Navigating Your Personal Roadmap

 

The skill sets required for the auditor of the future are always evolving. To help you stay ahead of the curve, the Center for Audit Quality, in collaboration with the leading public company accounting firms and the American Institute of CPAs developed this roadmap to help students understand what they will need to become successful auditors.

Designed for both students and educators, this roadmap is a hands-on guide that outlines the mindsets, behaviors, knowledge, and skill sets that public accounting firms seek in their future auditors. By familiarizing themselves with these traits, students will be able to determine both the qualities they already possess and the areas upon which they can build.

Educators may know students who exhibit these mindsets and behaviors—we encourage you to share the roadmap with them as they consider their career options. Additionally, professors may find the mindset and behavior traits helpful as they consider enhancements to their syllabi and curricula that will best prepare students for their journey to become successful auditors.

The roadmap also provides a list of key knowledge areas on which aspiring auditors should focus while in school. It includes space where students can write down the key related courses that they might have identified on their own or working with accounting professors or academic and career advisors.

Download The Workbook

Roadmap At-A-Glance

Download

Full Workbook

Download

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) has established minimum education requirements to qualify for the Uniform CPA Examination. The requirements are as follows:

• Twenty-four semester credit hours in accounting courses (excluding principles or introductory courses)

• Two semester credit hours in research and analysis (either in a discrete course or integrated throughout the accounting curriculum)

• Twenty-four semester credit hours in non-accounting business courses (see the list of suggested areas of study under Knowledge on pages 4 and 5)

• Two semester credit hours in communications (listed or cross-listed as an accounting or business course or integrated throughout the accounting curriculum)

• Three semester credit hours in accounting or business ethics

• Maximum of six semester credit hours for internships and independent study

For more detailed information about these rules, go to the NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rules, Rule 5-2. By supplementing their accounting education requirements with the technology, psychology, and communication fields of study identified in this roadmap, students will find themselves far along the path to success when they graduate.