It is the responsibility of all Chartered Accountants to develop and maintain the level competency necessary to provide high quality services to clients, employers and other stakeholders (See Code of Ethics Fundamental Principle Professional Competence and Due Care and the Rules of Professional Conduct).

The knowledge needed to enable Chartered Accountants to function effectively in their chosen sphere continues to develop rapidly with increasing knowledge and skill expectations. Continuing professional development and lifelong learning are critical if these expectations are to be met.

For Chartered Accountants the process of life long learning begins early, starting with a comprehensive education, training and examination programme leading to qualifying for admission as a Chartered Accountant.

CPD enables Chartered Accountants to continue this process and develop and maintain the capabilities necessary to allow them to provide the highest quality of service within their professional environment.

The first thing you need to do is decide which approach best suits you to ensure you maintain and develop the level of competence necessary for the performance of your professional activities. Normally you will do this before the start of the calendar year as your CPD Records (see comments below) will be required to cover calendar years. However, if during the course of the year you feel that the approach adopted is no longer suitable for you, you can of course move to another approach. It is important that you record your decision and the reason for it on your records.

All members who adopt the Input-based Approach will be required to achieve a minimum of 20 hours structured and 50 hours unstructured CPD per annum to sustain their professional competence.

Members in practice or members employed in practice who operate the Input-based Approach will be expected to achieve a minimum of 10 hours structured CPD per annum in each service area in which they practice:

• Audit / Accounting
• Investment Business
• Insolvency Practice
• Tax

The Output-based Approach requires you to ensure that you have the necessary knowledge and expertise to fulfil your role and responsibilities.

This new approach involves a move away from the traditional hours based scheme with its emphasis on the time spent on CPD activities.

With the Output-based Approach there is no prescriptive hours (either structured or unstructured) based requirement, instead, you are required to identify the skills you need to develop through continuing professional development, decide on the necessary training and development and then demonstrate that you are maintaining your professional competence.

In advance of each CPD calendar year you will need to undertake the following 4 steps:

Step 1: Assess what is expected of you in your current and future roles

• Summary of your role and short job description
• Consider the environment in which you work
• Aim to ensure professional competence and ethical awareness

Step 2: Decide on and carry out your training and development goals

• Determine whether you possess the technical knowledge and specialist skills required to fulfil your role and responsibilities
• Identify those areas where you need to develop and maintain competence
• Plan the action necessary, including identifying any CPD activities, to address your training and development goals; examples of CPD activities are included in the appendices

The Combination Approach allows you to combine the traditional structure of a specified number of hours being spent on CPD activities, with the new system of focusing on the output or benefit of CPD activities based on the development of your skills, and your ability to perform competently in your current role.

If you adopt the Combination Approach you will need to ensure that the combination of number of hours attributed to CPD activities combined with other CPD activities satisfy your training and development needs and result in you having the necessary knowledge and expertise to fulfil your role and responsibilities.

A member adopting the Combination Approach will be required to maintain a CPD record in any format as explained below.

The Board is committed to ensuring the CPD system will operate effectively and in the public interest. Therefore the Board will ensure that, when necessary, appropriate action is taken to ensure compliance with the CPD Regulations. Steps will be taken where members do not comply with the CPD Regulations. Initial steps taken to address non compliance are likely to focus on bringing members into compliance within a reasonable time frame.

The Quality Assurance Committee is responsibility for monitoring compliance with the CPD Regulations. The Committee has a wide range of powers including:

• Refusing, restricting or withdrawing any licence it has issued
• Agreeing a regulatory penalty
• Referring the member to the Complaints Committee for possible disciplinary action

It is importance to be aware that continued or wilful failure to comply could result in you being excluded from membership.

Exemption 1 - Retired Members

Members who are retired and not carrying out any professional work of a business or financial nature (paid or unpaid) are exempt from these requirements. Retired members who carry out voluntary or part-time work where they are engaged in activities of a business or financial nature are not exempt and are required to comply with the CPD requirements.

This exemption does not apply to members who work with a company's auditors in providing material explanations or representations in relation to financial statements or information; or who have a statutory responsibility for the preparation of such financial statements of information; or who provide documentation to third parties who place reliance on the financial information presented. This applies not only to company accountants, but to any member who acts as a company director, or who sits on or advises the board of any entity that publishes financial statements, and also to internal auditors and public sector auditors.

Exemption 2 - Career break

Members undertaking a career break for family or other reasons are exempt from these requirements. However, following or immediately preceding a return to the workplace those members must undertake sufficient CPD to ensure that their competence is refreshed and up-to-date. Members on career breaks may attend some CPD courses provided by the Institute free of charge.

Evidence for verification in an Input-based Approach

The member may be asked periodically to produce evidence to support the CPD record. The following are examples of what may be used as evidence in an Input-based Approach to record that CPD activities have been undertaken:

• 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
• Contemporaneous notes or commentary on presentations attended

Evidence for Verification in an Output-based Approach

The following are examples of what may be used as evidence in an Output-based Approach to record that CPD activities have been undertaken:

• 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

The following sources of evidence, if verified as applying to the individual member, may provide evidence of competence about that individual member:

• Independent practice inspections
• Assessments or signoffs by speciality associations that documents enhancements of competences, and assessments by regulators, e.g., government reviews of licensed banks.