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Paper P3 includes syllabus

capability I 5(c), Advise on the contribution of competency frameworks to human resource development.

This capability is part of thesyllabus section entitled ‘People’which deals with the strategicand operational side of leading,managing and developingpeople in pursuit of wider

organisational objectives.This article explains thepurpose of competencyframeworks for professionals atwork and the benefits of thesefor trainees, qualifying bodies,tuition providers and ultimatelyto business organisations. I referto the accountancy professionby way of example, although the

principles discussed would alsoapply to other professions suchas IT, engineering, procurement,marketing and personnel anddevelopment.

Wt t?Organisations operate in aclimate of considerable change,often in highly competitive

markets and have ever-increasingdemands made upon them bytheir stakeholders and by thecapital markets within whichthey operate.

More than ever before, thereis a need for professionalsat work to make a moreeffective contribution, almostimmediately after appointment

and to continuously improve theirperformance at work over time.The way this can be achievedis to ensure that those in work

are appropriately qualified and

trained to carry out their rolesresponsibly and competently.Professional competency is

defined as:

The ability to perform a work role toa defined standard with referenceto real working environments.(IFAC, 2001)

Wt t w?Competency frameworks areused as a benchmark forprofessional bodies to ensurethat their members possessrelevant and up-to-date skillswhich allow them to undertaketheir role competently andeffectively. These frameworksare designed on the basis of

consultation with a number ofstakeholders including trainees,qualified members, tuitionproviders, employers, and tradeand professional associations.This consultation can take theform of surveys, focus groupsor critical incident reporting.This consultation process helpsto ensure that the competences

developed in students andtrainee professionals are relevant,practical and up to date.

The International Federation

of Accountants (IFAC), ACCAand other global professionalaccountancy bodies havedeveloped and used competencyframeworks to guide educationand training practice. Increasingly,government agencies usecompetency frameworks(sometimes known as occupationalstandards) as a basis for

consistent and flexible qualificationframeworks, where qualificationsfrom different professions arerequired to include competencesrelating to these occupationalstandards to ensure that thosequalified are ‘fit for the role’ andcan make an immediate andcontinuing contribution at work.

IFAC has specified

competences and skills requiredin professional accountants inIES 3, Professional Skills and General Education effective from1 January 2005.

IES 3 groups together fivebroad sets of skills professionalaccountants require. Within thesemain groupings, the particularskills to be acquired are specified

as follows:1 Intellectual skillsa Ability to locate, obtain,

organise and understandinformation from human,print and electronic sources

b Capacity for inquiry,research, logical andanalytical thinking,powers of reasoning and

critical analysisc Ability to identify and solveunstructured problems whichmay be in unfamiliar settings

competency

   T   h   i   s   a

   r   T   i   c   l   e   e   x   p   l   a   i   n   s

   T   h   e   p   u   r   p   o   s   e   o   f   c   o   m   p   e   T   e   n   c   y   f

   r   a   m   e   W   o   r   k   s   f   o   r   p   r   o   f   e   s   s   i   o   n   a   l   s

   a   T   W   o   r   k   a   n   d   T   h   e   b   e   n   e   f   i   T   s   o   f   T   h   e   s   e

   f   o   r   T   r   a   i   n   e   e   s ,   q   u   a   l   i   f   y   i   n   g   b   o   d

   i   e   s ,   T   u   i   T   i   o   n

   p   r   o   v   i   d   e   r   s   a   n   d   u   l   T   i   m

   a   T   e   l   y   T   o   b   u   s   i   n   e   s   s   o   r   g   a   n   i   s   a   T   i   o   n   s .

The role o compeTency rameWorks in improving

01 Technical

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Studying Paper P3?p jt 7, 8 9

2 Technical and functional skills

a Numeracy (mathematicaland statistical applications)and IT proficiency

b Decision modelling andrisk analysis

c Measurementd Reportinge Compliance with legislative

and regulatory requirements3 Personal skills

a Self-managementb Initiative influence andself learning

c Ability to select and prioritisewithin restricted resourcesand tight deadlines

d Ability to anticipate andadapt to change

e Consider implications ofprofessional value, ethics and

attitudes to decision makingf Professional scepticism4 Interpersonal and

communication skillsa Work with others in a

consultative process towithstand and resolve conflict

b Work in teamsc Interact with culturally and

intellectually diverse people

d Negotiate acceptablesolutions and agreements inprofessional situations

e Work effectively in across-cultural setting

f Present, discuss, reportand defend viewseffectively through formal,informal, written andspoken communication

g Listen and readeffectively, includingsensitivity to cultural andlanguage differences

5 Organisational and business

management skillsa Strategic planning,project management, ofpeople and resources anddecision making

b The ability to organise anddelegate tasks, to motivateand to develop people

c Leadershipd Professional judgment

and discernment

The main area relevant to PaperP3 is the last of the above areas

 – organisational and businessmanagement skills. Paper P3covers these skills and someothers specified in IES 3, withinthe main sections of its syllabus.Figure 1 on the next page shows

the relationship diagram of PaperP3, Business Analysis.The Paper P3 syllabus

covers competences thataccountants need in thebusiness management areasunder strategic management inSections A, B, C; it covers skillsrequired in relation to changeand conflict within personal

skills and interpersonal skillsin Section D. Section E dealswith the technical IT skillsspecified in the standard, andSections F and H address othertechnical skills. Sections G andI relate to the business andmanagement skills of projectand people management.

