My experience in passing the CPA exam - a simple example of how using the right performance metrics  in preparing for the CPA exam enabled me to successfully pass it.

Background

At the time I took the CPA exam it consisted of 4 parts, Practice, Theory, Audit and Law.   Under rules that allowed partial credit for parts passed, I was able to get through every part except the Practice section.  Despite repeated attempts, I had no luck passing this part.

Finally, following receipt of my graduate degree in accounting, I was hired on the audit staff of a Big Eight CPA firm (now the Big Four).  As soon as I started to work there at the end of the summer following my graduation, I realized the credits I had for sections of the CPA exam I had passed would expire if I didn’t pass the the remaining Practice section on the upcoming November exam.

A colleague at the office where I started working suggested I use the Gleim CPA review book for the Practice part of the exam.  Realizing the limited time I had to prepare and having never tried the Gleim materials, I bought them and started to work.

How changing the performance metrics I used to prepare enabled me to finally pass the Practice section of the CPA exam

Previously, in preparing for the exam, I based my preparation progress on how many hours I studied per day.  What I came to realize was that to be successful in the Practice section meant the ability to solve many mathematical problems applying accounting principles and practices in a limited allowable period of time.  Merely reading the principles and problem examples was not effective in preparing me to actually work through and solve the exam problems quickly and accurately.

Using Gleim, I changed my performance metrics from hours spent reading the materials each day to number of practice problems solved correctly out of the total problems attempted each day  and the time it took to complete each problem.  Using these metrics I was able through repeated practice to solve problems similar to what I encountered on the exam within the limited time permitted to complete them.  As a result, I finally completed the practice section with a score that exceeded the minimum required to pass the exam.

Conclusion  Using the right performance metrics prepared me to become a CPA by utilizing my limited preparation time in a more effective way than I previously had.   Finding and applying the right performance metrics can make the difference between success and failure in how you decide to invest resources, either in time or money.

Getting change right

ERP implementation is in no way a “fill in the blanks” process. It will vary for each company undergoing the implementation’s resulting process and responsibility changes, in part based upon the company’s current state at the time the new system implementation occurs.

Getting buy-in

- Avoid overlooking employees impacted by the deployment of the new ERP application including all:

1. (1) financial, line and staff employees
2. (2) employees dealing with changes to duties and responsibilities
   
3. (3) employees receiving reporting with content or format impacts
   

- Involve all employes identified above in meetings including -

1. (1) one on one
2. (2) groups
3. (3) web or podcast based tutorials
4. (4) surveys

- Actively listen to and respond to employee concerns and when a recommended change is opposed by an employee, be sure to clearly communicate the reason why the change is recommended even though not agreed to.

- Target the message so it is clear to the entire user community. Make sure it is as clear to any impacted employee as to the ERP application’s power users. Make sure that the message clearly describes:

1. (1) the technology underlying the change
   
2. (2) the particular impact of that change on the employee whether it’s
3. simply a change to the format of an existing report, or a major change to an employee’s area of responsiblity

- Employee involvement must be part of the entire project lifecycle starting with the requirement development through all post implementation testing.

Conclusion

To minimize the risk of losing the many benefits of the new ERP application by it’s becoming shelfware, it’s critical to the greatest extent possible that the people will be living with the consequences of its implementation embrace and not reject the resulting change.

Getting needed the information tailored to make your business decisions

Timeworn expressions about not seeing the forest for the trees and looking for a needle in a haystack certainly predates the modern business environment. However, these sayings often remain relevant to a wide range of business decision makers and analysts searching among vast quantities of business data for information to guide critical business decisions. Certainly, relevance of the information to answering questions presented by the particular business decisions to be made is the key requirement, following are some additional factors in evaluating business information:

• 1. Timeliness – If two of the top five gross margin producing customers from the previous quarter are in an industry that’s been negatively impacted by a recent event, is that adverse information being provided along with the list of gross margin by customer?
• 2. Validity – Again using the previous example of the top five gross margin producing customers, what if three of these customers were among the slowest to pay off their accounts receivable? Is this also being considered in evaluating the overall profitability of these customers?
• 3. Reliability – Again, looking at the top five gross margin producing customers, what if the customers’ sales revenue, a key variable in determining gross margin was improperly overstated by a factor of ten through a miscalculation of the exchange rate?

While the above list of factors in evaluating usability business information is only a partial one, they need to be addressed in any decision on how to create or enhance business decision information technology.