Corporate Business Alliance

Self-assessment · Accounting

Accounting Manager

Rate yourself against each learning objective in the CBA Standard for Accounting Manager. Your profile builds as you go, domain by domain, weighted as the standard is.

Standard
Version 8.1
Domains
5
Objectives
30to rate
The scale
0
Not yet. This is new to me.
1
Aware. I know what it is, but have not applied it.
2
With guidance. I can apply it with guidance or a reference to hand.
3
Independently. I apply it in my work without guidance.
4
Can guide others. I could teach it, or review someone else’s work on it.

  1. Domain 1Close Cycle Management

    25% of the standard
    1.1Construct a month-end close calendar with task dependencies, owners, deadlines and quality gates
    1.2Distinguish between hard-close, soft-close and continuous-close approaches and select the appropriate model for a given organisation
    1.3Evaluate accrual, prepayment, provision and cut-off procedures for completeness and consistency at period end
    1.4Interpret reconciliation ageing and unresolved-item reports to prioritise close-cycle risk
    1.5Select actions to recover a slipping close, including re-sequencing tasks, applying materiality thresholds and escalating blockers
    1.6Calculate close-cycle performance measures such as days to close, late adjustment counts and post-close correction rates

  2. Domain 2Internal Controls and Risk

    20% of the standard
    2.1Distinguish preventive, detective and corrective controls and match each to a given process risk
    2.2Design segregation of duties for payments, payroll, journals and master-data changes, including compensating controls for small teams
    2.3Evaluate the severity of a control failure and select an appropriate response, including remediation and disclosure to leadership
    2.4Identify fraud indicators in accounts payable, payroll, expenses and revenue processes
    2.5Interpret an exception report or audit finding and prioritise remediation actions
    2.6Select appropriate approval thresholds, system access rights and documentation standards for a described process

  3. Domain 3Team and Workflow Management

    20% of the standard
    3.1Allocate tasks across a team using skill, capacity and development criteria rather than habit
    3.2Design a preparer-reviewer hierarchy with clear evidence standards for review
    3.3Evaluate individual and team performance using workload, quality and timeliness indicators
    3.4Select coaching, training or escalation responses to described performance problems
    3.5Distinguish effective delegation from abdication and micromanagement in given scenarios
    3.6Interpret capacity data to justify hiring, outsourcing or automation decisions

  4. Domain 4Leadership Reporting and Communication

    20% of the standard
    4.1Construct a monthly management pack with an appropriate structure for a described audience
    4.2Interpret variances between actual, budget and prior period and draft commentary that explains cause rather than restating numbers
    4.3Select key indicators for cash, working capital and profitability suitable for a given business model
    4.4Distinguish decision-useful commentary from noise, and materiality-driven detail from clutter
    4.5Evaluate requests from leadership for new reports and negotiate scope, frequency and deadlines
    4.6Calculate common working capital and liquidity measures from summarised financial data

  5. Domain 5Systems, Automation and Data

    15% of the standard
    5.1Construct requirements and a weighted scoring model for selecting accounting software or add-on tools
    5.2Evaluate a chart of accounts and dimension design for reporting and consolidation needs
    5.3Distinguish tasks suited to automation or AI assistance from those requiring accountant judgement and review
    5.4Select data-integrity practices for spreadsheets and system integrations, including reconciliation of interfaces
    5.5Interpret a migration or implementation plan and identify cutover, parallel-run and data-quality risks
    5.6Evaluate the controls needed around automated postings and AI-assisted outputs before reliance

Developing against the standard