Staying ahead: the importance of CPD

In practice, CPD can encompass a wide range of activities, such as enrolling in a training course, participating in educational events, pursuing new qualifications, or exploring different facets of your job. It’s important to approach CPD as a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving your personal skills and expertise throughout your entire accountancy career.

CPD motivates you to anticipate future challenges and seek out chances to enhance your skills or acquire new ones, while also refreshing your current knowledge and keeping abreast of the latest sector trends.

The goal of CPD is to make learning a deliberate and active endeavour. You can accomplish this by engaging in a variety of activities. As an example, the IFA has a wide range of events including webinars, conferences, training programmes, online learning, and regional networking meetings which help keep you up to date with important issues in accounting and tax, gain valuable verifiable CPD hours. CPD may also involve exchanging best practices, insights, and innovative ideas with other accountancy professionals.

CPD is a continuous journey of enhancing skills and abilities. In essence, it represents a dedication to lifelong learning and growth and more accountants consider CPD as being hugely important for their careers. This is reflected in a recent survey* conducted by the IFA, where 47.2% of its members reported attending a CPD event in the past year, a notable increase from 36.4% the previous year.

Why do accountants have to do CPD?

Participating in continuing professional development helps keep accountancy qualifications current and relevant. It enables accountants to consistently enhance or refresh their skills, no matter their age or educational background.

Professional accountancy membership bodies usually require their members to undertake CPD activities on an annual basis. It’s essential to meticulously document and maintain an accurate log of the CPD hours you complete over your career. Additionally, you need to commit to a minimum number of CPD hours or points each year to ensure your skills remain up to date. All IFA members are required to be committed to maintaining the highest professional and technical standards by undertaking appropriate CPD relevant to their role and career each year. Other than those who are CPD exempt, all IFA members must complete 40 hours of CPD in any year, of which 20 hours must be verifiable.

What CPD topics can accountants choose?

CPD encompasses a variety of subjects, and those in accounting and finance roles must keep their technical abilities current. It’s also really valuable to undertake CPD to support professional growth and development and learn management skills if required.

You have the flexibility to customise your CPD by choosing subjects that interest you and support your professional development. According to statistics, IFA members are eager to explore a wide variety of CPD subjects, with the most popular being tax (63.5%), AI and emerging technologies (56.5%), updates on accounting software (53.5%), compliance updates (51.7%), and IFRS and IAS (50.1%). Before diving into topic searches, it’s a good idea to identify new skills or areas you’d like to explore. Additionally, think about your weaknesses and how you can tackle them through self-directed learning.

Some common CPD topics for accountants include, tax and VAT, financial reporting, risk and fraud, excel and data analytics, leadership, technology and digital innovation, audit, as well as regulatory and professional updates.

Verifiable and non-verifiable – what’s the difference?

In a nutshell, verifiable CPD consists of activities that are directly related to your career in accountancy and allow you to demonstrate your learning, such as attending courses, seminars, or conferences. Additionally, you’ll need to provide proof of your participation in these activities. IFA members are required to keep a record of their CPD activities and maintain this record a minimum of six years after the end of the year.

Non-verifiable CPD refers to informal activities such as reading professional articles, watching a video or listening to a podcast – something that isn’t related to a specific learning outcome.

Planning is key

Investing time in planning your continuing professional development over a longer timeframe will boost your knowledge and promote lifelong learning. Here are a few steps to keep in mind:

• Determine the skills you’d like to enhance, and seek out appropriate learning opportunities.
• Participate in relevant CPD activities to accumulate credits.
• Take time to reflect on your learning experiences and assess if further development is needed.
• Maintain a steady plan and regularly engage in CPD throughout the year. This strategy will help you stay committed to your growth and identify any areas that might require extra focus.

Takeaways

CPD is crucial for accountants as it allows you to refine your skills and stay informed about the latest industry trends. Additionally, provides clients with confidence in your expertise.

To ensure that CPD is truly beneficial, it’s essential to carefully and strategically plan CPD activities, give them the commitment they need and apply the outcomes in your current position.

*Source: IPA Group Membership Survey 2024, April/May 2024.