Practical Experience Requirements

Transcription

1 Practical Experience Requirements Hello. My name is Tim Forristal, and I am the CICA s Vice President of Education. I m here to provide you with an overview of recent changes to the CA profession s practical experience requirements. These changes are laid out in the CICA publication which you received recently from your provincial institute or Ordre. This publication addresses two significant issues: First, the application of our new competency standards to the practical experience component of the CA qualification process, and Second, the supervision and reporting requirements which approved training offices must provide. These revisions took effect August 31, They apply to all Approved Training Offices for all CA candidates registering with their provincial institute or ordre after that date. We encourage approved training offices to adopt these revised requirements for candidates who registered before that date as well. Please note that this presentation is intended only as an overview of the revised requirements. Refer to our publication and to your Institute or Ordre for complete details. If your firm is an approved training office, and you haven t received a copy of CA Practical Experience Requirements, please contact your provincial Institute or Ordre. 1

2 You can also download the document from the CICA s website. You may be wondering why we have revised the profession s practical experience requirements. The answer is that it is an integral part of the changes to our qualification process which we have been implementing over the last few years. Our new competency-based qualification process is based on The CA Candidate s Competency Map, first released in 2002, and updated annually since then. The new qualification process values the practical experience element of CA qualification very highly. The new requirements emphasize the need for candidates to have adequate opportunities to develop the core workplace They also stress the importance of the relationship between the practical experience and formal academic training. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that every CA candidate has the opportunity during their term of practical experience to acquire and demonstrate the standards and expectations of a new CA as laid out in The CA Candidate s Competency Map. So what are the new requirements? First and foremost, it is important to note what has not changed. The new requirements make no changes to the term of practical experience, or to the standard hour requirements as they now stand. 2

3 What has changed is the following: First, there is a new focus on making sure candidates have sufficient opportunity to develop a range of CA Employers will be required to certify that candidates experience meets the competency requirements of their provincial institute or Ordre. Second, the competency-based approach enhances the role of supervisors and formal mentoring is encouraged. And finally, emphasis on competency development highlights the flexibility within the more formal chargeable hour requirements. There is significant flexibility both in terms of the variety of experience that meets the hour requirements, and in the formal recognition of training in industry and international secondments. We are also introducing a new computerized application to help candidates keep track of their competency development. It s called CA Log, and while its use is optional, we expect many candidates, especially those with smaller firms, will find it very helpful. I ll tell you more about the CA Log later. Let s begin by looking at the definition of an Approved Training Office that is, of an office of a CA firm recognized by the profession to train CA candidates. Note that this definition is essentially unchanged. 3

4 There are five key characteristics of an approved training office. The CA firm must: be in good standing with its provincial institute or order; It must offer a working environment suitable to prepare a CA candidate to become a CA; It must be able to provide candidates with sufficient chargeable hours under the appropriate supervision of an experienced CA It must provide appropriate supervision and training, and It must provide appropriate access to its provincial institute or Ordre for practice inspection. Approved training offices are limited in the number of CA candidates they may have on staff at any one time. An approved training office may employ three CA candidates for every CA employee/partner in the office. But while the key characteristics of a training office have not changed, we are now requiring Approved Training Offices to focus on the CA competencies laid out in The CA Candidates Competency Map. This means that all approved training offices need a working knowledge of the Map and the competencies it describes. Candidates must be instructed in the pervasive ethical behaviour and professionalism that define the CA profession. They must also be exposed to a significant range of CA technical We also expect that candidates will have the opportunity to work with a variety of clients, and to take on increasing responsibility over the course of their practice experience term. 4

5 The new Practical Experience requirements lay out precise expectations for the supervision and evaluation that Approved Training Offices are expected to provide. First, all candidates must be actively supervised by a fully qualified CA at all times. They must also receive regular, constructive performance evaluation. Candidates need this kind of supervision and input to ensure they have every possible opportunity to develop the required CA Further, supervisors are expected to encourage candidates to take initiative in charting the paths of their own professional development. This will help the candidates build a solid foundation for independent career-long learning that will be critical to their longterm success as a CA. Many approved training offices have formal assessment processes in place to assist in personal and career development, and as I mentioned earlier, we are introducing a new computerized selfassessment tool called CA Log that has a role to play. The Log will be provided to all registered candidates in the fall of We also encourage approved training offices to assign mentors to their CA candidates. The mentor s role is to act as a guide, coach and role model, and to help the candidate prepare for the UFE. Let s take a look at the profession s new competency standards. 5

