Training the MAS Practitioner

TRAINING THE MASS PRACTITIONER Acquiring new clients and, more important, retaining current ones are critical to the success of all CPAs - from sole practitioners to the largest firms. Competition for clients is fierce and everyone is looking for an edge. One edge that's often overlooked is training for the CPA in consulting skills. Most firms provide training to their consulting staff, either in internally developed programs or ones purchased from outside sources. However, most of this training is industry- or function-driven to support the practitioner's current proficiencies or future goals. The new consultants (including internal company consultants as well as those with CPA firms) usually are able to obtain technical training, but what about general consulting skills training? What about project management, business development and human resource issues? Some firms provide such training, but are they providing what's needed when it's needed? Both experienced CPAs and those new to consulting need more than on-the-job training to become proficient. THE CURRENT APPROACH A new consultant should be aware of all aspects of an MAS engagement. As a consulting professional advances in his or her MAS career, this awareness should lead to mastery. On-the-job training and previous experience and education contribute to achieving mastery, but the process may be accelerated and skills improved with appropriate and timely training. New full-time consultants usually receive some general and basic MAS training during the first year of practice. This is sometimes referred to as core training. Within about three to five years, they become managers, at which time they receive management training. Professionals have been and will continue to be successful using this method, but it makes more sense to fill the gap between initial and management MAS training. Technical training alone does not achieve this goal. The following is an example of the kind of strategically planned MAS core training program that should be offered. INITIAL TRAINING A typical approach provides initial MAS training that may last a day or two - and may even be a self-study program - within the first few weeks on the job. This initial training addresses the more routine issues in the firm's consulting practice, including the following: * The history and structure of the firm. * The MAS provided. * The professional consulting environment. * Policies and procedures. * Career planning. * Available in-house resources and how they are used in practice. This training also presents any ethical or legal issues that pertain to the consultant's new firm and the accounting profession. Although these topics aren't directly related to MAS, they provide useful background information. Some of these initial training programs also offer an overview of an MAS engagement cycle and other activities directly related to the client engagement process. THE NEXT STEP The next level of core training usually occurs three to six months after the employee is hired, allowing him or her time to have become familiar with the basics of a client engagement. The detailed training for engagement-related activities is usually reserved for a more intense, instructor-led session lasting from one to two weeks. The MAS engagement-related skills provided in this core training may include * Engagement planning and control. * Problem definition. * Preproposal - proposal overview. * Objectives, scope and approach. * Fact-finding and problem analysis. * Diagnostic interviewing. * Problem solving. * Selecting and selling recommendations. These topics are illustrated with actual client examples or case studies. The training may go beyond daytime class hours, using the evening hours for work on the examples and case studies and to stimulate the intensity and time demands of an actual engagement. …