Give Your Skills a CAT Scan: Compare Where You Are with Where You Want to Be by Using the AICPA Competency Self-Assessment Tool (2004)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * PRACTITIONERS CAN USE the AICPA Competency Self-Assessment Tool (CAT) to evaluate which professional performance areas they need to strengthen to refine skills for their present jobs or train for positions they aspire to. Firms and companies can purchase it as a multiuser tool to help with staff development at all levels. * THIS ARTICLE TAKES READERS THROUGH an exercise to show them how to use the tool, which can be done at any time and is confidential. can complete an assessment in one to two hours on average. * CAT COVERS TRADITIONAL PRACTICE AREAS such as audit, tax, business and industry and government, and evolving areas such as forensic and litigation services, antifraud, business valuation, personal financial planning and ElderCare/PrimePlus services. * FOR ALL USERS, CAT OFFERS personalized career development and training plans and ways to promote individual strengths. For managers, it addresses skills for project delegation, giving feedback, targeting a training budget and enhancing productivity. * FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT, CAT GIVES guidance for staffing, training-needs analysis and job redesign. At the organizational level, it can help with staff deployment, developing continuing professional education programs, achieving a common vernacular to improve communications and enhancing workplace morale. * EACH CAT MODEL IS CAREFULLY constructed to provide users--be they individual practitioners, supervisors or human resources managers--with the insight and guidance to boost professionalism, performance, productivity and pay. Whether your skills are basic, intermediate or advanced or you're a general practitioner or specialist, understanding your performance-improvement needs can help you become a better accounting professional. AICPA's Competency Self-Assessment Tool (CAT) is a Web-based resource to help you identify the skills you require, compare what you know with benchmarks and prepare an action plan for career advancement. It covers traditional practice areas such as audit, business and industry, government and tax as well as evolving specialty areas. Individuals can use CAT to re fine skills for their current jobs or train for positions they aspire to. Firms and companies can use it to raise their overall level of excellence. This article will take you through an introductory exercise to show how to use the tool to better prepare for the many opportunities available to today's CPAs. A FLEXIBLE TOOL CAT applies across the entire professional spectrum, from students to practitioners, senior management, human resources and training managers to CPA staff at firms and companies. original CAT, for business and industry practitioners, went online in 1999. The concept was to provide a comprehensive analysis of core competencies for all career phases, from 'cradle to grave,' says John Morrow, lead developer of the program and AICPA vice-president of new finance. In 2002 the Institute redesigned CAT to include other competency models and proficiency benchmarks that users could intuitively follow online, says Morrow. eight available CAT models are Audit; Business and Industry/New Finance; Business Valuation and Forensic and Litigation Services; ElderCare/Prime Plus; Fraud Prevention, Detection and Investigation; Government; Personal Financial Planning; and Taxation. models produce a personalized analysis, and each assessment suggests appropriate educational resources, including continuing professional education (CPE) courses, seminars, books and conferences. Users call complete all assessment in one to two hours on average, Morrow says. They can stop if they need to and pick up where they left off at any time. tool is confidential, too. CAT offers all users personalized career development and training plans, ways to promote individual strengths, self-assessment compared with supervisory feedback and information to improve earnings capacity. …