   T   h   e   d

   e   v   e   l   o   p   m   e   n   T   o   f   a   c   o   m   p   e   T   e   n   c   y   f   r   a   m   e   W   o   r   k   r   e   q   u   i   r   e   s   a

   p   r   o   c

   e   s   s   s   T   a   r   T   i   n   g   W

   i   T   h   a   d   e   T   a   i   l   e   d

   a   n   a   l   y   s   i   s   o   f   T

   h   e   e   n   v   i   r   o   n   m   e   n   T

   i   n   W   h

   i   c   h   T   h   e   p   r   o   f   e   s

   s   i   o   n   a   l   o   p   e   r   a   T   e   s ,   i   d   e   n   T   i   f   y   i   n   g   T   h   e   k   e   y   r   o   l   e   s

   a   n   d   r

   e   s   p   o   n   s   i   b   i   l   i   T   i   e   s   a   n   d   s   u   b  -   d   i   v   i   d   i   n   g   T   h   e   s   e   r   o   l   e   s   i   n

   T   o   T   a   s   k   s .

frameworksd

t wThe development of acompetency framework requiresa process starting with a detailedanalysis of the environment inwhich the professional operates,identifying the key roles andresponsibilities and sub-dividingthese roles into tasks, specifyingthe attributes required for these

tasks to be completed to adefined standard.From this analysis, a set

of defined standards for theidentified tasks can be developedwhich are measurable andverifiable. Such measures used todetermine competence must bevalid, reliable, relevant, practicaland transferable. By transferable,

this means that the measureshould verify that the task couldbe carried out by the personassessed, to the defined standardin a range of working contextsand settings other than thecontext in which the measure wasoriginally taken. The measuresused for assessing competencecan include on-the-job tests,

observation, simulations, andwritten exams.

bft t wThere are a number of benefitsthat can be obtained fromdeveloping relevant competencyframeworks for professionals atwork. These are as follows:

perormance aT Work relevanT To paper p3

sTudenT accounTanT 09/2009 02

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¤ They provide clear guidanceto professional qualifyingbodies, tuition providers andemployers on how to developand assess competence, andhow to maintain and updatethese competences during themember’s working life.

¤ They establish defined,consistent and currentstandards or attributes

required to undertakeprofessional roles competently,which are transferable from onecontext of the role to another.

¤ They can add value in theworkplace by allowing a gapanalysis between actualperformance levels and thedefined standards, to bettertarget relevant training and

development programmes atthose who need it.

   W   e   l   l  -   r   e   s   e   a   r   c   h   e   d   a   n

   d   a   p   p   r   o   p   r   i   a   T   e   l   y   d   e   s   i   g   n   e   d   p   r   o

   f   e   s   s   i   o   n   a   l   c   o   m

   p   e   T   e   n   c   y

   f   r   a   m   e   W   o   r   k   s   s   e   T   a   c   o   n   s   i   s   T   e   n   T   b   e   n   c

   h   m   a   r   k   f   o   r   q   u   a

   l   i   f   y   i   n   g   o   r   g   a   n   i   s   a   T   i   o   n   s ,   T   u   i   T   i   o   n

   p   r   o   v   i   d   e   r   s   a   n   d   e   m   p   l   o   y   e   r   s   T   o   s   e   T   m   i   n   i   m   u   m   d   e   f   i   n   e   d

   s   T   a   n   d   a   r   d   s   o   f

   p   e   r   f   o

   r   m   a   n   c   e   a   T   W   o

   r   k .

¤ Employers and businessorganisations that support andengage with their employees intraining and development willbenefit from more effective,efficient and motivatedemployees, who will contributeto increased performance,productivity and profitability.

c

Business organisations are madeup of a number of departmentsand functional areas whichthemselves are formed ofindividuals. These individuals, oftenwith professional responsibilitiesin such areas as procurement,production, marketing, accountingand other support services mustbe appropriately qualified and

trained to undertake their rolesefficiently and effectively. This

is necessary to ensure that theorganisation remains competitiveand continues to meet itsobligations to stakeholders and thecapital markets.

Well-researched andappropriately designedprofessional competencyframeworks set a consistentbenchmark for qualifyingorganisations, tuition providers

and employers to set minimumdefined standards of performanceat work. Professionals who strive tomeet and exceed these standardswill contribute to increasedproductivity and to the greaterflexibility and adaptability of theprofessional workforce, whichprovides benefits for all concerned.

 

Gareth Owen is qualificationsdevelopment manager at ACCA

People (I)

Businessprocess

change (D)

Informationtechnology

(E)

Qualityissues

(F)

Projectmanagement

(G)

Financialanalysis

(H)

Strategic action (C)Strategic choices (B)Strategic position (A)

igure 1: relaTionship diagram o paper p3, business analysis 

03 Technical