As companies embrace emerging and leading technologies, many accounting professionals continue to play catch-up when implementing them in their service delivery (whether in public or private accounting) and advising their stakeholders on how to manage risks. Many are still trying to understand the impact of robotic process automation (RPA), blockchain, and more sophisticated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The evolution, acceptance, and implementation of artificial intelligence greatly challenges the requisite skills professionals need to competently fulfill their service obligations to the various stakeholders the profession serves.
Traditionally, professional licenses and certifications served both the public—including stakeholders—and the practitioner. In the accounting profession, the CPA license is required to perform regulated services as prescribed by governmental agencies. The AICPA also states that achieving the CPA is more than just satisfying governmental requirements. Per its website, “Earning the CPA license is a significant achievement, signaling to the world that you have a deep understanding of accounting principles, ethics, tax laws, auditing procedures, and financial management” (https://tinyurl.com/2emvn68s).
The scope of services provided by CPAs, whether in public or private, continues to expand beyond the scope of the CPA Exam, license, preparatory educational degrees, and relevant continuing professional education courses. For CPA firms, this practice expansion from “licensed” required services, including, but not limited to, assurance and audit, has expanded to performance management, client accounting, business services (outsourcing), risk advisory (including financial forensics and cybersecurity), and technology consulting. Additionally, tax-related services, including personal financial planning and corporate tax issues, have their own niche educational and training requirements. Stakeholders increasingly demand that those providing advisory services demonstrate their capabilities, and that validated practitioner skills can enhance stakeholder confidence. For some professionals, it is not external validation, but rather the knowledge that they have developed the expertise and that a certification authority has validated it. Traditional and popular licensing and certification exams have attempted to meet this evolving technological environment by expanding coverage of technology-related topics (e.g., CPA Evolution). Management accountants must hone their technology-related skills in order to address heightened competency expectations. The IMA’s recently expanded competency framework highlights the evolving market and the need for management accountants to develop digital transformation, emerging technologies, and cybersecurity skills (https://tinyurl.com/2hdfjadj).
Additional Certifications Within the Accounting Profession
In December 2020, the Texas Society of CPA’s Today’s CPA published “Additional Certifications for CPAs,” which identified “opportunities within the accounting profession where CPAs might be employed. Each requires additional specialized skillsets and thus, CPAs might benefit from obtaining additional certifications” (https://tinyurl.com/55nk63t6). The article includes a list of potential specialty areas for the accountant and a primary certification identified for each. The areas identified included international accounting (CGMA), management accounting (CMA), Internal Audit (CIA), Accounting Information Systems (CISA), Governmental Accounting (CGFM), Healthcare Accounting (CHFP), Fraud Accounting (CFE), and Financial Planning (CFP).
Robert Half—a prominent accounting recruiting, employment, and management consulting firm—produces various publications to inform the accounting community of important trends. One such publication is its annual “US Salary Guide for Accounting Professionals.” In its article, “Accounting Certifications Employers Really Want to See,” they provide a market-driven perspective of their observations on what types of additional accounting certifications employers seek (https://tinyurl.com/26s2fzvy).
The AICPA has developed five specialty credentials to supplement the CPA’s knowledge. Per its website, the AICPA suggests reasons that practitioners should obtain a credential as “a career-booster, providing you with professional recognition to distinguish yourself and promote a lasting influence on your clients or organization. With credentials, you enhance your marketability, demonstrating your confidence, competence, and commitment to continued learning” (https://tinyurl.com/nzbmshd6). Current specialty credentials include Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), and Certified in the Valuation of Financial Instruments (CVFI). The financial-related credentials appear to have garnered some market recognition. Although appreciated by the accounting community, the CITP does not appear to be as widely recognized by information technology departments, yet it was included in the Robert Half list identified above.
How Technology Certifications Differ from Accounting
Although debated periodically, a professional license is not required by any state to participate in professional information technology activities. Proponents of a license for technology professionals argued that stakeholders and technology practitioners could promote the public interest by demonstrating competency and completing mandatory continuing education. Others argued that technology should not be a licensed profession and that the market should dictate what evidence a technology professional should provide to an employer or other stakeholder to demonstrate competency. This latter argument eventually won and laid the foundation for how information technology certifications evolved into what they are today.
Other issues facing information technology stakeholders and professionals include the vast number of specialties, disciplines, and evolving developments that impact the need for rapid deployment of training and a means to determine whether an individual is qualified in the area they are working in or plan to work in. This is a critical difference in needs that accountants may not appreciate. Another is the lack of a professional association comparable to those in accounting (with notable exceptions for information security and computer science professionals). As a result, technology-related certifications can be divided into three categories: technical mastery, general knowledge, and professional.
Technical mastery. Technical mastery primarily includes vendor-dependent and sponsored certifications. These certifications provide a framework that enables individuals to follow a course of study. Sponsored by a technology vendor, the certification shows the individual’s competence in the scope of the testing material. For example, many accounting professionals are familiar with the QuickBooks Certified Pro Advisor program. Although certification is not required to provide QuickBooks advisor services, obtaining it offers practitioners various benefits (https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/training-certification/certification). These include enhanced knowledge of the software, a closer relationship with the software vendor, and evidence for the client that the practitioner has met the vendor’s knowledge requirements for using its products. Another example includes Microsoft offerings that provide courses of various durations to help individuals learn the fundamentals of a particular Microsoft product, including how to use it in business, as well as more extensive certifications needed to qualify for certain technical positions (https://tinyurl.com/2ejyfst8). Google Career Certificates, including the popular data analytics professional certificate, provide another example of vendor-sponsored development programs (https://tinyurl.com/3eutajkx).
