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Continuing Professional Development
| Almost all of the major professional bodies have new schemes coming into effect in the near future – although there are a couple who made the changes earlier this year or are still developing them for later release. CFDG members will be pleased to know that many of the activities and information provided by the group can contribute to their continuing professional development. Many of you already attend the free members’ meetings and other events, but don’t forget that CPD is not limited to structured, face-to-face training. It can also include reading relevant articles (and indeed writing them), as well as participating in working groups or giving presentations. |
Your Professional Body: If your own professional body isn't included here, it doesn't mean that there is no CPD scheme associated with it - or that CFDG activities aren't relevant. Check out the requirements yourself - and let us know if you find any information which you think should be shared with your fellow members. International Education Standard - Summary |
We are very keen to support all of our members in their professional development, so please make sure that you look at the requirements of your professional accounting body, consider your own development needs, and think about how CFDG can help you to achieve your goals. Brief outlines of the schemes from the main bodies which CFDG members belong to are provided below.
And if you are not a member of any of the bodies setting out such requirements, you may want to consider setting your own Continuing Professional Development targets – we would encourage everyone to keep up to date with the latest information (and of course being a member of CFDG is a good place to start!).
Your Professional Body
The new CPD scheme comes into force on 1 January 2005, and will apply to all members.
Each year you will be asked by the Institute
to declare that you have, on an ongoing basis:
· Reflected on your responsibilities in your role and your
development needs
· Taken appropriate action to fulfil those development
needs
· Considered the impact of those activities in meeting
those needs.
Each year a selection of members will be asked to provide evidence
to support their declaration. You may be one of those members
chosen, so:
· You need to be in a position to provide the appropriate
evidence for review
· You should submit your evidence in an appropriate format.
The ICAEW is launching a specialised portal to support members
in getting the most out of CPD. This area of the ICAEW website
will allow you to personalise the site according to your responsibilities
and interests, and to received alerts on topics relevant to you.
Individual sections will go into more depth and offer guidance,
information and case studies – and CFDG has been involved
in the development of the specialist area looking at charity finance.
More information at www.icaew.co.uk/cpd
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The AAT changed their scheme at the beginning
of 2004.
Most members are required to do at least 60 hours of relevant
CPD over 2 years, with at least 20 hours in any single year. Relevant
CPD is any kind of learning as long as it is relevant to your
professional role, and there is a significant learning outcome.
The AAT website includes a personalised online CPD log.
More information at: www.aat.co.uk/cpd
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Members are expected to devote a minimum of
30 hours per year to structured development, underpinned by 2–3
hours per week of reading and private study, both of which should
be logged to provide a record to:
· include in their portfolio or CV to demonstrate their
added value
· provide a route by which they can reflect on the learning
undertaken and gain direction for the next step in their development.
CIMA does not specify the content of that development but does
expect it to be consistent with the expectations of the Ethical
code, the employing organisation and the individual member.
Members are expected to keep records of CPD undertaken. These
may be required by CIMA, for example, from applicants for Fellowship
or from members subject to disciplinary complaints.
The CIMA website includes a downloadable form to log CPD activity.
More information at: www.cimaglobal.com/members/professional/cpd
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CIPFA has also developed a new policy, which
is being phased in from January 2005 and will be compulsory for
all members by January 2007. However, all members are urged to
join the scheme as soon as possible.
The scheme has two levels of participation – level 1 is
the basic scheme designed to meet the requirements of regulators,
while level 2 reflects best practice.
Participants will be required to undertake 120 hours of verifiable
activities over a three-year period with a minimum of 20 hours
of verifiable activities in any one year. Members will be asked
to make a Statement of Declaration each year, and a number of
members will be randomly selected and asked to meet with a CIPFA
representative to share the details of their CPD activities.
Wherever possible CIPFA asks that CPD activities should be verified
or evidenced. This will be an independent record confirming that
the activity took place. CIPFA members are able to choose when
they wish their CPD year to run from.
More information is available at www.cipfa.org.uk/cpd
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The ACCA scheme is being introduced in phases
from January 2005 and will be compulsory for all members from
January 2007. All members are encouraged to take early adoption.
Members will be required to complete and record 40 units of CPD
annually, of which 21 must be able to be verified by papers or
notes confirming participation. One unit of CPD equates to one
hour spent on a learning, development, or training activity.
At the end of each, members will complete a CPD return that:
· confirms that the minimum CPD requirements have been
achieved,
· declares their continued compliance with professional
ethics requirements, and
· indicates the nature of the activities completed and
the area of skill or knowledge maintained or enhanced.
ACCA also has an employee development scheme which may be operated
by an approved employer, and members participating in such a scheme
will automatically meet ACCA’s CPD requirement.
