11

First Issued December 1995

Revised June 1998

Information Technology In The

Accounting Curriculum

CONTENTS

Paragraphs
Preface
Introduction ......................................................................................... 1-10
SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINE
Work Domains ............................................................................... 11-12
Roles ............................................................................................... 13-18
Prequalification and Postqualification ........................................... 19-23
Knowledge and Skill ...................................................................... 24-31
Prequalification Tests of Professional Competence ....................... 32-33
Postqualification Tests of Professional Competence ..................... 34-35
PREQUALIFICATION IT KNOWLEDGE
AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS
Introduction .................................................................................. 36-39
General Information Technology Education Requirements ........... 40-49
The USER Role ............................................................................. 50-62
The MANAGER Role ................................................................. 63-71
The DESIGNER Role ................................................................... 72-84
The EVALUATOR Role .............................................................. 85-97
 Paragraphs
POSTQUALIFICATION IT KNOWLEDGE
AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS
Introduction .................................................................................. 98-100
Continuing Professional Education ................................................ 101-104
Specialization .................................................................................. 105-108
The USER Role ............................................................................. 109-111
The MANAGER Role ................................................................. 112-117
The DESIGNER Role ................................................................... 118-123
The EVALUATOR Role .............................................................. 124-129

Appendices—Core IT Knowledge and Skill Areas

for Professional Accountants by Role
General Information Technology Education Requirements-
Information Technology Concepts for Business Systems ...... 1
General Information Technology Education Requirements-
Internal Control in Computer Based Systems ......................... 2
The Professional Accountant as a User of Information
Technology .............................................................................. 3
The Professional Accountant as a Manager of Information
Systems ................................................................................... 4
The Professional Accountant as a Designer of Business
Systems ................................................................................... 5
The Professional Accountant as an Evaluator of Information
Systems ................................................................................... 6
Preface
Information Technology (IT) is pervasive in the world of business.
Competence with this technology is an imperative for the professional
accountant.
This Guideline has been developed by the Education Committee to
provide further guidance to member bodies in developing programs to
enhance the competence in IT of their present and future members. It
is in a format which both recognizes the different competencies
needed for key roles undertaken in the IT area by the professional
accountant and distinguishes between pre- and postqualification needs.
The guideline defines the broad content areas and specific knowledge
and skills required by all professional accountants in connection with
IT applied in a business context.
Because many of the education requirements involve practical skills,
they would be best met through a combination of formal education and
practical application of skills in a professional work environment.
For the formal education component, the coverage of some of the
topics identified in this Guideline could be provided through courses
specifically designed to develop IT knowledge and skills or spread
over and integrated into courses which are not specifically identified
as IT courses. For example, coverage of some aspects of computer-
based business systems could be integrated within a financial
accounting course; coverage of some aspects of management
information systems could be integrated within a management
accounting course; coverage of some aspects of internal control in a
computer environment could be integrated within an auditing course;
and so on.
For the formal IT education, case studies, interactions with
experienced professionals, and similar techniques should be used to
enhance the presentation of subject matter and to help students
develop practical skills.
Some member bodies may wish to offer their own distance education
courses, or to supplement courses at post-secondary institutions with
their own training programs or employer-provided training programs.
This might be necessary where there are not sufficient resources at
post-secondary institutions to offer some parts of the required program
of studies or to supplement theoretical knowledge obtained at post-
secondary institutions with practical experience.
On-the-job training can provide valuable practical exposure to these
topics. Member bodies must ensure that prequalification education
and experience requirements are designed to provide aspiring
professional accountants with opportunities to obtain both theoretical
knowledge and practical skills in connection with the topics identified
in this guideline.
The Committee recognizes that member bodies will be adopting
different approaches to education in the IT area in the light of their
own particular circumstances. Already some will have made much
progress, others less so. Recognizing that further developments in IT
will not wait on the profession, the Committee advises each member
body to review the Guideline promptly and consider how it can best
address its recommendations.
The Committee is conscious of the diverse circumstances and
resources of member bodies and the significant development costs
involved in the implementation of programs of education in IT. It
would remind users that this is an area wherein there is significant
potential for co-operation between member bodies and consequently
avoidance of duplication of development costs.
The IT scene is one of constant change and development. It is the
intention of the Committee to review this Guideline every two years in
the light of emerging changes in information technology and its uses.
In the meantime, it will welcome comment and suggestions from users
of the Guideline.
Introduction
1. Information technology plays a vital role in supporting the activities of profit-
oriented and not-for-profit organizations. Professional accountants, in
addition to extensively using various types of information technologies, often
play important managerial, advisory, and evaluative roles in connection with
the adoption and use of various information technologies by organizations of
all types and sizes.
2. The term “information technology” or IT, as used in this Guideline,
encompasses hardware and software products, information system operations
and management processes, and the skills required to apply those products
and processes to the task of information production and information system
development, management and control.
3. Society expects that professional accountants who accept an engagement or
occupation have the required level of knowledge and can apply it to practical
problems. The accountancy profession as a whole has the obligation to ensure
that candidates for membership possess the required breadth and depth of
knowledge and skill and the credibility of the accountancy profession
depends on its success in fulfilling this obligation. In addition, the
accountancy profession has an obligation to ensure that, after qualifying,
members keep abreast of relevant developments through continuing
professional education.
4. The body of knowledge and skill required of professional accountants
includes a variety of important areas. IT is one of the core competencies of
professional accountants and requires special attention due to its explosive
growth and its rapid rate of change.
5. The following IT trends are particularly noteworthy:
• wide availability of powerful yet inexpensive computer hardware,
including the widespread incorporation, through miniaturization, of
powerful computing capabilities in numerous devices designed for
personal and professional use;
• wide availability of powerful, inexpensive and relatively user-friendly
software with graphical user interfaces;
• shift from custom-tailored systems to pre-packaged software;
• shift from mainframes to small computers used alone, or increasingly, as
part of networks devoted to information sharing and co-operative
computing with corresponding changes in the nature, organization and
location of key information system activity, such as the shift to end user
computing;
• increasing availability of computerized data for access in real or delayed
time both locally and through remote access facilities, including via the
Internet;
• new data capture and mass storage technologies leading to increasing
computerization of data/information in text, graphic, audio and video
 formats and emphasis on managing, presenting and communicating
information using multi-media approaches;
• convergence of information and communication technologies, affecting
how people work and shop;
• increasing use of networks to link individuals, intra-organizational units
and inter-organizational units through systems such as electronic mail
(e-mail) and the Internet, including the World Wide Web;
• increasing use of the Internet for conducting commerce between
organizations and individuals and between organizations and other
organizations through electronic commerce systems such as electronic data