General knowledge. Often, particularly for practitioners working with multiple clients or divisions within enterprises, they need something beyond specific expertise in multiple software applications or products. This knowledge requirement usually centers around a topic. Representative topics include artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity, and data analytics. Like professional certifications, these credentials require focused study, an examination (not always with a proctor), and many do not require renewal.
Of particular interest to the risk management community are certificates focused on the scope of activities performed within the accounting profession. Some of these certificates may also carry continuing professional education (CPE) credits, subject to the rules and regulations of the particular state. Typically, several CPE courses are bundled to allow one to obtain a certificate sponsored by the professional organization. These include IMAs “Cybersecurity and Data Practices” and “Data Analytics and Visualization” (https://tinyurl.com/3zw84sst). AICPA offerings include “Data Analytics Core Concepts” and “Cybersecurity Advisory Services” (https://tinyurl.com/55wmau5z). The IIA also offers technology-related certificates, including “Auditing the Cybersecurity Program” and “AI-Enabled Coordinated Assurance” (https://tinyurl.com/y5xs783v). The downside of these certificates is that they are foundational and, as intended, provide a relatively quick introduction to the subject matter.
Both ISC2 (a leading membership association for cybersecurity professionals that sponsors the CISSP credential) and ISACA (sponsor of the CISA, which has now expanded into digital trust fields such as information security, governance, assurance, risk, privacy, and quality) also offer certificate programs. The ISC2 certificates function similarly to the accounting association certificates identified above. Many CPAs will find these certificates challenging, as they build upon assumed foundational cybersecurity or similar knowledge. Other security-focused certificates can be seen at https://tinyurl.com/mu28jxa6. A good way to think of these certificates is that they are intermediate level. Technology risk practitioners will obtain these certificates not for the certificates themselves, but for the knowledge they provide. Still, for the relevant CPE (subject to state board approval), they can earn on the topics they need to learn quickly.
ISACA takes a different approach to its certificate program. Through its validation process—which includes a proctored exam—practitioners not only demonstrate their learning, but also prove to themselves and stakeholders, especially employers seeking demonstrative skills, that they have grasped the knowledge. ISACA sponsors certificates, focusing on helping practitioners develop expertise in a specific area, including AI, blockchain, cybersecurity audit, and cloud. Further information can be found at https://tinyurl.com/mrxrmb8m.
Although not traditionally thought of as training for accountants, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), such as Coursera, edX, and Udemy offer significant opportunities for professionals to expand their knowledge of business technology. For example, Coursera offers combinations of courses that could lead to a certificate or specialization. Examples include “Artificial Intelligence in Finance and Wealth Management Specialization” and “Accounting Data Analytics Specialization.” These specializations typically provide more in-depth coverage of a topic, although many are not available for state board-approved CPE credit.
Professional. Like accounting, certain technology fields emphasize professional certifications that demonstrate a combination of education, experience, knowledge, ethics, and the holder’s willingness to maintain skills through mandatory continuing education. CompTIA, EC-Council, SANS, ISC2, and ISACA are probably the more popular organizations providing a “non-vendor” professional designation or certification. Each organization provides certifications across multiple technology areas.
CompTIA, EC-Council, and SANS focus on providing technical education and are typically geared toward the technology community, with beginner certifications and an approach that evolves through a technology career lifecycle for more advanced topics (https://tinyurl.com/37ux93n9; https://tinyurl.com/3h8ycctd; https://tinyurl.com/4f7vb37w). Typically, a technology professional will participate in the organization’s training for the certification they are pursuing. Candidates can obtain the knowledge themselves, however, and attempt the exam. Once achieved, mandatory continuing education must be taken.
ISC2 and ISACA offer popular certifications in technology (especially cybersecurity), governance, and risk management. Both models are comparable to accounting certifications and are member-supported, functioning similarly to accounting-related professional associations, including conducting research, offering continuing education, publishing, and local chapters. Both offer multiple certifications and are well-known and regarded for their original certifications. For ISC2, the very popular CISSP is frequently requested in job postings seeking cybersecurity professionals (https://tinyurl.com/4uksdhuw). Since ISACA started as a professional association serving the needs of IT auditors, its certification offerings, led by the CISA (focused on IT Auditing) and the CISM (for information security managers), tend to focus on governance, risk, and compliance issues (https://tinyurl.com/2dsu8wkt). Recent developments at ISACA include an artificial intelligence-focused credential that requires a related prerequisite credential (the CPA qualifies for the AI Audit certification). Per the website, “ISACA has been designated the official CMMC Assessor & Instructor Certification Organization (CAICO), serving as the credentialing authority for the US Department of War’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program.”
Where to Start?
It can be overwhelming to chart a course to acquire new and relevant technology skills. Individual paths will be dictated by existing knowledge and by what an individual hopes to accomplish. Within firms, CPAs who do not focus on technology advisory-related issues would probably be best served by vendor-sponsored software training and single-target CPE courses. Financial managers may be more interested in developing a working understanding of the risks involved and in learning to use their organization’s technology more effectively. For them, technical mastery, or something related to the accounting profession, may be the optimal path. MOOC-type courses, professional association certificates, and ERP vendor training would be a good place to start, and it would also be a good choice for corporate job changers. For those focusing on technology-related accounting concerns, including IT auditors, risk managers, and governance professionals, a professional certification with its ongoing annual financial and development commitment would probably be the best choice. ISACA certifications could meet the need, depending on the role and the area of focus (IT audit, information security, artificial intelligence), which is best for those with technology-related service delivery obligations.
