Don't leave CPD until the last minute
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a key part of upholding professional standards and advancing your skillset as a CA.
The mandatory ICAS CPD model requires members to take part in some CPD activity every year and places the onus on each member to decide what that activity should be.
However, with busy work lives leaving little time for anything extracurricular, CPD requirements all too often become a last-minute consideration. As professionals return to work after enjoying their summer holidays, the focus should turn to ticking off goals before Christmas.
To ensure you enter your next performance review with an impressive array of goals and achievements, we have put together some advice for planning your CPD throughout the year.
What counts as CPD?
CPD activity can mean work-based learning, training courses, voluntary research or any other undertaking that can be proven to have a positive impact on your professional development.
Dodie Clark, author of leadership book 'Stand Out', said: "When I started my consulting business a decade ago, I spent a little bit of time every night for roughly three years reading classic management authors like Peter Drucker and popular current writers like Jim Collins and Keith Ferrazzi.
"Similarly, if you’re on a new international assignment, you’ll want to dive into narrative journalism about the local politics and culture, and the most important fictional works that people in the country will refer to.
"There may be particular skills you want to pick up or interesting trends you see on the horizon that you’d like to learn more about. From there, you can chart out the best method – whether it’s taking a course, independent reading, or listening to podcasts."
ICAS CPD - Everything you need to know
Our CPD - Everything you need to know page summarises everything you need to know about CPD and your requirements as a CA. There we explain what’s involved, why Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is important and where you can find the information and resources you need.
Training courses in partnership with BPP Professional Development
Here is a hand-picked selection of upcoming spotlight CPD training courses to inspire you:
- Finance Directors' Update
- Technical Update for Accountants in Business
- CFO of the future (Part 1): Finance leadership
- ESG - Sustainability reporting
- Auditing standards: update and issues
Below you will also find other key pages to keep you up-to-date with information on the latest CPD courses offering:
- Browse by Course Type
- Upcoming Online Classroom Live virtual courses
- Face-to-Face Training courses in Scotland
- Face-to-Face Training courses in England
- Online Learning and Resources
Skills and experience you can acquire outside of work may also have value for employers. Possibilities range from confidence-building exercises like public speaking to volunteering with a charity.
How to plan
Here are our top tips to spread your CPD out through the year:
- Connect CPD to your career goals and set quarterly objectives or deadlines.
- Break goals into smaller tasks and regularly make time to review your progress.
- Attend courses or conferences with a colleague to encourage further discussion after the session.
Having a clear timetable will encourage you to keep up with your continuing professional development and meeting goals will have an undoubted positive impact on your career.