We will enrol students to the TDL in phases from December to February and will notify you when you are being enrolled. You will find more information below and we ask that you only contact us about the TDL if absolutely necessary.

Onboarding and access

The TSU are working to onboard trainees in the below categories onto TDL.

Category A: Existing trainees who have been identified as candidates for migration of CA Diary experience to TDL (Training Contract end date = 1/1/2027 or later & some identified Flexible Route trainees.

Category B: New intake trainees 2025/26 - subject to Training Contracts being approved or Flexible Route registration forms being approved.

For now, the focus is on trainees in Category A, commencing with trainees in smaller training organisations, then Flexible Route trainees, and subsequently trainees in large training firms. This phased approach to enrolment means that all TDL users, including new intake trainees and all approvers, will be onboarded at various stages from December until February. This will not have a negative impact on trainees, as, following onboarding, trainees will be able to backdate experience to the formal registration commencement date. Trainees are advised to keep notes on work activities completed for now, and then ensure that all experience is recorded online, following onboarding

Following onboarding, students will access the TDL platform from the student Learning Hub. Please avoid contacting us to ask about an TDL access as we will inform trainees and approvers as soon as this happens.

Please keep an eye on this page, as we build up our TDL resources for trainees and approvers.

Purpose of the Training & Development Log

In addition to passing the Institute's exams, Chartered Accountants Ireland students are required to undertake a defined period of Approved Training (Training Contract route) or, for Flexible Route trainees, successfully complete a defined amount of Approved Experience. The period of Approved Training/Approved Experience is determined by the student's educational background, and is specified as an outcome of the Exemptions & Eligibility process. For example, students with a undergraduate degree are required to complete a 3.5 year period of Approved Training/Experience.

During the period of Approved Training/Experience. students will learn to apply obtained functional/technical knowledge to real-life situations, and transversal skills will be developed, including  ethical and professional behaviour, as expected of a prospective member of the profession.

Since 2006, all Chartered Accountants Ireland students have been required to (regularly) record all relevant work experience on an online system and have this experience approved twice per year. The mechanism for doing so has been via the CA Diary of Professional Development. Unless otherwise advised, existing CA Diary users will continue to use the CA Diary until the completion of the Approved Training period or until all Approved Experience has been recorded and verified. A resource package for CA Diary users is available on this webpage.

Trainees commencing in the 2025-26 academic year and beyond will not use the CA Diary. Instead, the Training & Development Log (TDL) is the required platform to be used - throughout the training period - to demonstrate the professional development requirements. Additionally, some students who commenced training prior to 2025-26 will move from the CA Diary to the TDL. Further information on the TDL can be found on our Student FAQs webpage.

TDL approvers

Before access to TDL can be provided, each trainee needs to have an approved formal registration and a TDL approver needs to be identified and assigned. Approvers play a key role in ensuring the accuracy and validity of submitted work experience records in the TDL. Students in Training Contracts should consult their training employer representatives to establish who will be taking on the role of TDL Approver (formerly known as mentor in CA Diary). Flexible Route students should identify a suitably qualified approver and submit the TDL Approver Request form, which is available on this webpage. Flexible Route students can contact the Training Support Unit, should they wish to discuss options or suitability of a proposed approver.