Description
Lean Six Sigma Concepts & Tools for Auditors & Accountants includes a self-study e-book delivered immediately upon purchase. Answer questions online to receive a certificate of completion for for 7.5 hours of CPE credit.
Even for those familiar with it, Lean Six Sigma can mean different things to different people depending on the situation.
Sometimes, it indicates a manufacturing technique designed to reduce waste and improve yield. Sometimes it refers to a quality department tool set. Sometimes, it seems like just part of the latest “fix-it” hype, consulting mumbo-jumbo or management flavor of the month type stuff.
Fear of the unknown and not wanting to look stupid is enough to keep most people backing away from Lean Six Sigma. However, Lean Six Sigma is a very useful body of knowledge and we want to make it less daunting and intimidating for others. And Lean Six Sigma holds a wealth of techniques and approaches for squeezing the most out of any effort in the government environment.
This course is intended to provide insight, as well as a foundation for using Lean Six Sigma immediately within the accounting function of an organization-specifically, a government accounting organization. If you are a government auditor, you will find this book is full of fancy, impressive names (sometimes exotic-sounding Japanese names!) for things you already do, and you will find a few new techniques to add to your bag of tricks.
Course objectives include:
- Define Lean Six Sigma
- Determine how Lean Six Sigma fits into the accounting culture
- Differentiate between Lean and Six Sigma
- Distinguish between philosophy, attributes, toolsets, and methodologies of Lean Six Sigma
- Differentiate between value-added and non-value-added activities
- Define core concepts of Lean—including waste and value stream flow
- Define the core concepts of Six Sigma including variation, standardization, special and common causes
- Identify a family of performance and improvement measures for a function or organization
- Discriminate between Lean Six Sigma tools
- Select an appropriate Lean Six Sigma tool for a task
- Define the phases of the DMAIC model
- Choose appropriate tools for each phase of the DMAIC model
- Classify activities of process improvement into the phases of the DMAIC process
- Define key kaizen terms
- Define qualities and common goals of Kaizen events
- Distinguish between a Lean Six Sigma project and a Lean Six Sigma program
- Define the four key factors for success—the four “rights”
- Classify reasons for resistance to change
- Define solutions for resistance to change
Recommended CPE credit: 7.5 hours
NASBA Category of Study: Auditing (Governmental)
Program level: Basic
Prerequisites: None
Advance preparation: None
Who should attend: Governmental accountants working to improve processes and service delivery. Governmental auditors interested in adding new diagnostic techniques to their audit procedures.
Instructional method: Self-study text with online qualified assessment. QAS SS
Author: Betsy Neidel, CSSBB & Leita Hart-Fanta, CPA
This course does qualify for the 24 hour Yellow Book CPE requirement.
Questions? You can find our FAQ here.
What People Say About This Course
“Online, self-paced study and the organization of the manual – it was very easy to follow, and this was particularly important because this is a brand new topic for me.” – CPA in public practice
“The writing was relatively conversational while still presenting solid information.” – Accountant with a federal agency
“The ideas and concepts will always keep me thinking of ways to improve my job and the efficiency of my division.” – Lean Six Sigma student
“I’ve taken Lean/SSGB courses in the past, but I thought this course brought the two disciplines together in a format that was very easy to read and comprehend. I learned/absorbed more in a shorter amount of time than I did in previous multi-day in-person seminars that I’ve attended.” – Federal Inspector General Auditor
“I learned it is best to take a look at the bigger picture as it can be easy to fall into habits and not question why we are doing something.” – Federal Auditor
“Interesting topic with an audit/accounting focus.” – CPA in Public Practice
“Loved the diagrams and examples.” – City Auditor
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