COMPETENT employees are needed in achieving the goals of every auditing firm. Competence is an aptitude obtained from education, training and experience. Broadly, it combines skills, knowledge and behavior.

We were taught that the qualifications of a successful auditor mainly involve having the expertise to implement auditing and accounting standards, procedures and techniques to carry out a correct audit and produce quality output in a timely manner. Not addressed in school, however, were issues such as dealing with multiple clients and difficult auditees — from the disinterested to the overly aggressive — that come on top of expectations of detailed and quality output on tight deadlines. As auditors, we were mentally and emotionally unprepared.