The conception of competency-based training constitutes an integrative approach whose starting point is the analysis of the "reality" itself, the specific knowledge of the tasks to be carried out, the development of general behavioral skills and attitudes, in short, a radical transformation from traditional formal teaching-learning practices to lifelong learning.
Based on the above, this research was aimed at proposing the professional competencies that students of the Accounting and Finance career of the Las Tunas University Center should owe.
Introduction
Educational and vocational training systems are called upon to respond to the challenge posed by a new work culture, where permanent learning of values, capacities, skills and technical and organizational competencies, and the capacity for entrepreneurship, are becoming the articulating axis of the demands of the productive society.
This new work culture requires a set of new cognitive, social and technological skills. These requirements have placed training at the top of the social and development policy agenda. The emergence of new forms of organization of work and production, which place knowledge within the productivity and competitiveness strategy, have made qualification a fundamental key in access to employment.
The competences, after originating in the capitalist world, have had an accelerated generalization in recent years in numerous countries, which forces them to be very rigorous in their study and interpretation, and much more in their application, so that the existing models They should not be copied, but analyzed, to take the positive from them and above all that which is adjusted to the concrete historical conditions of our country, since Cuba currently has a proven pedagogical experience that allows it to assume its own approach and conception and, in particular, in the field of curricular design, especially in the training of higher-level professionals.
Al analizar las definiciones de competencias y sobre todo, las que son de corte educativo, es posible reconocer que en la medida en que se ha profundizado en el estudio del término en el proceso docente educativo, se evidencia todo un proceso de perfeccionamiento del concepto en cuanto a su rigor, profundidad y amplitud. Las Ciencias Económicas igualmente han abordado el concepto de competencia.
Recognizing the concept of competence in the educational field means having the possibility of incorporating a new conception into the educational teaching process, aimed at the training of a professional with skills and attitudes to respond to the demands that society places on him, not only in the framework of the profession but in the social sphere, where consequently it is a faithful follower of its history and traditions, thoughtful and above all capable of facing and tempering itself to the new challenges and demands of science and technology to transform the environment, develop it and thereby transform yourself.
Therefore, faced with the problem of the insufficiencies that are manifested in the professional performance of university graduates, Higher Education has to consider the training of professionals who, in addition to solid instruction and education, develop skills that allow them to become true creators. and transformers.
But this is possible only if daily university practice is based on didactic models established on scientific bases of a high theoretical level, and that conceive of man in the leading role that corresponds to him within said process, which means placing man as subject and not as an object of this.
In the current conditions, it is vital for an Accounting and Finance professional to develop the capacities to assimilate the scientific-technical concepts of their field, and in their academic training, they must develop competencies that allow them to apply these to solve problems of your profession.
The objective of this work is to propose professional skills that students of the Accounting and Finance career should acquire.
Training of professional skills
The term competition has antecedents of several decades back, mainly in countries like England, the United States, Germany and Australia; They appear primarily related to the productive processes in companies, particularly in the technological field, where the development of knowledge has been very accelerated.
Professional Competence is identified in the standards through the definition of elements of competence (job achievements that a worker is capable of achieving), performance criteria (definitions about quality), the field of application and the required knowledge.
The concept of competence must clearly convey the idea that educational processes have to be aimed fundamentally at the formation of a citizen who meets the conditions that today's society is demanding, that is, depending on the level of schooling in question, they are subjects with full capacity for analysis, argumentation, prepared to assume the job performances that the different professions and trades require.
Four contexts are relevant in the diffusion of competences:
1. At the periphery of education systems, it seems that the emphasis on skills has entered via the enterprise and employment. Many occupations and jobs are defined today by detailed lists of competencies used in recruiting: screening for future human talent, promoting people, in assessing skills, determining training needs, evaluating positions - these lists are have formalized, which makes it easy to discuss the concepts, review them periodically, adapt and negotiate them.
It is understandable that companies, located in rapidly changing contexts, are primarily interested in their potential know-how and must, from time to time, carry out an assessment of the competencies they possess: the current uncertainty about how positions will develop in the near future of work and employment has served, therefore, to strengthen the demand for general skills.
2. The effort to reform the curriculum in educational systems, carried out over the last 25 years, with the purpose of updating content and adapting it to be in tune with the development of knowledge, has left a feeling of dissatisfaction and discomfort. Dissatisfaction, because these reforms, focused on adding more content, have made us lose sight of the organization of the programs as a whole. Upset, because in a world in which knowledge is rapidly becoming obsolete, curriculum reforms never end.
It becomes necessary, then, to undertake a process of definition of priorities that transcends the struggle between various topics that should be taught, towards more general competencies and skills, which lead to use the knowledge acquired.
3. The acceleration in the production of new knowledge is a trend that will continue for the foreseeable future. Thus, the awareness has arisen that generations will have to learn throughout their lives. For this reason, it is an increasingly strong requirement that initial education makes each person capable and willing to continue learning.
In the knowledge and information society, the knowledge acquired will become less important than the ability to acquire new knowledge. This constitutes a challenge for educational systems, the consequences of which have not yet been considered: the priority to be given to secondary education and the application of «learning to learn».