6 The CA Candidates Competency Map lays out the profession s competency standards for the newly qualified CA. They include two kinds of competencies: Specific or technical competencies which are organized into six areas and pervasive skills which all candidates are expected develop. All Approved Training Offices should be fully informed of both the range of competencies, and the proficiency levels which candidates are expected to demonstrate in each competency. With regard to the specific competencies, approved training offices are expected to provide candidates with experience in a range of competencies within their 2,500 experience hours. While they are not expected to provide experience opportunities in all competencies, Approved Training Offices must be able to provide a sufficient range of competency development opportunities. It is expected that candidates will be able to develop the required proficiency levels in some competencies through their academic and professional development programs. With regard to the pervasive qualities, Approved Training Offices are expected to model and to support the development of these skills and values for all candidates. These are the hows of our profession, the skills and values that underlie and enable us to deliver on our commitment to excellence and the public interest. 6

7 Even with the move to competency development, we will continue to use the term of practical experience and number of hours of practical experience as a proxy for candidate development. Hours provide objective, comparable and reliable assessment measures. There have been no changes to the total hour requirements for CA candidates. CA candidates will continue to be required to report a total of 2500 chargeable hours. Candidates must complete their work experience in 24 to 30 months, depending on which province they are practicing in. Within this overall hour requirement, provincial institutes and the Ordre have each established minimum hour requirements in assurance services, audit engagements and taxation services for licensing purposes. You should refer to the specific requirements of your provincial Institute or Ordre when you have questions. Provincial regulations have priority over the information in this publication and this presentation. Approved Training Offices will continue to certify the total number of experience hours gained by the candidate, and the nature of these hours that is, the number of hours spent in assurance, audit and tax. They are NOT required to certify that the candidate has developed specific CA 7

8 Indeed, there are no minimum requirements for candidates to complete experience hours in any competency area. Hours will still be tracked by engagement or assignment. The hour requirement relates to the number of hours on an engagement or assignment, and not to the development of a particular competency. Employers are encouraged to provide candidates with a variety of assignments and engagements to help them acquire and demonstrate a broad range of Let s take a closer look at the integration of competency development with the recording of experience hours. Hours remain the objective measure of experience gained. But the revised requirements focus on making sure candidates have plenty of opportunity to develop the required CA competencies within those hours on an assignment. Every assignment includes opportunities for the candidate to develop a number of individual Consider an audit engagement. The average audit engagement is a complex assignment requiring a range of competencies from any or all of the six CA specific competency areas. Thus candidates working on audits are developing not just assurance skills as defined in the Competency Map, but may also be developing their tax, performance measurement or IT Engagements are therefore an opportunity to develop competencies, not just record hours. The new approach records hours but focuses on competency development with the candidate. 8

9 Candidates can acquire and demonstrate a range of specific competencies in different kinds of assignments. It is not as difficult to offer the opportunity to develop and acquire a range of competencies from the Competency Map as one might think. A candidate can gain tax competencies while working on audit engagements, for example, and assurance competencies while working on tax assignments. Of course the assignment s hours should only be counted once. This flexibility allows for very different experience profiles from a competency perspective. Here are some concrete examples of the variety of competency development available to employers and candidates. All candidates are required to obtain a minimum number of hours in assurance and tax. Candidate A is the traditional audit and assurance candidate, gaining audit and assurance experience beyond the minimum. Candidate B emphasizes development of tax Candidate C emphasizes the development of IT Candidate D has concentrated on the Finance Note the differences in the experience mix of each of these four CA candidates yet all four have met the profession s practical experience requirements. The revised practical experience requirements also formally recognize the practice of placing candidates on secondment. Approved training offices may now place candidates in secondments in industry, government, or internationally for up to one third of their practical experience term. Secondments provide candidates with opportunities to develop and demonstrate competencies they might not otherwise have had. 9

