Final-year B.Com (Finance) students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) were able to put theory into practice through an Absa-sponsored initiative that promotes excellence in financial planning.
“We are delighted to partner with UJ in this exciting project. We strongly believe that we need to do more to ensure that we produce well qualified financial planners in this country to meet customers’ needs for financial advice,” says Peter Todd, Managing Executive at Absa Insurance and Financial Advisers (AIFA).
Students were given a comprehensive case study in which they were expected to prepare a financial plan for a prospective client. The case study, which was given at the beginning of the year, included all aspects of financial planning such as insurance, real estate and retirement planning, among others.
In the initial stages of the case study, 250 students worked individually on the different aspects of the financial planning case study. They later formed groups of 3 and 6, which made presentations to the UJ Financial Planning lecturers. Following intensive presentations and based on technical and visual aspects of the presentation, the top ten groups were selected. These groups proceeded to make presentations to a panel of experts comprising of officials from the University’s Department of Finance and Investment Management, the Financial Planning Institute and Absa.
The students’ work was recognised and celebrated during a special awards ceremony at the FADA Auditorium, Bunting Road Campus on Thursday, 21 October 2010.
“We would like to appreciate Absa’s efforts and commitment to filling the skills gap within the financial planning environment. We believe that Absa’s decision to sponsor the best financial planning initiative makes a huge difference in the lives of both the students and encourages excellence” says Professor Els, Head of the Department of Finance and Investment Management at the University of Johannesburg.
Absa has been sponsoring the event for the past two years and will do so in the coming years.
Article by: University of Johannesberg
