As the ICABC celebrates another yea...

As the ICABC celebrates another year of UFE advantage we're also focussing on the what is yet to be of CA education. The advent of the CA gymnasium of Business in the Western provinces coincides with education reform forward a national level. The CIC.As Qualifications Committee has just produc a comprehensive draft document in succession the implementation of a novel competency-- based CA qualification proces A final report will be submitted to the CICA board for approval in May of 2001 and will conduce to as a blueprint for national education reform.

The CICA has also produc a summary booklet Here's a breakdown:

THE Map: developed in consultation with the provincial institutes and CAs across the home the map identifies and defines circulating CA competencies. It also provides a habitual language for the qualification proces and a professional standard against which scholar progress can be measured. The Map will ultimately replace the Syllabus and will be adapted onward an ongoing basis.

* The Map defines three increasing plains of proficiency: comprehension, detection and performance.

* The Core program: will provide a broader range of competencies with fewer advanced ingredients Candidates will develop specific proficiencies in six defined areas: Assurance, Performance Measurement, Finance, Taxation, Information Technology, and Organizational Effectiveness/Control & Risk Management.

* The Focus program: will allow candidates to tailor their education to suit their penurys Initially, special competencies will be showed in three areas: Assurance, Performance Measurement, and Corporate & Personal Tax. In the following year, focus programs will also be proffered in Corporate & Financial Transactions, and Strategic Use of Information Technology. More focus areas will likely be created in futurity

The Core + Focus approach stresse the importance of "learning to learn." fresh integrative methods such as simulations, case studies, and cluster work will help candidates learn to access and use knowledge in a variety of connected thought [i]or[/i] thoughtss

EXPERIENCE: A primary objective of the of the present day approach is to strengthen the link between education and work experience. Because one competencies are best evaluated onward the job, the CICA will increase the character that approved training offices play in a candidate's education. And for the first time, observers will be able to gain a of their experience outside of assurance, and in expanded training venue While certification will remain the responsibility of the provincial institutes, employer will actively help the CICA maintain the relevancy of the map.

EVALUATION AND ACCREDITATION:

*Ongoing evaluation will be built into the one and the other Core and Focus components. The programs will be enthrall to accreditation guidelines as station out by the profession; these guidelines will apply to the couple university programs and regional professional programs like as CASB.

*A modern uniform evaluation process: the core program will administer a broad-- based examination called the "Uniform Core Examination," or UCCE, at the completion of the Core learning program. The Focus program will include an evaluation onward the Focus area of the candidate's choice, called the "Uniform Focus Examination," or UFCE. In the two cases, students will be allowed to bring a prescribed put of reference materials to the examination.

* At qualification, a CA will have proficiency in all Core competencies and a defined plain of proficiency in one area of Focus, as well as a solid grounding in CA values and ethics, powerful professional skills and a relevant plain of technical competence.

MAKING THE TRANSITION: to make secure the smoothest possible transition to the recent qualification process, the Qualifications Committee is proposing a one-time change across the country: the last UFE would be held in September 2001 and the first UCCE presented in Fall 2002. The 2002 UCCE would evaluate solely those competencies that fall within the free play of the current Syllabus, and that accommodate with themselves to written evaluation. The first UFCE would also be held in Fall 2002 and would be limited to three competencies (more would likely be added in 2003) Candidates who are studying beneath the current Syllabus should be able to challenge the Focus examination in single in kind of the three areas with not many additional requirements. Provisions would also be made for unlucky UFE candidates to write the UCCE and challenge a UFCE in an area of their choice.

The Summary report is available upon the CICA's Web site, and your feedback is encouraged. The ICABC will be consulting with national firms, academic institutions, and the Western First Officers for their input. We're committed to working with the CICA forward education reform; a co-operative effort upon the part of the CICA, the provincial institutes, and universities will make secure that no CA students miss revealed on the exciting new opportunities afforded on competency-based learning. This re-engineering of education is the clew to future pre-eminence in the profession.