Filling the Knowledge Gap (1999)

Using the Competency Assessment Tool to map out a career path. You may be very competent at your current job, but what new skills will you need if, as expected in this fast-paced business environment, the demands of your job change? Or what if you're seeking a promotion or you want to move into a different area of accounting? The change from public practice to being a CFO in industry, for example, often demands significant new skills. There is a way for you to identify the specific knowledge and guidance you will need for career development. The answers are in the AICPA's Competency Assessment Tool (CAT). This software program is on the AICPA Web site at www.cpatoolbox.org/. CAT invites you to assess your current professional competencies. Once the data are entered, CAT asks for your career goals. Using the information provided, it calculates the skills gap between where you are now and where you want to go. And it makes recommendations for how to get there. For the moment, CAT is programmed to handle the industry competency model only. That means it's relevant for CPAs currently in industry who wish to remain there or for those planning to move to an industry position. Eventually the program will be broadened to include a wide range of career models--such as assurance services, government, information technology, personal financial planning and consulting. TAKE THE TEST Each competency model contains about 40 professional competencies arranged in four categories: personal attributes, leadership qualities, broad business perspective and functional expertise. The first two categories--personal attributes and leadership qualities--address competencies relevant to all CPAs, regardless of discipline, which is why all CPAs would benefit from taking the self-assessment exam. In addition to generating a custom guide for career advancement, CAT provides a log of your progress. This is especially important because many nontraditional educational programs lack a sign-in sheet to document continuing professional education (CPE) efforts. Those taking the test will notice that the recommendations provided by CAT are not limited to conventional programs. In fact, many of the educational activities recommended--whether they be reading books, using the Internet, attending workshops or engaging in one-on-one instruction--do not currently qualify for credit even though they are designed to prepare CPAs for specific career goals. CAT represents a change in thinking with respect to the current requirements. The rules require a specified number of hours of within a three-year period. For members in public practice, that requirement is 120 hours. For members not in public practice, it is currently 90 hours. The requirement for a certain number of hours may change, however, and the design of CAT is predicated on that possibility. The AICPA and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy are currently working on modifying the current continuing professional education standards, which will address the various ways in which CPAs can acquire the skills they need. (For more on this topic, see CPE Is Broke; Let's Fix It JofA, Dec. 98, page 77.) The program's sequence follows. Competency model: Industry Competency category: Leadership qualities Competency: Decision-making Skill (basic): Develops basic research skills. Skill (intermediate): Analyzes complex and abstract transactions. Skill (advanced): Builds new analytical framework/approaches. (See the sidebar Glossary of Terms, above, for a definition of the terms used in the model.) CAT provides a five-step process to guide you through the model. Initially you will be asked a series of questions to ensure that the appropriate information flows to your assessment. One question, for example, is, What position are you assessing against? …