4. The approach of the educational systems is part of a slow transformation that has begun to take shape, each time speaking in terms of capacities, competences and qualifications that students must possess. Insofar as competencies are discussed, the emphasis is on the student who has to acquire and develop them. The rise of the notion of competencies is part of the attempt to find a way to manage educational systems that emphasize teaching objectives in terms of student learning.
It is clear that higher-level education must be aimed at developing in the student capacities and abilities that enable a productive participation in society, and, since the trend is towards a knowledge society, education must aim to train in the student, a scientific vision of the world in which he lives, must, therefore, promote the understanding and management of Logic and, in general, Science, must encourage creativity, intellectual development, the search for information and the adequate selection of sources, it should foster the ability to identify problems and propose alternative solutions and develop in students a critical, open and creative attitude towards research and its practice.
Taking into account that this research is directed towards the formation of professional competencies, this author defines them as the set of attitudes and aptitudes that should govern the knowledge and actions of the university professional when performing in the specific object of their profession.
The dynamics of the educational teaching process allows the student to acquire and develop attitudes, skills and values inherent to their profession, that is, it contributes to the formation of professional skills.
These competencies are associated with the aspiring performance of the Accounting and Finance graduate as a whole in its entirety and that become, on the one hand, the integrative didactic expression, on the one hand, of the teaching-educational process for their training and, on the other hand, of social practice.
Faced with the complex economic situations that the country is going through and therefore the companies of the entire nation in what has to do with analysis of financial and accounting information, it is essential to have someone who explains the different moments that these companies live and most importantly, that they act in pursuit of a benefit for them.
This is why the accountant plays a very essential role in these circumstances, which require good training that responds to the needs of society in the face of this and the great offer that there is in the market of accounting professionals, it is essential to think about an education very complete in the sense that it allows it to be competitive not so much in terms of having knowledge to carry out the development of the practices but also that it creates a social responsibility with the environment in which it will work, for which it is important to have adequate training in values.
At this time, the intention is to incorporate the following parameters into the accountant's education:
- Skills Training: today's accounting professional needs to improve and qualify their argumentative competence since the challenge faced is to interpret, propose and act for which it is assumed that they have a command of language skills, that is to say, communicative, textual and grammatical.
- Regarding the competence of the accounting profession, it can be said that it is the alternative of using and explaining the practice of different business languages to solve accounting situations of the economic-financial, environmental and social reality. Today's accountant must assume a different role from that of the traditional desk accountant concerned only with accounting supports, that is, one who conceives accounting only in its financial part, but must be a person capable of establishing constant dialogue with clients. different social agents of the company and establish relationships between knowledge and the environment in which it operates.
- Social Responsibility: the public accountant, in addition to being a highly trained professional in their corresponding area, must act according to the requirements of the environment, that is why they have a social responsibility since the accounting information depends on the different areas of the community this is; economic, political, social, financial, environmental and others; so that this information acquires its integrity through a relationship based on values, guidelines and requirements of each context. Consequently, the development of each of these aspects highlights the high social responsibility of accounting.
- Ethics Training: in professional training it is essential to have elements to practice the profession in a way that is socially useful and recognized; In professional practice, it is essential that the behavior of the accountant in relation to his relations with all the actors that make up the environment in which he operates as colleagues, users, other professionals and the rest of society is determined in terms of honesty and integrity in order to spread the credibility and reliability of the information as a result of the activities carried out by it.
The accountant, according to the nature of the accounting office, has the responsibility of giving public faith on the documents and financial statements made by him and it is the professional competence that is the element that guarantees the suitability of an accountant or any other professional.
The current situation of the labor market, the demands of new accounting trends, and the globalization process that is being experienced, require the accountant to be a competent professional, with high training standards that allow him to face constant and new challenges.
To date, there are many entrepreneurs who consider the accountant a legal obligation, but not a tool for the development of their company. Some only hire them to sign statements and issue financial statements. The added value that a professional can provide to his clients is directly proportional to his competence. Advising a company requires extensive knowledge and experience, and the only way to achieve these elements is through continuous training and research.
Many of the current problems of this profession are derived from the lack of professional competence. There are not many Accountants with specialized studies and less with a master's degree. Nor are many Accountants who attend seminars, symposia, conferences. Few Accountants write books, magazines.
It is up to everyone to assume greater responsibility and commitment to the training of professional skills, since accounting has been and always will be an essential tool for every company and therefore for the economic development of a country, and hence the great importance of promoting quality of its professionals.
Proposal of the professional competencies that students of the Accounting and Finance career should acquire
In his article "Reinvention of the University" Tünnermann affirms that, due to the change in the conception of man and his universe, education must emphasize general basic training and prioritize learning processes, so that the future graduate is gifted of resources to continue educating yourself. After analyzing macro trends and reading authors on the subject, we conclude that, in order for the professional to be competitive and be able to continue self-education, they must:
- Perform adequately in different communicative situations: Communicative competence.
- Be willing and able to build their own concepts: Cognitive Competence.
- Know how to identify, access and manage sources of information, according to the requirements and maintain a critical and reflective attitude towards facts or phenomena: Inquiry Competence.
