Experts from AIR and AICPA Receive the 2024 Innovations in Assessment Award
Workforce experts from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), along with researchers from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), were honored with the 2024 Innovations in Assessment Award for the development and application of a groundbreaking methodology for analyzing the accounting profession. The experts received the award at the Annual Conference of the International Personnel Assessment Council, held July 28-31 in New Orleans. The award recognizes a person or team for the development and application of an innovative personnel assessment tool or procedure which resulted in improved effectiveness, efficiencies, or cost savings.
The awarded methodology leverages large-scale job-posting data and the expertise of highly qualified subject matter experts to provide a more data-driven and cost-effective way of conducting industry practice analysis. For instance, the methodology can be used to offer a real-time snapshot of the accounting job market and reveal key trends, such as the growing importance of technology proficiency, critical thinking, and cybersecurity awareness.
AICPA develops, administers, and scores the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam, which is accepted by all U.S. state and territory boards for licensing decisions. The Uniform CPA Examination provides reasonable assurance to boards of accountancy that those who pass the CPA examination possess the level of technical knowledge and skills necessary for initial licensure to protect the public interest.
Recognizing the need for continuous alignment between the CPA Exam and the evolving accounting profession, AICPA partnered with AIR to explore a new line of research in 2021.
They used data mining and Natural Language Processing to analyze over 250,000 job postings from 2018 to 2021, identifying over 570 skills and competencies, which were validated by experienced certified accountants to ensure relevance.
The work has been published in the special issue of Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice (EMIP) journal. These findings aligned with the traditional practice analysis results and proved useful for confirming the CPA exam blueprint. The methodology is highly replicable and could be used to identify future trends and patterns within other professions.
To learn more about this innovative work, visit Practice Analysis for Certified Public Accountants.