AICPA competency model for the new finance professional

CPA Journal, The, Oct 1998 by Scott, Mary Jane

In recognition of the demands on its members in industry to redefine and expand their roles, the Professional Development Subcommittee of the AICPA's Business and Industry Executive Committee created the "AICPA Competency Model for the New Finance Professional." The model identifies attributes and competencies that today's CPAs in industry need to remain relevant in an increasingly complex business environment. It is designed to be a career and educational development tool that can be used by the individual, employers, state CPA societies, the AICPA, and educators. Using this career planning tool, CPAs will be able to assess themselves against an array of desired competencies, select those areas where enhancement is needed, explore relevant learning activities, and embark upon a systematic learning plan for their career advancement.

Reasons for Change

Where once the primary function of CPAs in industry was that of gatherer and recorder of historical financial information-the old back office bean counterseveral changes have occurred in the workplace to cause CPAs to refocus their efforts.

Technology has largely automated the transaction processing and financial reporting that used to consume most of the CPA's time and effort. Automation has saved time and allowed ready access to volumes of information.

The pace of change has gathered momentum and accelerated. This has contributed to the sheer complexity of conducting business and placed additional burdens on decisionmakers. Decision-makers look to CPAs who control information and demand that they assume the role of business leader and partner who can determine the needs of various users throughout the organization and provide a high level of strategic financial analysis and decision support.

Economic pressures have forced companies to cut costs and streamline processes. Because of the background of CPAs, organizations look to them to assume different, expanded roles within their organizations to help solve problems.

In other words, the profession is in the midst of an "upskilling"; it is necessary for CPAs to move from a transaction processing focus to visible leadership roles in all areas of their organizations.

The AICPA uses the term, the new finance, to describe this movement. Here is how the New Finance Subcommittee of the AICPA's BIEC defines it:

The new finance, a term coined by the AICPA, consists of the emerging, multidisciplinary body of knowledge essential for today's accounting and financial professional to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing business environment. This broad, cross-functional body of knowledge encompasses the management of process, technology, and resources. The new finance will require an emphasis on technical competencies, innovation, teamwork, and broader business issues. Finance's traditional roles of reporter and asset custodian will expand. As an advisor to core business process owners and a provider of technical expertise for strategic and tactical decisions, the new finance professional will be a business partner to his or her organization. The Competency Model

To help CPAs in industry identify the training necessary to rise to the exciting Challenges and opportunities open to them today, the subcommittee designed the competency model for the new finance professional. Competencies are the knowledge, skills, and performance abilities required to perform a job effectively. A competency model is the collection of competencies needed for a particular position.

The model is organized around four main competency categories: personal attributes, leadership qualities, broad business perspective, and functional expertise.

The New CPA for the New Finance

Responding to changes in technology, the acceleration of the pace of change, and economic pressures, the Professional Development Subcommittee of the AICPA's Business and Industry Executive Committee developed a model to identify attributes and competencies today's CPAs in industry need to remain relevant.

The model is organized around four major competency categories:

Personal Attributes

Leadership Qualities

Broad Business Perspectives

Functional Expertise

Each of these competencies is further subdivided into three proficiency levels-basic, intermediate, and advanced.

The model can be used to identify competency gaps and in career development. The model has been tested by the AICPA and is consistent with results by industry employers. Plans call for a rollout of the model and self-assessment tool in the fourth quarter of 1998.

Personal attributes are characteristics that enable the finance professional to attract others to well-reasoned and logical points of view, to communicate effectively, and to relate to others. They are difficult to assess or teach, but they are critical to effective job performance.

Leadership qualities allow the CPA to assume a position of influence by assembling and leveraging a variety of resources that address problems and identify opportunities throughout the organization. In The Leader of the Future, a compendium of essays on leadership published by the Drucker Foundation, Stephen Covey identifies the three roles of a leader as pathfinding (conceiving a compelling vision and mission and tying them to customers and stakeholders through a strategic plan), aligning (ensuring that organizational structure, systems, and processes achieve the vision and mission), and empowering (granting authority to employees to fulfill the mission and serve customer needs).