Opening CPA Certification in Dubai Advance College - Essay Example

Project Proposal for Dubai Advance College: Preparation for CPA Board Exam I. Scope The application of this proposed program shall only be limited to the Accounting Department of Dubai Advance College. In particular, this proposed program The main thrust of the Program is to improve Dubai Advanced College’s passing rate in the licensure exam. The process shall include the preparatory stage, administrative stage, implementation stage and evaluation stage. These stages first involve the procurement of the administrator’s approval and support to make the program a reality followed by identification of the need or areas of intervention, then pooling of resources for the implementation of the Program. It is not expected that the program will be “perfect” in its initial phase. It will be a continuing effort to evaluate and re-evaluate the program to allow for the continuous improvement of the Accounting Department of Dubai Advance College and to make Dubai Advance College a competitive global college. The ultimate aim and objective of the program is to reach 100% passing rate in the CPA licensure exam. It is important to stress that it is the aim of the program to make the Accounting Department of Dubai Advance College to become a competitive college globally. When it becomes competitive, students of Dubai Advance College will no longer have to go to the United States to review and take their CPA licensure exam and that would mean greater comfort for them because they will prepare and pass their CPA licensure exams in their home country (Dubai) not to mention that it is cost effective because they no longer have to travel abroad. II. Deliverables, Deadlines and Acceptance Test The make the program a reality, there are certain deliverables that has to be realized at certain time frames. The program is divided into four phase namely the Preparatory stage, Administrative stage, Implementation stage and Evaluation Stage. a. Preparatory stage The preparatory stage is the most critical stage of the Program because it is in this stage where the proponents can determine if the Program is realizable or not. This stage is critical because this is the stage where the proponents will secure the approval and support of the school administration. The program can only be implemented with the expressed permission and support of the school administrator to make it a reality. If this proposal will be declined, the scheduled activity of this Program will be rendered null and void. After submission of the proposal of the Program, the approval or disapproval of the school administrator shall be secured in two weeks. This will allow other activities to take place in a realistic schedule. The key information of the Program shall be immediately disseminated after securing support from the school administration. This will run for two weeks. The Key Deliverables in the Preparatory Stage are; a.1. Approval/disapproval of the school administration in two weeks a.2 . Information dissemination of the program immediately after the approval. The information will last for two weeks a.3. Meeting and secure of support from the academe’s source of experts (professors) a.4. Crafting of assessment to determine the area of intervention where Accounting students at Dubai Advance College are at weakest. b. Administrative stage The administrative stage of the program shall involve the procurement of logistical and talent requirement that includes the pool of experts from the academe’s roster of professors. It will also include the budgetary allocation from the school administration for the expenses that will be incurred in the preparation and execution of the program. The assessment to identify the areas of intervention to improve the passing rate of Dubai Advance College will also be administered at the administrative stage. c. Implementation stage The implementation stage is the actual implementation of the Program. This will commence in the second semester of implementation and will be composed of remedial/workshops as determined by the panel of experts depending on the result of the student’s assessment. This will be the execution of the module crafted by the panel of experts of Dubai Advance College. d. Evaluation stage Evaluation shall begin after the end of the implementation of the program and will initially be a two pronged strategy. The first strategy involves getting the feedback from accounting students through a survey form. The feedback shall determine if the assessment were accurate in determining the student’s areas of improvement/need of intervention and if the module was responsive in attending to these perceived weaknesses. The second strategy is to compare the performance of the students in the concluded licensure CPA examination and compare their performance before the program was implemented to determine its efficacy. A recommendation on how to improve the Program is expected after the evaluation. III. Risk Management (Uncertainty Profile & Risk Matrix) There are several areas that are considered threats/risk to the successful implementation of the Program. They are categorized below in the uncertainty profile and its threat summarized in a Risk matrix. Uncertainty Profile of Risks a. Project risk – the risk that Program will not materialize b. Manpower uncertainty – the risk that there will be not enough manpower or talent to realize the program. c. Resources uncertainty – the risk that there may not be enough logistical support to execute the program in full. d. Administrative uncertainty – the risk that the program may become a failure due to mismanagement. Risk Matrix Uncertainty Profile of Risks Severity Frequency Project risk 5 3 Resources uncertainty 2 1 Manpower uncertainty 4 1 Administrative uncertainty 3 2 Reference of Risk Matrix SEVERITY FREQUENCY Numeric consequence Numeric Description Catastrophic to business 5 Likely to result in the closure of the business Frequent 5 Likely to happen Critical 4 Likely to incur significant loss Probable 4 Probable to happen Moderate 3 Likely to result in moderate loss Occasional 3 Chance of happening is minimal Minor 2 Poses minor risk to the company Remote 2 Not expected to happen Negligible 1 Pose no risk to the company Improbable 1 Not happening IV. Work Breakdown Structure The following is the breakdown of the tasks for the full implementation of the program and the person responsible for the task. V. Gantt Chart Program Schedule             Start Date Duration (days) End Date Approval of the Program 9/1/13 14 9/14/13 Information dissemination 9/17/12 14 9/30/12 Support of professors 10/1/13 14 10/14/13 Crafting of the assesssment 10/15/13 30 11/15/12 Administration of the assessment 11/16/13 14 11/30/12 Crafting of module 12/1/13 45 1/15/14 Finalization and approval 1/16/14 14 1/30/14 Implementation 3/1/12 150 7/30/14 Evaluation     8/1/14 30 8/30/12 VI. Budget Materials 2,000.00 Allowance 5,000.00 Honorarium for professors 15,000.00 22,000.00 Honorarium for assesment administrators 1,500.00 Honorarium for professors 15,000.00 16,500.00 Salary for professors 50,000.00 utilities 5,000.00 supplies 2,000.00 other expenses 5,000.00 62,000.00 Evaluation Salary for professors 50,000.00 utilities 5,000.00 supplies 2,000.00 other expenses 5,000.00 62,000.00 Total Contingency expenses 10% 162,500.00 Total Budget Requirement of the Program 325,000.00 VII. Stakeholders The Program is aimed to increase the probability of Dubai Advance College Accounting students to pass the CPA licensure exam. It is aimed to make the college to be globally competitive so that its students will no longer have to travel to the United States to review and take and CPA licensure exam. Rather, they can have their review for CPA board examination in the comfort of their home country (Dubai) through the competitive review center of Dubai Advance College. While the direct stakeholders of the Program are the accounting students of Dubai Advance College, other entities in the school and Dubai society in general has also a stake in the program. For the college, it will improve its passing rate in the national CPA licensure exam thereby increasing the ranking and prestige of the school among accounting schools. For the school administers, the Program is a tremendous help in boosting the review capability of the college. For the professors and panel of experts, the widening of their expertise since they will be working with other experts from different fields to address the perceived area of intervention in Dubai Advance College. Finally, Dubai society in general will benefit from the Program because if the Program will become successful that it could match the readiness capability of review centers in the United States, it will no longer have to send its students abroad just to review for the CPA licensure exam saving time and precious dollars which could be channeled into other productive endeavors. Read More