the best results

come from teamwork. Two minds are always better than one and so the author

knows that brainstorming problems as a team is worthwhile.

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Time management skills acquired during the placement period will help the

author plan his work more effectively when he re-enters university. Assignments

will be done on time. He will also be able to cope with the pressure from

schoolwork due to this good time management. The author was also exposed to

working under pressure during the different assignments and this will contribute

in his dealing with pressure from schoolwork.

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10.0 OVERVIEW

The author managed to add value to the organization that he worked for, through

the application of concepts and theories he learnt from his degree studies. Some

of the areas where the author applied the knowledge he acquired from university

were in the following:

System Analysis

The author was able to apply concepts he had learnt in the Systems

Analysis and Design module when auditing the Information Systems for

various companies. The audits usually involved a thorough analysis of the

existing information systems with a view to find areas where there were

inconsistencies or security concerns within the systems themselves. It

involved a review of the systems documentation as well. The author had

to be aware of the proper way to document a system in order for him to

appraise whether a client had documented their systems properly. The

author managed to achieve this through the application of concepts he

learnt in systems analysis and design.

Systems Design

The author also managed to apply concepts he had learnt from the

systems analysis and design module as well as the Computer

programming modules to develop an Asset Management system that was

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meant to keep inventory of all IT equipment within the organization as well

as reporting on their state at any given time.

The Internet and Data communications

The author discovered that knowledge acquired from the Internet and data

communications modules played a large part in configuring networks. He

was able to apply these concepts in troubleshooting network problems as

well as configuring computers on the network.

Drafting an IT Strategic Document

The author actively participated in drafting an IT Strategic Document for

Kudenga & Co, as this had not been in place at the time that the author

joined the firm. The author did a lot of research to establish what services

were being offered by other IT Audit firms in an effort to strategize on the

services that Kudenga & Co is to offer in order to make it a market leader

in the profession. Much of the contributions made by the author were

actually adopted in the final draft of the document.

Report writing

The author used the knowledge he acquired from the Business

communication module in preparing Audit Reports for various companies.

The author developed this skill of writing reports each time that he had to

write a report. He knew that once a report had been finalized it then

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became a document for public consumption hence the need to be

professional and objective in preparing it..

Overally, the author learnt to present himself professionally and acquired skills

that have developed him into a more knowledgeable person with greater

confidence in working within the Information Technology profession.

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APPROVAL FORM

I, the undersigned, certify that I have read and recommended to the

Midlands State University, the work related learning report entitled “Work

Related Learning Report at Kudenga & Co”, written by Samuel Mashinya in

partial fulfillment of the requirements of his Bachelor of Science (Honours)

Degree in Information Systems offered by the Midlands State University.

Name

Signature Date

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Kudenga & CoChartered Accountants (Zimbabwe)