- Set clear positions and support them properly. Argumentative Competence.
- Identify and formulate problems and develop and present solution proposals: Purposeful competence.
On this basis, the following professional competencies are proposed for a graduate of the Accounting and Finance career:
Communicative competence:
Oral and written communication facilities.
Teamwork.
Leadership.
Ability to develop public relations.
Provide quality, timely, understandable and transparent data.
Communication is an aspect of great importance in life in general. In recent research it is considered as the external phenomenon of personal interrelations, as the process of its realization and way of manifesting; it also constitutes the internal mechanism of group social life. In communication there is the unity of the cognitive and the affective, that is why it has been specified that the words correspond predominantly to the cognitive component, and the gestures to the affective component.
A professional in the accounting and financial sciences must be able to convey to interested people the results of their work clearly and in a timely manner, they must work as a team to achieve a better work environment and fluency in communication, a capacity that must be enhanced relationships with colleagues from other entities and the promotion of their products.
Cognitive Competence:
Projects management.
Initiative.
Creativity.
Adaptation to change.
Legal training.
Independence.
Knowledge is always in constant evolution, so its acquisition and application is continuous. The graduate in Accounting and Finance, making use of their knowledge, must be able to assimilate changes, to issue criteria and information independently and creatively. In addition, he must be aware of the laws, rules and regulations that are applicable to his profession; issues that are necessary to manage projects and to help meet the goals of the entity to which it belongs.
Investigative Competence:
Mastery of information technology.
Financial analyst.
Design of accounting and internal control systems.
Management of primary documentation.
Relevance.
Belonging.
Offer diagnoses on risks and profitability of the company.
With the permanent changes that take place in the world in the economic, technological and financial fields, every professional must be able to assume them and act accordingly. The Accounting and Finance graduate must be and feel part of the entity in which he works, but at the same time act in such a way that his opinions and actions are noticed and useful within it. For this, not only the accounting of the operations and the presentation of reports is directed its work, but on that basis it must analyze and diagnose the different events, internal or not, that affect the proper functioning of its entity.
Argumentative Competence:
Good negotiator.
Decision-making facilitator.
Explain accounting - financial situations using business language.
Interpret accounting - financial, environmental and social situations and act accordingly.
In all institutions, whether budgeted or not, the accountant must not only reduce himself to issuing numerical reports, with his work he must facilitate decision-making and the successful achievement of business, based on the interpretation and analysis of the information that he produces from accounting, financial and social points of view. For this, his qualities as a good communicator and as a connoisseur of his science will be useful, because it is not only about giving information or a series of data, but also arguing the criteria issued on that basis and making them understandable to the people around him..
Purposeful competence
Identify problematic situations in your profession.
Formulate a bank of problems inherent to your profession, taking into account the characteristics of your work environment.
Conjugation of theoretical development with capacities, skills and resources to meet the needs of society.
Solving problems given in your professional field using scientific and technical advances of your science.
Take responsibility for the proposed solutions.
The identification and formulation of problems of a profession contributes to perfecting it, and incidentally, responding to the needs of society. The role of the accountant in an entity, in addition to issuing, explaining and analyzing accounting - financial information, includes the resolution of problems given in their professional field using scientific - technical advances of their science and based on the knowledge and experience acquired in their training and in your working life.
Taking into account the need for human capital to be formed in the university in terms of research tasks and knowledge production, it is then necessary to assume research as a methodology that teaches the student to seek and build knowledge, from the perspective of the leading role it has in the process of building knowledge, attitudes and values.
For what is defined as investigative competence the handling of basic research tools, the identification and adequate formulation of problems that the professional must solve, accessing information effectively and being able to transform it into knowledge.
Investigative competence
Use of scientific research methods in their sphere of action.
Participate in scientific events in which he shows the results obtained in solving problems given in his professional field.
Take postgraduate studies to update the main scientific and technical advances of your science.
To pursue postgraduate studies to obtain scientific degrees.
Investigative competencies are proposed for the graduate in Accounting and Finance to contribute to the improvement of the profession through the use of scientific research, and in this way solve problems of their profession responding to the needs of society. For this, this professional must study postgraduate studies that allow him to appropriate the tools to make it effective.
Implicit in all these competencies proposed for the Accounting and Finance professional are the values that correspond to this. It is understood by personal characteristic values that guide man to act in accordance with the moral, ethical and ideopolitical norms of today's Cuban society.
It is considered that those who must have a graduate of accounting and financial sciences must have the following: honesty, responsibility, patriotism, collectivism, the most rigorous ethics as a citizen and professional, in relation to compliance with current moral principles and laws and regulations established by the legal system; punctuality in all aspects related to their duties; excellence in the development of their work; the creation of research habits and constant improvement in the activity carried out; honesty in their behavior; neatness in dress and in the development of their work.
Conclusions
Professional competencies constitute the basis for achieving the integral formation of the university student, as they represent the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that higher education graduates must meet.
In general, the proposal made in this work allows unifying the characteristics that the professional in this branch of knowledge must meet for their development in the different spheres in which they will act once they graduate, and highlights the need to perfect their profession using scientific research.
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