interchange (EDI) and electronic funds transfer systems (EFTS);
• mass marketing and distribution of IT products and services such as
computers, pre-packaged software, on-line data retrieval services,
electronic mail, and financial services;
• reduction of barriers to systems use, encouraging wider penetration of
information systems into profit-oriented and not-for-profit organizations of
all sizes for accounting and broader management and strategic purposes
and increasing the role of end-user computing;
• wider penetration of information technologies such as computer-assisted
design and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM), computer
imaging systems, executive information systems (EIS), and electronic
meeting systems (EMS);
• new system development techniques based around information
technologies such as computer-assisted software engineering (CASE),
object-oriented programming, and workflow technologies;
• continuing development of intelligent support systems incorporating expert
systems, neural networks, intelligent agents, and other problem solving
aids; and
• new business re-engineering approaches based on effective integration of
information technologies and business processes.
6. The growth and change that has come about as a result of these trends has
created a number of important challenges which the accountancy profession
must address:
• Information technologies are affecting the way in which organizations
are structured, managed and operated. In some cases the changes are
dramatic. While there is a continuing need for sound business system
design practices and effective financial and management controls, the
business planning and design processes and internal control requirements
will, of necessity, change with changes in information technologies.
Traditionally, professional accountants have been entrusted with the tasks
of evaluating investments in business systems, evaluating business system
designs and reporting on potential weaknesses. Increasingly, information
technology deployments are supported by extensive organizational
restructuring around such technologies. To maintain the accountancy
 profession’s credibility and capability in supporting new information
technology initiatives, the competence of professional accountants must be
maintained and enhanced so that public trust and confidence in
professional accountancy bodies is maintained.
• Information technologies are changing the nature and economics of
accounting activity. The career plans of professional accountants and
related training systems must be based on a realistic view of the changing
nature of accounting, the accountancy profession’s changing role in
providing services to business, government and the community at large,
and the knowledge and skills required for future success as a professional
accountant. Some IT skills, such as the ability to use an electronic
spreadsheet, are now indispensable and professional accounting bodies
must ensure that candidates possess core IT skills before they qualify as
members of those bodies. In addition, since an increasing number of
professional accountants are engaged in providing IT-related advisory and
evaluative services, it is important that professional accountancy bodies
maintain the quality and credibility of these services through both
prequalification and postqualification education requirements.
• Information technologies are changing the competitive environment in
which professional accountants participate. Information technologies
are eliminating some areas of practice which were once the exclusive
domain of professional accountants or are reducing their economic
attractiveness. For example:
– Accounting and accounting system development were once the virtually
exclusive domain of professional accountants. Today, inexpensive,
easy-to-use and powerful pre-packaged accounting software is reducing
the demand for those activities or enabling non-accountants to offer
those services. At the same time there is an increasing demand for
professionals with a combination of business and IT skills to help
organizations structure their systems to provide effective and efficient
support for their primary objectives and activities.
– Tax planning and tax return preparation have traditionally represented
important activities for many professional accountants. Today,
inexpensive, easy-to-use and powerful pre-packaged software is
reducing the demand for tax return preparation services. The
professional tax planning expertise that was once the private domain of
individual practitioners is increasingly being embedded within these
same tax packages, reducing the demand for such services as well.
– In the past, accountants engaged in internal and external auditing
activities were needed in great numbers in order to vouch and trace
documents, to perform a variety of analyses, and to document audit
work. Today, due to the computerization of business records and the
availability of computer-assisted auditing tools, these activities can be
performed faster and more thoroughly with the assistance of computer-
based tools, reducing the demand for such activities.
7. IT changes have created many new opportunities for professional accountants
in areas such as information development and information system design,
information system management and control, and information system
evaluation. For example:
• information development and information system design: professional
accountants have a tradition of producing information to enhance
management decision-making. With the advent of new information
technologies and expanded sources and means of access to information,
professional accountants can help bring richer sets of information to bear
on specific managerial decisions or help screen out essential information
from the potentially overwhelming proliferation of information that is now
available. One of the implications of the growth of such services is the
need to expand professional accountants’ perspectives beyond their
traditional focus on accounting information to other important types of
information and performance indicators, including non-financial
information.
Information systems are increasingly viewed as a potential means to
achieve competitive advantage. Professional accountants, by virtue of their
broad business backgrounds, financial skills and objectivity, can provide
valuable advisory services related to assessing investments in strategic
information technologies and advising about control systems required to
meet the needs of management and, in some cases, the requirements of
legislators and regulators.
Multiple objectives exist within most information systems installations.
They will invariably lead to cost vs. quality vs. control trade-offs; i.e.,
information systems personnel may resist implementing additional controls
if they perceive them to detract from the ease-of-use or efficiency of a
system, since these criteria may be important in their performance
evaluations. Professional accountants can provide a valuable advisory
service by bridging communications gaps, adding a sound business
perspective to the consideration of IT control issues and vice versa.
• information system management and control: Information system
management skills are not primarily technological, but rather, include an
understanding of strategic and operational business planning and
associated IT issues, the ability to perform appropriate analyses of IT
investments, an understanding of IT related benefits and risks, the ability
to stimulate and manage organizational change, and the ability to
communicate effectively about IT topics.
• Information system management has been characterized by a communica-
tion gap between top management or functional managers lacking IT skills
and technologists lacking in business backgrounds. Professional
accountants can provide a valuable service by bridging such
communications gaps, adding a sound business perspective to the
consideration of IT issues and vice versa.
• information system evaluation: professional accountants have
traditionally provided evaluative services in their roles as internal and
external auditors. As information technologies proliferate, there are
increasing demands for objective assessments of information system
controls such as controls over information privacy and integrity, and
 controls over system changes. In addition, there are concerns about
information system failure and the reliability of information processing
continuity provisions in the event of system failure. Other areas of concern
are the proliferation of incompatible subsystems and inefficient use of
systems resources.
8. All of the areas identified above represent important work domains in which
significant numbers of professional accountants participate. Some of these
areas are not the exclusive domain of professional accountants and are not
commonly associated with the accountancy profession. However, they all
represent important opportunities for professional accountants.
9. Professional and academic accountancy bodies throughout the world are
grappling with the need to define the body of knowledge and skill that must
be possessed by their members. Attempts at defining a common body of
knowledge and skill are complicated by several important factors which must
be recognized, including the fact that the accountancy profession is a diverse
profession whose members operate in several domains, that within each of
these domains professional accountants may be engaged in a variety of roles,
and that the spread of IT and related accounting services is not uniform
throughout the world.
10. Nevertheless, it is evident that IT is fundamentally changing professional
accounting whatever the accountant’s work domain or role. Consequently,
professional accountancy bodies throughout the world must address these
changes through their educational processes, by including coverage of
important IT concepts and skills in prequalification education programs,
prequalification work experience, and postqualification professional
education in both general work domains and specialty areas.

SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINE

Work Domains
11. The accountancy profession is a diverse profession whose members operate
in several work domains, such as:
• industry and commerce
• public practice
• public sector (government and other not-for-profit organizations)
12. This Guideline is intended to apply to all work domains. The use of an
organizing framework built around roles, as discussed in the next section,
provides a framework that is sufficiently broad to address the needs of all
three of the work domains identified above.

Roles
13. Within each of the work domains, professional accountants may be engaged
in a variety of roles, such as:
 • user
• financial manager (accountant, controller)
• designer of financial information systems (member of business system
design team or task force, producer of financial information, analyst)
• internal financial or operational auditor
• external “advisor” (accountant, auditor, tax practitioner, consultant,
insolvency practitioner)
14. In different environments, specific needs and opportunities will vary;
however, many aspects of IT are common and it is possible and desirable to
set out some of the broad elements of an educational background that all
professional accountants can be legitimately expected to share.
15. This Guideline establishes a framework for organizing IT-oriented education
for professional accountants, and the core areas of knowledge and skill to be
covered. This Guideline identifies the IT education requirements for
professional accountants under five main headings:
• general IT education requirements
• the accountant as user of information technology
• the accountant as manager of information systems
• the accountant as designer of business systems (alone or as part of a team)
• the accountant as evaluator of information systems
16. While the four broad roles of user, manager, designer and evaluator are not as
specific as the areas in which many professional accountants actually work,
they represent the key elements of knowledge and skill required by
professional accountants and provide a useful framework by which an
educational approach can be organized.
17. The education requirements may be viewed as building blocks in the sense
that the general IT education requirements form the foundation for the user-
oriented education requirements and these, in turn, form a foundation for the
other role-related education requirements. In addition, the education
requirements related to the roles of user, manager, designer and evaluator
may be viewed as building blocks for one another, in the sense that the
accountant’s design role may be enhanced by the skills developed as a user,
the accountant’s managerial role may be enhanced by the skills and insights
obtained through a combination of user and design roles, and the accountant’s
role as evaluator can be enhanced by skills developed in the user, designer,
and manager roles. Thus, an aspiring management accountant would be
guided by the portions of the Guideline dealing with the general IT education
requirements, user-oriented education requirements and education
requirements related to the manager role. An aspiring public accountant
would be guided by the portions of the Guideline dealing with the general IT
education requirements, user-oriented education requirements and education
requirements related to the evaluator role.
18. It is acknowledged that a professional accountant may operate in more than
 one of these roles during a given time period and throughout his or her career.
However, this Guideline does not presume that all professional accountants
will work through these roles in a sequential fashion.

Prequalification and postqualification

19. This Guideline distinguishes between the prequalification and
postqualification IT related education requirements. The Guideline assumes
that at the time of qualification, all professional accountants will operate in at
least two roles - the user role and one of the other three roles, depending on
the member’s work domain. After qualification, professional accountants’
careers and their IT education requirements may evolve in many diverse
ways. Thus, the postqualification IT education requirements are not based on
the same assumptions as the prequalification requirements and have a
separate section of the Guideline devoted to them.
20. Member bodies should monitor prequalification experience to ensure that it
includes IT-related training opportunities in the knowledge and skill areas
related to their members’ activities.
21. After qualification professional accountants are expected to continue their
professional education activities in connection with IT. It is likely that some
members’ specific activities and related educational requirements will be
relatively specialized. The continuing professional education requirements in
connection with IT for both specialist and non-specialist accountants at the
postqualification stage must be relevant to their current field(s) of activity.
22. IFAC recommends that member bodies work towards developing continuing
professional education (CPE) requirements related to IT for their members’
postqualification work domains to ensure that a minimum level of service
quality is maintained.
23. Member bodies may wish to recognize the qualifications of members who
have achieved specialist status in a recognized domain of IT activity by
granting them specialist designations or other appropriate recognition.

Knowledge and Skill

24. The field of IT is both conceptual and concrete. In considering IT education
requirements it is easy to blur the distinction between conceptual knowledge
and practical skills. However, it is important to emphasize the need for both
relevant theoretical knowledge of IT and practical IT skills on the part of the
professional accountant.
25. Practical experience consists of knowledge and skills acquired from
participation in activities performed by professional accountants. It is distinct
from the theoretical knowledge obtained from studies of a conceptual nature.
26. Conceptual education generally aims at knowledge and comprehension of
specified subject matter. Practical skills include the abilities to apply
conceptual knowledge, analyze, synthesize and evaluate information. An
education approach that consists solely of conceptual material will not be
sufficient for professional accountants in any work domain or for any role.
 However, it is also generally recognized that the development of practical
skills is facilitated by the prior development of knowledge and
comprehension. Thus conceptual material must form the foundation for
practical skills development.
27. This Guideline simplifies several stages of skills development into two main
categories - theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Member bodies may
wish to refine the classification used here into more specific knowledge and
skill requirements corresponding to more specific education objectives.
28. The inculcation of skills in solving practical problems through the application
of theoretical knowledge is one of the prime objectives of professional
education. This ability is best developed through relevant practical experience
in which conceptual knowledge can be applied to specific problems. To
ensure that professional accountants possess entry level competence in core
IT knowledge and skill areas, all prospective members must receive training
and work experience sufficient to develop core IT knowledge and skills prior
to qualifying for membership in their respective member bodies. Member
bodies must monitor candidates’ prequalification experience to ensure that it
includes such training opportunities.
29. Core IT knowledge and skill requirements may be viewed from the
perspectives of both breadth and depth. In this Guideline, the breadth
requirements are addressed by using work domains as a way of categorizing
knowledge and skill areas.
30. The depth requirements are addressed by distinguishing two levels of depth
— a prequalification level, requiring only general familiarity with topics, and
a postqualification level, requiring mastery of those topics. Requirements
pertaining to depth of knowledge and skill are further addressed by dividing
the education requirements into three building blocks aimed at providing
increasing depth of coverage of core IT knowledge and skill sets:
• a set of general IT education requirements;
• a set of user-oriented education requirements; and
• a set of role-related education requirements associated with the manager,
designer, and evaluator roles.
31. During the prequalification program there will be comparatively more
emphasis on fundamental conceptual knowledge and comparatively less
emphasis on practical skills, whereas in the postqualification curriculum there
will be comparatively greater emphasis on practical skills tied to the specific
needs of the work domain and role of the professional accountant, and
comparatively less emphasis on conceptual knowledge. Nevertheless, to be
effective, both prequalification and postqualification parts of the professional
accountant’s education program must incorporate both knowledge and
practical skills development.

