Continuous professional training and its impact on the behavior and way of working of certified accountants

Dissertation for Master's Degree

Major: Accounting

Abstract:

The present research and research work was carried out in order to determine the effect of continuous professional training on the professional performance of certified accountants who are members of the certified accountant society of Iran. The researcher designed a survey that used a 5-point Likert scale and was conducted through a questionnaire that was distributed among the members of the public accountant community. The survey focused on the tangible and tangible value of continuous professional training, as well as on existing attitudes towards this training and the desirability of training delivery methods. The results of the survey showed that certified accountants believe that professional training has value, in other words, professional training has increased the accounting and auditing knowledge of certified accountants and has been effective in improving their professional performance. These results also show that certified accountants have a positive view and attitude towards continuous professional training. And among the methods of providing training, they considered the method of face-to-face training along with the test to be more effective than other methods of providing training, and at the same time, they confirmed the effect of non-professional training in improving performance.

Introduction:

Different organizations and institutions of every society are generally formed and developed based on certain needs. Therefore, the goals of every institution are usually a sign of special needs or needs that are necessary for the continuation of social life, and as long as these needs remain, organizations will continue to exist and through their activities, they will take steps towards solving these needs. Examining the charting and evolution of human organizations shows that in the past, due to the simplicity of societies and limited technology, the structure of organizations and their functions were generally simple and basic. For this reason, every person could be prepared for specific jobs within a short period of time through internship or master-apprenticeship training. With all these changes and transformations in different dimensions of human life, especially after the industrial revolution which gave a special face to jobs and professions, teacher-apprenticeship training lost its ability to prepare people to take up different jobs. The changes that came to the fore in the shadow of inventions, inventions and innovations had a tremendous impact on different aspects of life, and in this, organizations, as institutions that arose from the heart of society, were bound to synchronize and align with these changes, and thus the organizational structures of Simple and traditional forms were led to complex and specialized types, and their duties and functions were also transformed and complicated. In such a situation, preparing for a certain profession required spending a lot of time and specialized training, and thus employee training gradually found a special place in most jobs. Currently, in-service training of employees in various organizations has a special place, because in the last few decades, science and technology have progressed more than any other era in human history. This evolution and transformation to a certain extent The current age is called the age of half-life of information[1], that is, the age when half of human information is burned every few years, and new information replaces them. Trans-organizational innovations. This expression is particularly meaningful and evident in commercial industries and organizations, because not using new technology in the organization means losing the job market and customers, and as a result, the organization's decay and destruction. In the meantime, perhaps one of the issues that most management and educational planning experts agree on is that the main key to this balance lies in using the effective mechanism of training while serving the employees. The importance and necessity of this balance and alignment, as well as the understanding of the necessity of employee training and its role in improving performance and achieving goals, have led to the fact that today there are few organizations or institutions that do not have a special section entitled "Employee training while serving" and in which employee training planning has not become one of the important preoccupations of management. is of special importance and sensitivity.In systems and institutions such as banks, commercial institutions, etc. whose progress and development depends on customer satisfaction and providing better services, the education category becomes more important. For this reason, in many developed countries, the training of the personnel of organizations is considered a part of lifelong learning and training, and all personnel undergo certain trainings during their service to optimally fulfill their job duties and responsibilities. Numerous studies and researches show that in recent years, organizations have paid more attention to in-service training of employees than in the past, and in line with the growth of the number of employees studying in the country's higher education system, in-service training has grown significantly, especially in the long-term spectrum.

The accounting profession is one of the jobs that with the expansion and development of business and economy and its complexity, the need for continuous and in-service training to keep up with changes and in response to the needs of society requires. Currently, continuous trainings in the service of the accounting profession are carried out by the organizations and associations in charge of this (auditing organization [2], Association of Chartered Accountants of Iran [3], Association of Chartered Accountants of Iran, etc.). As we know, continuous in-service trainings should improve and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance and provide up-to-date services in accordance with the weaknesses of the functions, but are in-service trainings based on social and economic needs assessment? Are the trainings carried out in the transfer of new knowledge in line with the changes in the industry? Do the employees feel a change in their performance and way of thinking as a result of these trainings or not? and 

In this research, an attempt has been made to adequately answer such questions by studying the effects of in-service continuous professional training on chartered accountants who are members of the Chartered Accountants Society of Iran.

In this chapter, the generalities of the research, including the problem statement, the history of the topic, the reasons for choosing the topic, the importance and objectives of the research, the type of research design and model, research hypotheses, how to collect information, the field of research and the definition of concepts and specialized words are discussed.

2-1 Statement of the problem

Professionals develop or change their method of activity and performance with the aim and intention of continuously and consistently meeting the needs and expectations of customers. But professionals enter the process of growth and development without a clear understanding of how the acquired knowledge should be applied in practice. The presence of professionals and participation in continuing professional education programs, without creating a result in the performance and professional behavior of individuals, is the main reason for choosing the research topic. Abstract: This research effort was intended to determine the influence of continuing professional education has on the careers or practices of certified public accountants licensed in Iran. A researcher designed survey incorporated both Likkert type scale responses and distributed questionnaire among public accountants. The survey focused on the perceived value of and attitudes toward continuing professional education, as well as the desirability of specific methods of delivery. The results of the survey indicated that certified public accountants believe continuing professional education has value, scilicet professional education improves the knowledge of accounting & auditing for public accountants and it is affective on their professional operation. The results also show that certified public accountants have a positive attitude towards continuing professional education, & they assign that the personal education method mid test is more effective than other methods of education and they affect unprofessional education on improvement of operation.