As a trusted source for continuing education, the MACPA is now offering to bring our instructors and curriculum to your location through a new program – Customized Training Solutions (CTS). The goal is to provide high quality, results-oriented training specifically designed to meet your organization’s needs. You pick the topic, date and location and the MACPA handles all the details.

Jerry Biederman, audit professional practices director of Comerica Inc., was one of the first to try Customized Training Solutions. Here is what he had to say about the new program.

Q. What was your overall impression of Customized Training Solutions? Did you and your staff enjoy the experience?
A. We were very pleased with all aspects of the training experience. The feedback we received from attendees was consistently positive regarding this training session.

Q. Do you feel CTS met your needs in terms of the education expected? Speakers, materials, our preparedness?
A. The feedback we received from attendees regarding the quality of the discussion leader was very positive. We had positive comments regarding his presentation and facilitation skills, style of presentation, and his knowledge of the subject matter.

Also, we were pleased in that there were no administrative requirements on our end. The instructor brought all the materials with him and everything was coordinated very efficiently by the MACPA in advance, so all we needed to do was have a room available for the session.

Q. Did you customize your training or did you choose from one of the CPE programs we offer? What training topics were covered?
A. We chose from the existing CPE programs, specifically those courses that qualify for the ethics training requirements for Michigan CPAs. We did not customize the session, however, I was able to have a conversation with the instructor in advance to discuss the audience for the training. Based on this discussion, the instructor was able to tailor certain aspects of the training content in order for it to be most relevant to internal auditors in a corporate environment.
 
Q. What type of format did you choose, 1-2 hour, 4 hour, or 8 hour? How many of your staff attended?
A. We selected a 4-hour format to correspond with the Ethics reporting period requirements, and the session was easily integrated as a session within a multi-day training program being coordinated by our department for all staff members. We had a total of 27 attendees.

Q. Would you utilize CTS again?
A. Based on our initial experience with the MACPA Customized Training Solutions, we will definitely consider them for additional training needs in the future.

Q. Do you have any additional comments?
A. The speaker was very well informed on the subject matter of the training, and he included in his discussion several unique aspects/stories pertaining to the case studies that were not in the training materials. It was apparent the speaker had done additional research, and his obvious interest and enthusiasm in the subject was a key factor in the success of the training.


Top