Prequalification Tests of Professional Competence

32. Prequalification tests of professional competence must include coverage of IT
concepts and skills appropriate to the primary roles in which accountants
 striving for qualification in a given membership body will be expected to
function at an entry level.
33. Tests of professional competence in connection with IT must go beyond
testing knowledge and comprehension and focus primarily on testing higher
level skills such as application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, applied in
a context representative of the work domain in which the entry level
professional accountant is likely to work.

Postqualification Tests of Professional Competence

34. Postqualification tests of competence in a specialty area must include
coverage of IT concepts and skills appropriate to the area.
35. At the postqualification stage, tests of professional competence must be
relatively specialized. Their main purpose is to validate that a professional
accountant possesses specialist level skills in a particular domain.

PREQUALIFICATION IT KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS

Introduction
36. This part of the Guideline addresses each of the four roles identified earlier
and identifies broad IT knowledge and skill requirements for professional
accountants. This broad statement of requirements is supplemented by more
detailed Appendices to this Guideline breaking down the knowledge and skill
requirements into detailed topics.
37. During the prequalification stage, all professional accountants must obtain the
general IT knowledge and skills summarized in paragraphs 40-49 dealing
with General Information Technology Education Requirements.
38. In addition, all professional accountants must obtain the knowledge and skills
summarized in paragraphs 50-62 and Appendix 3 to this Guidline dealing
with The Professional Accountant as a User of Information Technology.
39. Furthermore, as part of their prequalification education, all professional
accountants are expected to concentrate on at least one of the three other roles
identified in this Guideline and acquire the knowledge and skills identified
for the role(s) in which they are expected to function at an entry level. These
roles are discussed as follows:
 • Manager of information systems — paragraphs 63-71 and
Appendix 4 to this
Guideline
• Designer of business systems — paragraphs 72-84 and
Appendix 5 to this
Guideline
• Evaluator of information systems — paragraphs 85-97 and
Appendix 6 to this
Guideline

General Information Technology Education Requirements

40. All professional accountants, irrespective of their primary work domain or
role, must acquire the following essential body of IT knowledge related to
business systems:
• information technology concepts for business systems (Appendix 1 to this
Guideline)
– general systems concepts
– management use of information
– hardware
– system software
– application software
– data organization and access methods
– networks and electronic data transfer
– transaction processing in typical business and accounting applications
• internal control in computer-based business systems (Appendix 2 to this
Guideline)
– control objectives
– control framework
– control environment
– risk assessment
– control activities
– monitoring of control compliance
• management of IT adoption, implementation, and use (Appendix 4 to this
Guideline)
– strategic considerations in IT development
– administrative issues
– financial control over IT
– operational issues
– security, backup and recovery
– management of system acquisition, development and implementation
– management of system maintenance and change
– management of end-user computing
• development standards and practices for business systems (Appendix 5 to
this Guideline)
 – role of information in organization design and behavior
– system design techniques
– system acquisition/development life cycle phases, tasks, and practices
and maintaining control over system development processes
• evaluation of computer-based business systems (Appendix 6 to this
Guideline)
– legal, ethical, auditing and information system control standards
– evaluation objectives
– evaluation methods and techniques
– communicating results of evaluations
– following up
– specific types of evaluations
– computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs)
41. Prior to qualification, all professional accountants must have at least a general
level of knowledge of each of the content areas identified in paragraph 40.
42. Of particular importance to all professional accountants, regardless of their
specific domain of professional activity, is the issue of internal control.
Because this topic is of central importance to all professional accountants, it
must be given particular emphasis.
43. Professional accountants must have effective practical skills as well as
theoretical knowledge. Case studies, interactions with experienced
professionals, and similar techniques can be used to help develop practical
skills. On-the-job training could also provide valuable practical exposure to
these topics. Member bodies must ensure that prequalification education and
on-the-job training are designed to provide aspiring professional accountants
with opportunities to obtain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in
connection with the topics identified in paragraph 40.
44. Appendices 1 and 2 to this Guideline provide a further breakdown of the
specific topics that make up the general IT education to be acquired by all
professional accountants prior to qualification. It is acknowledged that
specific topics may change over time as IT evolves; however, the broad
knowledge and skill areas identified in the Appendices represent the topics
widely regarded as the minimum coverage required in an IT curriculum for
accounting professionals.
45. It is anticipated that coverage of the knowledge and skill areas identified in
paragraph 40 at a general introductory level will require, at a minimum, the
equivalent of two post-secondary level courses, although the coverage may be
spread over and integrated into a number of courses.
46. As contemplated in this Guideline, a post-secondary course is considered to
consist of approximately 40 hours of in-class instruction, as well as an
additional 80 hours spent on preparation for class, doing homework
assignments, and engaging in other relevant study activities.
47. The amount of time devoted to the knowledge and skill areas identified in this
Guideline and the level of material presented should be equivalent to those
which would be provided through formal courses at a university. However, it
 is not necessary for the specified education to be provided through separate
IT-oriented courses or exclusively in a university setting.
48. The coverage of some of the topics identified in this Guideline could be
spread over and integrated into courses which are not specifically identified
as IT courses. For example, coverage of some aspects of computer-based
business systems could be integrated within a financial accounting course;
coverage of some aspects of management information systems could be
integrated within a management accounting course; coverage of some aspects
of internal control in a computer environment could be integrated within an
auditing course; and so on.
49. Some member bodies may wish to offer their own courses, or to supplement
courses at post-secondary institutions with their own training programs or
employer-provided training programs. This might be necessary where there
are not sufficient resources at post-secondary institutions to offer some parts
of the required program of studies or to supplement theoretical knowledge
obtained at post-secondary institutions with practical experience.