More information is available at www.accaglobal.com/cpdrealise
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International Education Standard 7 - Summary
In May 2004, the International Federation of Accountants published their International Education Standard for Professional Accountants 7 (IES7).
This standard prescribes that member bodies implement a continuing professional development (CPD) requirement as an integral component of a professional accountant’s continued membership, stating that “such a requirement contributes to the profession’s objective of providing high-quality services to meet the needs of the public (including clients and employers)”. It introduces the concepts of continuing professional development as relevant, verifiable and measurable learning activities and outcomes.
The standard is effective from 1 January 2006, and most of the professional accounting organisations are currently revising their requirements in line with this standard.
The basic principles set out in IES7 are:
Promotion of Lifelong Learning: Member bodies should promote the importance of continuous improvement of competence and a commitment to lifelong learning for all professional accountants.
Access to CPD: Member bodies should facilitate access to CPD opportunities and resources to assist professional accountants in meeting their responsibility for lifelong learning.
Mandatory CPD for all Professional Accountants: Member bodies should require all professional accountants to develop and maintain competence relevant and appropriate to their work and professional responsibilities. The responsibility for developing and maintaining competence rests primarily with each professional accountant.
Relevance: CPD contributes to the competence of professional accountants and therefore acceptable CPD activities are expected to develop the professional knowledge, professional skills and professional values, ethics and attitudes of the professional accountant, relevant to their current and future work and professional responsibilities.
Some member bodies may choose to develop requirements or other guidance regarding which types of CPD activities are considered professionally relevant. Other member bodies may choose to rely on the professional judgment of individual members to make decisions on the relevance of CPD activities. Others may choose to set requirements in certain areas, and allow members the flexibility to choose relevant learning activities in other areas.
Measurement: Professional accountants are required to measure learning activities or outcomes to meet the member body’s CPD requirements.
Verification: Professional accountants are responsible to retain appropriate records and documents related to their CPD and, upon request by the member body, provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate their compliance with the requirements of the member body.
Approaches: The objective of CPD is to assist professional accountants to develop professional competence to provide services of high quality in the public interest. Measurement of completion of CPD can be achieved by at least three different approaches:
Input-based approaches – by establishing a set amount of learning activity that is considered appropriate to develop and maintain competence.
This should require the professional accountant
to:
a) Complete at least 120 hours or equivalent learning units of
relevant professional development activity in each rolling three-year
period, of which 60 hours or equivalent learning units should
be verifiable;
b) Complete at least 20 hours or equivalent learning units in
each year;
c) Track and measure leaning activities to meet the above requirements
Evidence for verification could be:
· Course outlines, teaching materials
· Attendance record, registration forms
or confirmation of registration from provider
· Independent assessments that a learning
activity has occurred
· Confirmation by an instructor, mentor
or tutor of participation
· Confirmation by an employer of participation
in an in-house program
Output-based approaches – by requiring
professional accountants to demonstrate, by way of outcomes, that
they develop and maintain professional competence.
This should require the professional accountant to demonstrate
the maintenance and development of relevant competence by periodically
providing evidence that has been:
a) Objectively verified by a competent source;
b) Measured using a valid competence assessment method.
Evidence for Verification could be:
· Verification of learning achieved through
learning or performance outcomes
· Evaluation of written or published material
by a reviewer
· Assessments of learning outcomes achieved
· Publication of a professional article
or of the results of a research project
· Periodic re-examination
· Specialist or other qualification
· Work logs that have been objectively
verified with reference to an external competency map
· Competency maps developed by the member
body against which the member completes a self-assessment and
provides supporting evidence on request
· Objective assessments against a competency
map developed either by the employer or by the professional body
as to the individual’s level of competence.
Combination approaches – by effectively and efficiently combining elements of the input- and output-based approaches, setting the amount of learning activity required and measuring the outcomes achieved.
Monitoring and Enforcement: Member bodies should establish a systematic process to monitor whether professional accountants meet the CPD requirement and provide for appropriate sanctions for failure to meet the requirement, including failure to report or failure to develop and maintain competence.
Examples of Learning Activities include:
· Participation in courses, conferences,
seminars
· Self-learning modules or organised on-the-job
training for new software, systems, procedures or techniques for
application in professional role
· Published professional or academic writing
· Participation and work on technical
committees
· Teaching a course or CPD session in
an area related to professional responsibilities
· Formal study related to professional
responsibilities
· Participation as a speaker in conferences,
briefing sessions, or discussion groups
· Writing technical articles, papers,
books
· Research, including reading professional
literature or journals, for application in a professional role
· Professional re-examination or formal
testing
One single, repetitive activity, for example, teaching introductory accounting to different audiences, should not constitute a member’s total CPD activity.
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