Carla Carnaghan

Competency‐Based Education and Assessment for the Accounting Profession: A Critical Review*

In recent years many professional accounting associations have become interested in establishing competency-based professional requirements and assessment methods for certifying accounting professionals. A competency-based approach to qualification specifies expectations in terms of outcomes, or what an individual can accomplish, rather than in terms of knowledge or other capabilities possessed by the individual. This idea has an obvious appeal to many practitioners and administrators of professional qualification programs. However, there is limited knowledge about competency-based approaches in the accounting profession and among accounting academics, constraining discussion about the value of these approaches and about the strengths and weaknesses of the different competency models that have sprung up in various jurisdictions. In this paper we review and synthesize the literature on competency-based approaches. We identify a number of theoretical benefits of competency-based approaches. However, we also find many alternative definitions and philosophies underlying competency-based approaches, and a variety of visions of how competencies should be determined and assessed. We note that there is limited evidence supporting many competency-based approaches and we identify 14 research questions that could be investigated to help policy makers to more effectively address policy matters related to competency-based education and assessment.

Recent Changes in the Regulation of Financial Markets and Reporting in Canada

The regulation of financial reporting and financial markets has undergone significant change in both the United States and Canada since 2000. In Canada the regulatory regime is particularly complex and politically controversial, with much speculation about possible future directions. This papers purpose is to explain the current regulatory environment as it stands in mid 2006 to assist those who teach or conduct research in this domain. This paper first provides an explanation of the major jurisdictional issues that impact financial reporting and regulation in Canada, including identifying the roles of the key players. Second, it identifies specific reporting requirements that might be of particular relevance to prospective researchers. Where relevant, comparisons are made with regulatory provisions in the United States, since the majority of capital markets research concerns American securities exchanges, and the Canadian regulations themselves tend to refer to U.S regulations as a point of comparison. This emphasis also makes the scope of our review manageable.

Discussion of An Analysis of the Group Dynamics Surrounding Internal Control Assessment in Information Systems Audit and Assurance Domains

This paper presents a method for detecting scene changes in video sequences, in which the -test is modified by imposing weights according to NTSC standard. To automatically determine threshold values for scene change detection, the proposed method utilizes the frame differences that are obtained by the weighted -test. In the first step, the mean and the standard deviation of the difference values are calculated, and then, we subtract the mean difference value from each difference value. In the next step, the same process is performed on the remained difference values, mean-subtracted frame differences, until the stopping criterion is satisfied. Finally, the threshold value for scene change detection is determined by the proposed automatic threshold estimation algorithm. The proposed method is tested on various video sources and, in the experimental results, it is shown that the proposed method is reliably estimates the thresholds and detects scene changes.

E-Commerce and International Tax Planning

This paper investigates whether the increased flexibility afforded by e-commerce has allowed firms to increase their tax planning activities. We specifically address whether multinational firms that make greater use of e-commerce have greater sensitivity to tax incentives relative to firms making less use of e-commerce. Using proxies for e-commerce activity, we find that the relation between exports and tax incentives is increasing in the e-commerce measures. Alternative tests of foreign tax expense and country-level trade activity corroborate the main test. This research is an important first step in understanding the larger impact of e-commerce on international tax planning behavior.

Discussion of Holistic, Continuous Assurance Integration: e-Business Opportunities and Challenges

Greenstein and Ray’s paper (Greenstein and Ray 2002) (hereafter, the paper) addresses an important current issue: challenges in ensuring assurance services are relevant and efficiently delivered to e-business. The authors’ stated aims are to consider how the characteristics of web-based e-business operations impact the accounting processes of these firms, and the issues raised by these impacts for assurance providers. The paper provides 16 propositions for assurance providers to consider in providing more relevant and efficient assurance services to this growing segment of the economy. The basic chain of logic employed by the paper is: 1. e-Business (particularly that incorporating web-based technology) is a significant part of the economy; 2. e-Business companies can have business process and transaction characteristics, as well as stakeholders with differing information needs, that are not appropriately considered in the traditional financial accounting model;

Competence-based Education and Assessment in the Accounting Profession in Canada and the USA

This chapter describes recent developments in the use of competence frameworks for professional education in the Unites States of America (USA) and Canada, taking the accounting profession as an example. Professional accounting bodies in the USA and Canada, as well as internationally, have developed competence-based professional standards as a basis for professional education, certification, and continuing education. This chapter starts by reviewing the historical development of competence-based approaches in the USA and Canada. Two American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)-supported competence frameworks that are quite different from each other are discussed: one for Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) aimed primarily at educators, and another one for Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) that serves as the basis for the education program and certification. In Canada, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPAC) resulted from the merger of three accounting bodies, all using competence-based approaches. CPAC has a single competence model for CPAs which is also used for professional education and certification, as well as to inform curricula of undergraduate accounting programs. Comparisons are drawn to the International Federation of Accountants’ International Accounting Education Standards addressing competence-based accounting education and outcome-based learning. All three current models include personal attributes and focus on what is needed for effective performance at various levels of proficiency and tend to focus on observable skills. All three also tend to view competencies as activities/skills, although CPA Canada also provides the outcomes of the skills. The CGMA and CPA Canada models also include knowledge requirements and define accounting practice-specific competencies, while the AICPA CPA one does not. Strengths and weaknesses of competence-based approaches in accounting are discussed and current efforts in accounting are compared with the competence-based approach in the medical profession. Finally future directions for competence approaches in accounting are considered.