The USER Role

50. Users of various information technologies employ information systems tools
and techniques to help them meet their objectives or to help others meet their
objectives. These objectives, and hence the types and uses made of IT tools
and techniques, can be infinite in their variety. Some typical tasks that users
carry out with the help of IT include gathering and summarizing data,
choosing alternative courses of action on the basis of analyses applied to data,
devising strategies and tactics, planning and scheduling operational activities
in an organizational unit, directing the allocation of resources, implementing
operations, evaluating performance, documenting observations, judgments
and decisions, and communicating with others.
51. All professional accountants must be familiar with these broad tasks and the
way in which information technologies and systems can be applied to their
completion.
52. In addition to knowledge of broad uses of IT, candidates for membership in
professional accountancy bodies require specific knowledge of key concepts
and practical skills relevant to the tools and techniques that are widely used
by professional accountants and must meet these educational requirements
prior to qualification.

Theoretical Content
53. Professional accountants as users of IT are exposed to a wide array of
information systems architectures, hardware, software and data organization
methods. Information systems come in a variety of forms because they are
designed to suit the needs of specific organizations. While no user could be
an expert in every type of information system architecture, hardware,
software or data organization, there are nevertheless fundamental knowledge
and skill sets that all accountants must have.
54. In addition to the general education requirements outlined in paragraphs 40-
 49, professional accountants, as users of IT, must have the background
knowledge and familiarity with information systems concepts and
terminology that would enable them to make reasonable decisions in
connection with simple systems such as defining their needs, identifying
alternatives, deciding whether to acquire a pre-packaged system or develop
the system using end-user tools such as spreadsheet packages or database
packages, or outsource the development to another branch of the organization
or an outside consultant, and selecting the appropriate hardware, software,
and supplier.
55. As users of IT, professional accountants must also know how to test and
assess the acceptability of a particular system being acquired or being
developed for their use and how to operate and manage such a system and
keep it up to date.
56. Professional accountants must have the knowledge of basic processes used to
keep their system resources organized, and of control processes and practices
for safeguarding their systems and data against errors, theft, unauthorized use,
software piracy, virus attacks, vandalism and system failure.

Practical Content
57. Professional accountants may use information systems in a variety of
contexts. They may be exposed to systems ranging from centralized to
decentralized systems, from mainframe to micro platforms, from simple end-
user-oriented pre-packaged software to complex custom-tailored software,
and from simple data files to complex multi-user, geographically distributed
databases. Given this reality, it is impractical and undesirable to prescribe a
fixed comprehensive set of user skills for the practical content of a
recommended accounting curriculum for all aspiring professional
accountants.
58. Nevertheless, there are certain fundamental skills that are widely regarded as
the minimum set of skills that all professional accountants must have prior to
qualification:
• ability to use a word processing package;
• ability to use a spreadsheet package;
• ability to use e-mail software and a web browser;
• ability to use a database package; and
• ability to use at least one basic accounting package.
Ideally, these skills would be developed in an accounting context, such as
through their use in connection with an accounting course or an assignment in
the work place.
59. As well, where feasible, the professional accountant should have experience
with at least two different types of systems architectures, for example, a
single-user standalone micro computer in a business context and a multi-user
local area network system.
60. In addition, the aspiring professional accountant should be able to access and
 retrieve information from an on-line or local database such as a professional
research tool utilizing CD-ROM or other data storage medium and have
experience in using the Internet for information retrieval.
61. Appendix 3 to this Guideline outlines a number of additional knowledge and
skill areas which would be desirable, depending on the accountant’s work
domain.
62. It is estimated that the equivalent of one course, as described in paragraph 46,
would be required to enable an aspiring accountant to develop the user skills
outlined in paragraphs 53-61. The development of user-oriented knowledge
and skills could be spread over and integrated into courses which are not
specifically identified as IT courses. Because many of the user-oriented
education requirements involve practical skills, they would be best met
through a combination of in-class instruction and practical application of
skills in a professional work environment.

The MANAGER Role

63. Many professional accountants are involved in financial management roles
which bring them into contact with information systems. Although the growth
of IT has spawned many new groups of professionals, including professional
information system managers, many accountants in small and medium
organizations fulfill information system management functions, in
partnership with other managers, or as part of their overall responsibilities.
64. In this capacity, the professional accountant’s responsibilities may include
participation in strategic planning for use of information systems to support
entity objectives, membership on an information systems steering committee,
evaluating potential investments in information technologies, developing
operational priorities, exercising control over information system
productivity, service quality, and economy of information system use.

Theoretical Content
65. To support their role as managers of information systems, professional
accountants must have a sound understanding of the business functions that
information systems can fulfill and the related managerial processes of
planning and co-ordinating, organizing and staffing, directing and leading,
controlling and communicating in an IT context.
66. The professional accountant must, therefore, have a conceptual understanding
of information system technology issues of importance to different types of
entities and environments, and in particular, the following:
• strategic considerations in IT development;
• administrative issues;
• financial control over IT;
• operational issues;
• security, backup and recovery;
 • management of system acquisition, development and implementation;
• management of system maintenance and change; and
• management of end-user computing.
67. Appendix 4 to this Guideline addresses these topics. At the prequalification
stage, these concepts would be covered at a general level, focusing on the
acquisition of general knowledge and understanding of information system
management principles and practices related to issues such as those outlined
in the previous paragraph.
68. At the prequalification stage, only general familiarity would be required in
connection with the topics listed under the column headed “Key sub-topics”
in Appendix 4 to this Guideline.

Practical Content
69. To support their role as managers of information systems, professional
accountants must have effective practical skills in planning and co-ordinating,
organizing and staffing, directing and leading, and monitoring and
controlling. Both the educational material and the prequalification job content
should provide aspiring professional accountants with opportunities to obtain
the requisite practical IT skills prior to qualification. Education programs
could use case studies, interactions with experienced professionals, and
similar techniques to help develop practical skills. On-the-job training in a
junior managerial capacity could also provide hands on experience with the
topics listed in Appendix 4 to this Guideline.
70. In addition to the IT skills listed in Appendix 4 to this Guideline, the
professional accountant’s skills must include the communication skills and
interpersonal skills required to support the manager’s interactions with top
management, users, steering committees, and suppliers of information system
services, both internal employees and external contractors. In contrast with
general communication and interpersonal skill requirements, these skills must
be developed in an IT context.
71. It is estimated that, in addition to the general education requirements and the
user-oriented requirements, the equivalent of one course, as described in
paragraph 46, would be required to enable an aspiring accountant to develop
the knowledge and skills outlined in paragraphs 65-70.

The DESIGNER Role

72. Professional accountants, as employees or external advisors, have been
involved in the design of financial systems for decades. In the past, such
design roles have been in the context of manual record-keeping systems.
Today, accountants are expected to continue to provide similar services,
albeit in an IT context. This may be as a member of an in-house team or task
force working to establish business system requirements, as a member of an
in-house system development team for an employer, or as an external advisor
helping to design a business system for a client.
73. Professional accountants’ design activities will often emphasize the
 identification of user needs, consideration of costs and benefits of proposed
solutions, the appropriate selection and combination of hardware, pre-
packaged software, essential control features, and other system components,
and the effective implementation and integration of acquired or developed
systems with business processes. In this capacity, professional accountants
need a sound understanding of business systems and the capabilities of
various information technologies to support an organization’s objectives,
whether it is a profit-oriented, not-for-profit or public sector organization.

Theoretical Content
74. In their design role, professional accountants must know the basic steps to be
followed in the design of a system such as:
• role of information in organization design and behavior;
• system analysis and design techniques; and
• system development life cycle phases, tasks and practices, particularly
maintaining control over system development processes, incorporating
controls within systems, and maintaining controls over system changes.
75. The professional accountant must be aware of standards and preferred
practices, particularly internal control practices, that could guide information
system design practices.
76. A professional accountant’s knowledge of information systems must be
developed in the context of gaining an understanding of organizations’
business and service objectives and their environments. Thus, education
programs and courses aimed at developing system design knowledge must
have a managerial rather than a technical orientation.

Practical Content
77. It is generally not sufficient for a professional accountant to be familiar solely
with the concepts relating to the major phases of system development and the
specific tasks required in each phase. A number of important practical skills
are also part of the required preparation for this role.
78. While at the prequalification level the depth of practical skill that a candidate
could acquire in connection with the design role would, of necessity, be
limited, it is nevertheless desirable for candidates to have practical exposure
to some of the important techniques that are used in key phases of system
design. Both the educational material and the prequalification job content
should provide aspiring professional accountants with opportunities to obtain
the requisite practical IT skills prior to qualification. Education programs
could use case studies, interactions with experienced professionals, and
similar techniques to help develop practical skills. On-the-job training could
also provide hands on design experience prior to qualification.
79. Since system design skills are generally applied in an interactive context,
interpersonal and communication skills in an IT context are an essential
ingredient of the skill set required to support the professional accountant’s
information system design role.
 80. A professional accountant’s information system design skills must be
developed in the context of designing systems to meet organizations’
business and service objectives. Thus, IT education programs and courses
aimed at developing practical system design skills must have a managerial
rather than a technical orientation.
81. While some practical exposure to specific techniques is desirable, the main
emphasis in IT education programs aimed at developing system design skills
must be on higher order skills necessary to provide effective advisory
services such as the ability to analyze design problems, synthesize user
information and control requirements and evaluate alternative designs in light
of an entity’s business or service objectives.
82. Appendix 5 to this Guideline addresses the knowledge and skill requirements
related to the designer role. At the prequalification stage, the coverage of
these topics would be aimed at developing general knowledge and
understanding of the key tasks that must be accomplished, the documentation
requirements, the risks that are inherent in each of these phases and the
related control requirements. The risks may be economic, technological,
operational or behavioral and all of these risks must be addressed in the
education program.
83. At the prequalification stage, only general familiarity would be required in
connection with the topics listed under the column headed “Key sub-topics”
in Appendix 5 to this Guideline.
84. It is estimated that, in addition to the general education requirements and the
user-oriented requirements, the equivalent of one course, as described in
paragraph 46, would be required to enable an aspiring accountant to develop
the knowledge and skills outlined in paragraphs 74-83.

The EVALUATOR Role

85. The role of the accountant as evaluator encompasses the functions of internal
audit, external audit and other evaluative roles filled by accountants, whether
or not formally identified as audit roles.
86. In these capacities, professional accountants may be engaged for a variety of
purposes, including determining the degree of information system
effectiveness in achieving organizational objectives, determining the degree
of information system efficiency in achieving organizational objectives,
determining the fairness of financial representations and the accuracy and
completeness of related accounting records, determining the degree of
compliance with management policy, statutes or other relevant authoritative
regulations, and evaluating internal control strengths and weaknesses, in
particular with respect to financial reporting processes, asset safeguarding,
data integrity, information security and privacy, and continuity provisions for
information system processing.

Theoretical Content
87. In their evaluator role, professional accountants must possess knowledge of
legal, ethical, auditing and control standards relevant to IT and must be able
 to distinguish between various information systems evaluation objectives and
approaches such as:
• evaluation of efficiency/effectiveness/economy of IT use;
• evaluation of compliance with management policy, statutes and
regulations;
• evaluation of internal control in computer-based systems; and
• evaluation of the fairness of financial representations and the accuracy and
completeness of related accounting records.
88. Appendix 6 to this Guideline addresses these topics. At the prequalification
stage, these concepts would be covered at a general level, focusing on the
acquisition of general knowledge and understanding of the key phases and
related IT evaluation techniques that could be used for carrying out the
engagement types relevant to the primary work domain of the member body,
as well as the limitations of those techniques.
89. At the prequalification stage, the skill level requirements in this area would
be based around the member body’s principal orientations. For example, if
the orientation were towards public accounting, the skill level requirements
would focus primarily, although not exclusively, on the IT concepts involved
in a financial statement-oriented attest audit. If the orientation were towards
management accounting, less emphasis would be given to such topics and
more emphasis would be given to the IT concepts involved in, for example,
evaluating effectiveness and efficiency of information systems and their
compliance with relevant policies, statutes and regulations.
90. Since evaluation procedures in an IT context may require the use of
computer-assisted tools and techniques, all aspiring candidates working in an
evaluative capacity must have an understanding of the types of computer-
assisted tools and techniques available, their strengths and limitations and
their design, execution and control requirements.

Practical Content
91. Practical IT skills in connection with the accountant’s role as evaluator would
depend on the evaluation objective. For example, in a public accounting
context the skill level requirements would focus primarily on the IT skills
involved in a financial statement-oriented attest audit such as:
• the ability to obtain and document an understanding of the flow of
transactions and elements of the control structure relevant to the audit;
• the ability to test and evaluate relevant information systems controls over
financial reporting processes and asset safeguarding; and
• the ability to test computer-based records to establish their accuracy and to
substantiate financial representations.
 92. In a management accounting context less emphasis would be given to such
requirements and more emphasis would be given to IT skills such as:
• the ability to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of information systems;
and
• the ability to assess the degree to which an information system meets the
needs of users and serves the objectives of the entity.
93. All professional accountants involved in an evaluative role at the
prequalification stage must have the ability, with limited supervision, to plan,
execute and communicate the results of an evaluation approach tailored to the
specific types of evaluations relevant to their work domain in the context of
specific circumstances that involve information systems.
94. All professional accountants involved in an evaluative role at the
prequalification stage must also have the ability to plan, execute and
communicate the results of applying at least the following computer-assisted
auditing techniques:
• audit software
• test data
95. Since evaluation skills are exercised in an interactive context, interpersonal
and communication skills are essential ingredients of the education program
aimed at supporting a professional accountant’s role as evaluator.
96. At the prequalification stage, only general familiarity would be required in
connection with the topics listed under the column headed “Key sub-topics”
listed in Appendix 6 to this Guideline.
97. It is estimated that, in addition to the general education requirements and the
user-oriented requirements, the equivalent of one course, as described in
paragraph 46, would be required to enable an aspiring accountant to acquire
the knowledge and skills outlined in paragraphs 87-96.

POSTQUALIFICATION IT KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS

Introduction
98. This part of the Guideline addresses postqualification IT knowledge and skill
requirements. In general, this part of the Guideline focuses on higher levels of
knowledge and addresses more specialized skill sets.
99. In the postqualification curriculum, accountants may choose to continue
working in the same domain as prior to qualification, to change to another
area or to focus on some more specialized aspect of a more general role. For
example, a management accountant who initially qualifies as an accountant in
the public sector domain may subsequently choose to work in industry.
Similarly, an individual who initially qualifies as a public accountant may
eventually choose to work primarily in a management advisory capacity in
connection with a specific industry or in connection with a specific hardware
or software platform.
100. Postqualification education requirements related to IT are oriented to
ensuring that standards of competence and service quality are maintained by
professional accountants in their chosen field of IT-related activity after
qualification.

Continuing Professional Education

101. Continuing professional education (CPE) is necessary to maintain
professional competence in the rapidly changing IT field. CPE can include
self-study, teaching, lecturing and presentations, publication of articles,
monographs and books, participation in workshops, seminars, conferences,
professional meetings and similar activities, and formal courses provided by
colleges, universities, professional associations, and software and hardware
vendors.
102. Because the IT field is subject to continuing change, all professional
accountants must maintain their professional competence in connection with
IT subsequent to qualification through appropriate CPE as required by their
particular IT-related activities. Alternatives that could be considered range
from voluntary CPE to monitored voluntary CPE to mandatory CPE
activities. IFAC recommends that member bodies work towards developing
mechanisms for recording and monitoring the CPE activities of their
members.
103. After qualification, all professional accountants must, at a minimum,
maintain their knowledge and skill levels as users of IT in their particular
work domain. In addition, if their area of activity involves management,
design or evaluation of information systems, they must maintain the
knowledge and skill levels identified for these roles in this section of the
Guideline.
104. Professional accountants’ areas of activity may be more specialized than
these three broad roles. IFAC recommends that, where appropriate, member
bodies work towards developing IT-related CPE requirements for such other
work domains related to IT to ensure that a minimum level of service quality
is maintained.

Specialization
105. After qualification, some professional accountants will choose to focus their
involvement with IT by specializing. Examples of specialist areas which are
not themselves IT fields, but are fields in which the use of IT may be
significant, include treasury and finance, financial planning services, taxation,
insolvency and reconstruction, and small business advisory services.
Examples of specialist areas which are IT fields are business system
development and integration, information system privacy and security, and
various areas of industry specialization such as financial institution
information systems, health care information systems, and so on.
106. Member bodies may wish to recognize the qualifications of members who
have achieved specialist status in a recognized domain of IT activity by
granting them specialist designations or other appropriate recognition.
107. Specialist status would normally be achieved through an appropriate
combination of prescribed theoretical education, practical skills development,
and specific experience in a specialized work domain. Supervised practical
experience of a reasonable duration in a given area and, in some cases, tests
of professional competence at the specialist level, should be required to
qualify the accountant as a specialist.
108. The following sections discuss postqualification knowledge and skill level
requirements for each of the four roles identified earlier.

The USER Role

109. Appendix 3 to this Guideline addresses the topics relevant to this role. At the
postqualification stage, professional accountants as users of IT will likely
focus their use of IT by specializing in the use of particular information
technologies that are most appropriate to their work domain.

Theoretical Content
110. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants as users of IT must
have a sound conceptual knowledge of the information technologies that are
most appropriate to their work domain. For example, management
accountants must have a reasonable knowledge of the major types of business
systems in use, their inherent risks, and effective internal control practices.
Professional accountants working in the tax advisory services domain must
have a reasonable knowledge of the main personal and corporate tax
preparation packages, their strengths and weaknesses, electronic filing
systems, tax planning software and tax research databases. Auditors must
have a reasonable knowledge of the main computer-assisted auditing
techniques, their strengths, requirements and limitations.

Practical Content
111. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants as users of IT must
have practical skills in the use of relevant information technologies. For
example, all professional accountants should be able to utilize Internet tools
for professional research and communication. Professional accountants
serving in an audit role should be able to use at least one major computer-
assisted auditing package, a work paper generation package, an on-line or
local database system or professional research tool and relevant time
management technologies such as time keeping and billing systems.
Professional accountants working in the tax advisory services domain should
have a working knowledge of at least one personal and one corporate tax
preparation package and, where feasible, have practical training in the use of
an electronic filing system, tax planning software and a tax research database.

The MANAGER Role

112. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants as managers of
information systems will be involved in the specific information technologies
that are used in their work domain. Nevertheless, there are general knowledge
 and skill requirements that are common to all accountants employed as
managers of information systems. Appendix 4 to this Guideline addresses the
topics relevant to this role.
113. At the postqualification stage, the level of knowledge and skill requirements
would include mastery of the topics identified in Appendix 4 under the
column headed “Main topic coverage” and the topics listed under the column
headed “Key sub-topics.”

Theoretical Content
114. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants serving as managers
of information systems must have a sound understanding of the business
functions that information systems can fulfill and the related managerial
processes of directing, leading, controlling and communicating in an IT
context. The professional accountant must therefore have a fairly detailed
understanding of information system organizations best suited to different
entities, approaches to IT staffing, budgeting, personnel development and
performance evaluation, computer system operations procedures and controls,
including environment controls, security, backup and recovery procedures,
project management techniques and controls applicable to information
systems projects.
115. The level of knowledge required is that necessary to effectively apply the
practical skills required to manage in an information system context.

