Panel Discussion - Presentation by Marcelo Canetti IAESB Member & BDO Partner at EFFA 2013, Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 2013

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Soft Skills
Marcelo Canetti
IAESB Member & BDO Partner
EFFA 2013 Panel Session
Amsterdam, Netherlands
April 2013

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Soft
Skills
Hard
Skills
Work
Place
Skills
What Are Soft Skills
• the character traits and
interpersonal skills that
characterize a person's
relationships with other
people
• a person's knowledge and
occupational skills

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What Are Soft Skills
Soft Skills
Interpersonal &
Communication Skills

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What Are Soft Skills
• work with others for the common good of the
organization
• receive and transmit information
• form reasoned judgments
• make decisions effectively.
Interpersonal and communication skills
enable a professional accountant to

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What Are Soft Skills
Components of
interpersonal &
communication
skills:
(a) work with others in a consultative process, to
withstand and resolve conflict;
(b) work in teams;
(c) interact with culturally and intellectually diverse
people;
(d) negotiate acceptable solutions and agreements in
professional situations;
(e) work effectively in a cross-cultural setting;
(f) present views effectively through
formal, informal, written and spoken
communication; and
(g) listen and read effectively, including a sensitivity
to cultural and language differences.

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Role of IAESB
As an International Standard Setter in Professional
Accounting Education our mission is:
“ to serve the public interest by
strengthening the worldwide
accountancy profession through the
development and enhancement of
education.”

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What Are the IAESB’s Objectives?
• Establishing a series of high quality standards
and other publications reflecting good practice
in the education, development and assessment
of professional accountants
• Promoting the adoption and implementation of
the International Education Standards (IESs)
• Developing education benchmarks for
measuring the implementation of the IESs
• Advancing international debate on emerging
issues relating to the education, development
and assessment of professional accountants
To serve the public interest by

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The Future of Developing Soft Skills within Profession
 Outcomes-based approach to competence-based
professional accounting education
 Revised IES 3 on Professional Skills recognizes:
Professional Competence = Technical competence +
Professional Skills + Professional Values, Ethics, &
Attitudes
 Revised IES 3 on Professional Skills identifies
competence areas, proficiency levels, and learning
outcomes.

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Trends of Profession
 Role of accountants will have to diversify if they are to
survive as key source of advice for SMEs.
 Need to develop a multidisciplinary approach to
servicing their clients
 Add value to the business through their expertise in
cost analysis and family succession.
But, if accountants can’t communicate then they will
be unable to deliver on the above

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Professional Skills within the Workplace
• Providing coaching or workshop opportunities to develop
personal skills during IPD & CPD
• Providing training to line managers to enable them to
demonstrate personal skills in the workplace
• Feedback provided by line manager on each assignment
• Annual performance reviews or appraisals
• Development of a competency framework, enables firms
to:
– Benchmark against technical & non-technical skills
– Identify areas of personal development on non-technical skills
– Motivate performance by rewarding for exceptional demonstration of skills

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Specific Areas of Focus for SMEs
• Communication skills
– Written
– Presentation
• Negotiation skills
• Dealing with matters of conflict
• Interview skills
• Providing & receiving feedback
• Meeting/chairing skills

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Educational Challenges
Assessment & Monitoring Issues / How do we know
development has been achieved?
Oversight / Who is the Assessor?
Benchmarking development / How is “good practice”
tracked and reported?

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http://www.ifac.org/education
.
THANK YOU
Sources of Information