Thanks so much, Marian, for going into such depth. And you're right. I've always said that I was very proficient at MS Word and Excel but some of your examples had me saying
lol
Like you said, it's not that you don't know the software but if there are parts of it you've never had to use (or used very little) you don't "know it all". I used to be much better with Excel than I am now, for instance, because my entire day was spent working with numbers and creating reports. I could create and use pivot tables effortlessly, for example. But now? Forget it! It's been 5 years since I've even had to look at a pivot table. Same thing with Access. I haven't had the need to use it since I've left the corporate world and I've definitely lost it.
So I, for one, am definitely glad that you threw those examples out to
really express how hard the CVA exam is. I'll definitely be looking into honing up on my MS Office skills (I've always wanted to work towards the MS Office certifications but my job wouldn't pay for the exams and it was just way too expensive. I think it's something like $7,000 to go through the whole program isn't it? I forget.)
Also, one reason why I originally decided
against joining the IVAA is because, like a lot of people, I don't want to spend a whole lot of money on certifications or courses that I can honestly do without. I really like the idea that the IVAA expects you to find the learning elsewhere and the certification is just a very high assessment of what skills you already possess so that it actually feels like a true accomplishment to achieve that certification. Not to mention the confidence it must give both you and your clients (assuming, of course, that the clients are aware of what the certification entails). So, I will definitely rethink my decision and will be able to take advantage of all an IVAA membership has to offer (as well as give something back) once I'm more able.