Practical Content
116. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants serving as managers
of information systems must be able to plan and co-ordinate, organize and
staff, direct and lead, and monitor and control. These skills include
communication skills and interpersonal skills required to support the
manager’s interactions with top management, users, steering committees, and
suppliers of information system services, both internal employees and
external contractors. In contrast with general communication and
interpersonal skill requirements, these skills must be developed in an IT
context.
117. The skill level requirements are the ability to manage information systems
professionally, adhering to sound business practices and applicable statutes,
standards and guidelines.

The DESIGNER Role

118. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants as designers of
information systems will be involved in a variety of specific information
technologies. Nevertheless, there are general knowledge and skill
requirements that are common to all accountants employed as designers of
business systems. Appendix 5 to this Guideline addresses the topics relevant
to this role.
119. At the postqualification stage, the level of knowledge and skill requirements
would include mastery of the topics identified in Appendix 5 under the
 column headed “Main topic coverage” and the topics listed under the column
headed “Key sub-topics.”

Theoretical Content
120. At the postqualification level, professional accountants serving in a design
capacity must know about alternative system design approaches and
techniques, their strengths and weaknesses, and their suitability in a specific
context. Also, professional accountants serving in this domain must have a
broad familiarity with the major system architectures in use and related
hardware and software systems, their strengths and weaknesses, and effective
management and internal control practices. In addition, professional
accountants working in this domain must have detailed knowledge of relevant
codified standards, guidelines and preferred system development methods.
121. The knowledge level requirements at this stage are linked to the practical skill
requirements stated as skills sufficient to enable the accountant to apply, or
advise on the application of, appropriate techniques in the development of
specific business systems.

Practical Content
122. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants serving in a design
capacity must have significant practical exposure to some of the important
techniques that are used in key phases of system design, such as preparation
of a feasibility study, information requirements elicitation and documentation
techniques, data file design and documentation techniques, and document,
screen and report design techniques.
123. The skill level requirements at this stage are the ability to apply, or advise on
the application of, appropriate system techniques, particularly internal
controls, in the development of specific business systems without
supervision.

The EVALUATOR Role

124. At the postqualification stage, professional accountants as evaluators of IT
will be involved in the specific evaluations conducted in their work domain.
Nevertheless, there are general knowledge and skill requirements that are
common to all accountants employed as evaluators of information systems.
Appendix 6 to this Guideline addresses the topics relevant to this role.
125. At the postqualification stage, the level of knowledge and skill requirements
would include mastery of the topics identified in the Appendix 6 under the
column headed “Main topic coverage” and the topics listed under the column
headed “Key sub-topics.”

Theoretical Content
126. At the postqualification stage, in their evaluator role, professional accountants
must be able to distinguish between information systems evaluation issues
and approaches that are appropriate for addressing specific evaluation
purposes relevant in their work domain. In this regard, a professional
 accountant must have detailed knowledge of the steps involved in applying a
particular evaluation approach in an IT context, relevant standards and
practices governing the conduct of a particular evaluation approach and the
potential contribution that a particular evaluation could make in a specific
context.
127. The knowledge level requirements in this area are the degree of knowledge
that is required to work effectively in this domain.

Practical Content
128. At the postqualification stage, the professional accountant must be able to
tailor standard evaluation approaches to specific contexts and to offer
practical recommendations for information system improvement where
appropriate. In addition, the accountant must be able to apply relevant IT
tools and techniques when conducting the evaluation process.
129. The skill level requirements in this area are that the accountant have the
ability to plan, execute and communicate the results of an evaluation
approach in an IT context without supervision, while meeting relevant
professional standards governing the particular evaluation objective.

Appendices

Core IT Knowledge and Skill Areas for

Professional Accountants by Role

This section contains the following appendices:

General Information Technology Education Requirements-
Information Technology Concepts for Business Systems ......... 1
General Information Technology Education Requirements-
Internal Control in Computer Based Systems ............................ 2
The Professional Accountant as a User of Information
Technology ................................................................................ 3
The Professional Accountant as a Manager of Information
Systems ...................................................................................... 4
The Professional Accountant as a Designer of Business
Systems ...................................................................................... 5
The Professional Accountant as an Evaluator of Information
Systems ...................................................................................... 6
These appendices should be read in conjunction with the Guideline.
They define broad areas of knowledge and skills that should be
covered in the IT curriculum of professional accountants, organized by
role.
General IT Education Requirements at the pre-qualification level
address the following five major content areas:
• Information technology concepts for business systems
• Internal control in computer-based systems
• Management of IT adoption, implementation and use
• Development standards and practices for business systems
• Evaluation of computer-based business systems
The General IT Education Requirements of this guideline specify that
prior to qualification all professional accountants must have at least a
general level of knowledge of each of the content areas identified
above. For greater clarity, this appendix lists the key topics within
these content areas under three columns headed "Broad
knowledge/skill area," "Main topic coverage" and "Key sub-
topics."
A general level of knowledge requires that professional accountants
understand the meaning of the topics listed under the column headed
"Main topic coverage" and their importance in the context of business
systems. The topics listed under the column headed "Key sub-topics"
are provided to clarify the coverage expected for each topic; however,
detailed knowledge of every sub-topic listed is not required as part of
the General IT Education Requirements.
In addition to the general level of knowledge required as part of the
General IT Education Requirements, this guideline requires that, prior
to qualification, all professional accountants acquire knowledge and
skills associated with their role as users of IT and knowledge and skills
associated with at least one of the roles of designer, manager and
evaluator, depending on their anticipated work domain upon
qualification. This Appendix contains specific sections dealing with
each of these roles. The required depth of understanding of the topics
listed in these sections goes beyond general knowledge and
comprehension of the topics listed under the column headed "Main
topic coverage" and requires an ability to apply the knowledge
represented by the associated "key sub-topics" in an appropriate client
or employer setting with limited supervision.
At the post-qualification stage, this guideline requires that professional
accountants who practice in a specialized domain have mastery of the
topics required by their specialized practice in the role of user,
designer, manager or evaluator. Thus, all professional accountants
would be expected to have detailed understanding of the listed
knowledge and skill areas, topics and sub-topics associated with the
role represented by their area of practice or employment, the ability to
apply the relevant skills in a particular domain without any supervision
and the ability to supervise others in the performance of key role-
related tasks.