AICPA Core Competencies: An Accounting Course Audit

• In Event: Teaching, Learning and Curriculum

Abstract

In 1998, the AICPA and State CPA societies embarked on a new profession wide initiative, known as the CPA Vision Project, whose purpose was to set a course for the future of the accounting profession. The project clarified the goals, opportunities and challenges of the profession through the year 2011. The project accurately predicted numerous trends that would affect the CPA profession and was instrumental in promoting significant changes such as XBRL, sustainability, enhanced business reporting, work/life initiatives, etc.

In 2010, the profession initiated a new study, CPA Horizons 2025, as a follow-up to the Vision Project. The study reviewed and reevaluated the core values, competencies and services identified in the Vision Project. The new study set forth ideas related to opportunities and challenges for the profession in the next fifteen years. These include technology, pre-certification and lifelong learning, a worldwide profession, pride in the profession, trusted attester, trusted advisor, market permissions, market place, value proposition, and demographic shifts.

The original Vision Project identified core values which remained substantially unchanged. However, the core competencies of the Vision Project evolved under Horizons 2025 study to better reflect the needs of the 21st century. These reflect a combination of skills, knowledge and technology that provides value to the users of accounting services.

Given the new and broader scope of essential competencies, do current academic accounting programs provide students with the needed characteristics? While some competencies do not seem to have changed there are some different nuances. Given the changes in the core competencies, we questioned whether our program was effective in developing the needed skills in our students. As a result, we decided to do an assessment of our program to determine where the development of core competencies were and were not met. The study involves two phases. The first is an assessment of the accounting courses in our program to be followed by an assessment of required non-accounting business courses. This paper reports on the results of the first phase.

Authors

• Vincent C Brenner, Stetson University

• Monica Mendoza Jeancola, Stetson University

• Maria Rickling, Stetson University