CPA Education Updates: Accounting Educators Symposium MAY 21-22, 2015 BY SIMONE LEONARD, MBA, CPA, CGA

Transcription

1 CPA Education Updates: Accounting Educators Symposium MAY 21-22, 2015 BY SIMONE LEONARD, MBA, CPA, CGA

2 Overview CPA Program Overview ACAF *New CPABC Articulation Process CPA Business Culture Course

3 CPA Education Programs

4 Prerequisites & 120 Credit hour Degree CPA Education Program (PEP): Overview

5 CPA Prerequisite Education Program (PREP): Overview Pre-requisite Education Program Prerequisites and 90 credit undergrad required Economics Statistics Financial Accounting Mgt Accounting Corporate Finance Assurance Tax Personal & Corporate Business Law Information Systems Mgt Required for Admission to PREP Undergr aduate degree (no prereq requirem ents) 12 Prerequisite knowledge domain areas which can all be taken at a PSI. 6 Non-Core Courses - Econ, Stats, Intro Fin. Accting, Intro Mgt Accting, Law, MIS 6 Core Courses Inter/Adv. Fin. Accting, Iinter/Adv. Mgt Accting, Finance, Assurance, Tax

6 CPA Advanced Certificate in Accounting Program (ACAF): Overview Advanced Certificate in Accounting Program Prerequisites, but no undergrad or diploma required Intro to ACAF Applied Finance Management Control Advanced Topics in FA Information Systems Mgt Auditing Fundamentals Topics In Corp. Taxation 2 Electives Capstone Nine knowledge domain areas covered prior to entry Intro FA Intro MA Communication Intro FN Intro TX Econ Stats Law MIS 60% mark in individual courses AND 65% overall average Common Module Course in ethical business scenarios Common Modules Six courses in various accounting, finance, tax, and assurance topics applied focus, using relevant software as part of assignment models Elective Modules Students choose any two modules: Applied Ext. Audit Applied Internal Audit Applied Personal/ Corp Tax NFP Common Module Business Case type course covering interdisciplinary concepts ACAF Certificate

7 ACAF Prerequisite Content

8 ACAF PSI Transfer Credit Opportunities

9 The ACAF Program

10 Key Features Applied: Focus on the application of technical knowledge Attainable: Reasonable entrance requirements, one year full time or part time at the student s pace; exemptions for academic and/or experiential equivalency Online: Anytime, anywhere Supported: Access to subject matter experts Relevant: Electives in student s career interest and employer s need Integrated: Ethics, soft skills, software applications, technical knowledge

11 Who will Benefit from ACAF Individuals seeking junior and intermediate level accounting jobs in business, industry and government and CPA supervised positions in public accounting: Foreign Educated Professionals (new arrivals seeking Canadian experience/education in their field) Small Business Owners (Non-accountants wanting more depth in accounting knowledge) Career Advancement (persons in clerical accounting positions, wanting their next more senior position)

12 ACAF Bridge to CPA Certification

13 ACAF Launch ACAF Pilot May 2015 ACAF Program Implementation - Phased Fall 2015 (5 courses) Winter 2016 (11 courses) Spring 2016 (all 12 courses)

14 CPA Programs Snap-Shot

15 CPABC Articulation Process

16 CPA Policies and Guidelines

17 Basic Articulation Process 1. CPA provide Articulation Working Papers to PSI 2. PSI reviews various CPA Policy Documents (CPA Competency Map and Knowledge Supplement) 3. PSI provides following to regulatory body: a) Completed Articulation Working Papers b) Copies of Related Course Outlines (includes): i. Course Names and Course Codes ii. Allocation of grades across summative and formative assessments (formative assessments must count for at least ½ of marks towards passing grade) iii. Minimum course passing grades (we require 60% for each transferable course) iv. Textbooks used v. Credit hours assigned to course(s) vi. Delivery method (online/in-person components) 4. CPA reviews and signs-off on articulation working papers (may involve a number of interim discussions/conversations)

18 Basic Articulation Process Con t 5. CPA updates CPA Transfer Credit Guide to reflect the approved transfer credit courses: 6. If courses/programs change once Transfer Credit Guides are posted, PSI to contact CPA immediately in order to have profiles updated as necessary 7. Articulations are reviewed every 3-5 years.

19 General Policy Updates Competency Placement Updates: Financial Accounting Stream The requirements for Intermediate and Advanced Financial Accounting will now be separated to allow granting of maximum course equivalencies in: Intermediate Financial Reporting 1; Intermediate Financial Reporting 2; and, Advanced Financial Reporting. Management Accounting and Performance Management Streams Reallocation of Management Accounting topics into Strategy. Advanced Management Accounting topics which are currently covered in Intermediate and Advanced Management Accounting will be transferred to Strategy and Governance. This means courses will be evaluated for equivalency to Intermediate Management Accounting and Performance Management. We have posted the effects of this change to the Transfer Credit Guides found on the CPABC website.

20 General Policy Updates Minimum Grading Standards: Until January 1, 2017, there are two standards for calculating a 65% overall average and the standard that is most advantageous to the student will be applied: Standard 1: a) A passing grade or 60%, whichever is higher in each applicable core course; and, b) A passing grade or 50%, whichever is higher, in each applicable non-core course; and, c) A minimum GPA requirement of 65% or equivalent as calculated by averaging grades across all of a student s core courses. Standard 2 (until December 31, 2016): a) A passing grade or 60%, whichever is higher in each applicable course, core and non-core; and, b) A minimum GPA of 65% or equivalent as calculated by averaging grades across all of a student s passed courses covering the required subject matter for entry into the CPA PEP.

21 Supporting Diversity

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23 Cultural adaptation is critical Failure to understand and adapt culturally is a major barrier to success. Cultural misunderstandings can mean: Failure to get job interviews Failure to land jobs Failure to succeed Failure to be promoted

24 How we did it Small, committed advisory team RFP focused on finding developer expert in cultural integration Course framework that intuitively follows the typical path to success Consultation with employers and target students Pilot hands on, and with sensitivity

25 Canadian Business Culture Course

26 Canadian Business Culture Course

27 Outreach and promotion Immigrant serving organizations Employers Member newsletters and websites Colleges and Institutes Canada Offices/Network International accounting bodies

28 Q&A