10 The conditions under which secondments count towards the candidate s experience hours are clearly laid out. Essentially, secondment experience counts when candidates continue to be the responsibility of the approved training office, and when all requirements regarding work environment, supervision and reporting are met. The emphasis on practical experience as an opportunity for candidates to acquire and demonstrate competencies will affect approved training offices. What are the profession s supervision and reporting requirements for Approved Training Offices? The basic requirements continue unchanged, as follows. All candidates must be properly supervised at all times. Overall supervision must still be provided by a CA who is a member in good standing with a provincial institute or ordre. While all supervisors of audit and assurance assignments must be CAs, this requirement is relaxed on other types of assignments, such as tax, IT and finance. Assignment supervisors must, however, be competent both technically and in the area of supervision. All overall supervisors and assignment supervisors must have a working knowledge of the profession s practical experience requirements effective August 31, To help approved training offices in implementation, we have provided an outline of a review process to assess competency development. Section 5.5 of the new publication is provided as guidance, not a requirement. I mentioned, the computerized tool CA log will also be helpful in this area. Its use is also encouraged, but not required. 10

11 There is one significant addition to the reporting requirements for Approved Training Offices. Approved training offices will be required to certify that the candidate s practical experience fulfills their Institute or Ordre s competency requirements. What does this mean? First, it means that the candidate has obtained practical experience in a range of the specific competencies as laid out in the CA Candidates Competency Map. Candidates are not expected to gain experience in all of the competencies, but in as broad a range as possible. Second, it means that each candidate has had formal reviews of their competency development with their supervisor. And third, it means that the candidate was adequately supervised at all times during their employment, including during any period of secondment. Approved training offices will NOT be required to provide their institute or Ordre with any subjective assessment of the candidate s actual competency achievement. I ve mentioned several times that we have developed a new computerized application to help candidates assess their progress in developing the CA This application is called CA Log, and it will be provided to all registered candidates in the fall of

12 What is CA Log? The CA Log is a software application that helps candidates create and manage their own personalized pathways to proficiency in each of the CA Please note that use of the Log is completely voluntary. It should not create additional work for employers, nor is it intended to replace any existing assessment and reporting processes. Our preliminary discussions with approved training offices indicate that the CA Log may prove especially useful to those firms with less formal assessment and personal development reporting processes. All registered CA candidates will be able to load CA Log onto their computers, via a CD ROM distributed by the provincial institutes and Ordre To use the Log, the candidate begins by answering a simple questionnaire that collects key information. The Log will enable candidates to Track their progress in developing all CA competencies, Track their experience hours; and See their progress at a glance. 12

13 The Log comes complete with a software tutorial to get candidates up and running with the program As well as a comprehensive help menu to deal with any problems that may arise. CA Log is designed to help candidates track the development of their proficiency in all the CA Further, it is fully referenced to the CA Candidates Competency Map, and provides instant access to resources and explanations. Candidates can use the Log to drill down to all the required Questions prompt them to assess their progress against the proficiency standards in the Competency Map. The Log uses a simple colour code to show at a glance areas where further work is required. Green boxes indicate that, in the candidate s selfassessment, he or she has achieved the required proficiency level. 13

14 CA Log also provides a planning tool to encourage candidates to develop concrete plans to address identified gaps in their development of CA CA Log is not a time recording system, but it does allow candidates to monitor their experience hours quickly and easily. Finally, the Log produces a number of reports on the candidate s progress. These will be useful for both the candidate and his or her supervisor and mentor, for assessing progress to date, and for planning future assignments. That concludes my overview of the profession s newly revised practical experience requirements and its shift to a competency based certification process. Note that this presentation is intended only as an overview of the revised requirements. Please refer to our documentation for complete details. Approved training offices continue to play a key role in the development of new CAs. The practical experience a candidate receives is the difference that makes a difference for our profession. We encourage you to take the time to understand these changes and work with your candidates in their development as CAs. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Institute or Ordre. Thank you for your time and attention. 14