ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Charities
    5. Coronavirus
    6. Corporate and financial reporting
    7. Business and governance
    8. Ethics
    9. Insolvency
    10. ICAS Research
    11. Pensions
    12. Practice
    13. Public sector
    14. Sustainability
    15. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

What is the key to balancing work and development?

Photo of a businessman between two skyscrapers
  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By Eleanor O'Neill, Professional Development

22 January 2018

We all have busy schedules and maintaining a healthy work / life balance can be a daunting challenge. Throwing a development plan into the mix can add to existing pressures. Keep on top of everything with our guide to forward-planning.

Quarterly goals

Realistic deadlines for your professional development goals go a long way in helping to manage the pressures of daily demands. Rather than pledging to dive into a new topic every week, align your targets with your work schedule and plan by quarter.

For example, if Q1 is generally a quiet time of year for you, use those months to undertake an online course or pursue a new skill. Conversely, if Q3 is your busiest rush of work, set aside less intensive time slots to watch some webinars or attend an event or two.

Setting fairly long-term deadlines helps to prevent stress around prioritising and allows for greater flexibility in your time management. Review your progress weekly and determine what you can realistically achieve in the days ahead to meet your goals.

Types of learning

ICAS offers a wide range of training courses so CAs can benefit from maximum flexibility in their continuing professional development (CPD). It is important to consider which type of learning works best for you and how well aligned it is with your priorities.

For example, you may have a passing interest in learning more about data analytics but, while likely to add value to your skillset, it isn't necessarily part of your day-to-day operations. In this situation, webinars and short online courses are the most practical pursuits. Independent research like reading books on the subject in your spare time is also a valid development technique.

Conversely, if an industry-changing development such as Making Tax Digital (MTD) is set to impact your work in the near future, it is exactly the kind of topic that you should spend a lot of time and effort getting to grips with. At this point, you should consider training days, long-term courses and conferences.

Working together

Development can be a social opportunity as well as a professional one. Reach out to colleagues and fellow CAs to undertake development opportunities together, whether by attending events and conferences or embarking on a course. Having a peer to discuss learnings with and collaborate on work can keep you motivated throughout the year and help add workplace relevance to your new knowledge.

Also, consider enlisting the help of a coach or mentor to keep you on track. Various programmes offered by ICAS can help you find an appropriate source of support for your career development. A mentor will help you decide what you want to achieve and feed into which priorities will benefit you most.


Our range of Professional Development opportunities features a full range of initiatives available for you or your organisation:

Learn more

Colleagues careers discussion

Realising your potential as a Non-Executive Director

By Debbie Shields, Manager West of Scotland, iMultiply

22 January 2018

Photo of smiling colleagues

Get a head start on your 2022 professional development

By Vikki Douglas, Senior Manager, Professional Development

21 January 2020

ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: