As part of maintaining trust in the accountancy profession, it is important for members to develop and maintain the professional competence necessary to provide high quality services to clients, employers, and other stakeholders.  One important way to do this is by completing relevant continuing professional development (CPD).

CPD is any learning and development activity that you undertake to develop and maintain professional competence to enable you to continue to perform your role competently.  CPD is not restricted to learning on accounting, tax or financial topics, it can include a variety of subjects or areas of learning, some examples may be risk management, report writing, leading teams or negotiation skills. CPD does not have to be provided by CA ANZ.

CA ANZ Regulation CR 7 Continuing Professional Development (CR7) sets out members’ CPD requirements including definitions, descriptions, exemptions and the minimum required CPD hours.

Your minimum CPD requirements at a glance

What is Verifiable CPD?

For CPD to be verifiable, there needs to be verifiable evidence to support your completion of it.  Verifiable evidence is objective evidence which can be proven and retained in either written or electronic form.  Verifiable CPD can include a range of activities, such as conferences, courses, workshops, technical discussion groups, webinars or in-house training.

If CPD cannot be verified but is learning and development that you undertake to develop and maintain professional competence to enable you to continue to perform your role competently, then it is considered non-verifiable CPD.  This can count towards your minimum CPD requirement, but not towards your minimum verifiable CPD requirement.  A good example is technical reading.

What is Verifiable Evidence?

This evidence could be something as simple as a certificate from a relevant course you completed, copies of source materials, copies of invoices, proof of attendance at a relevant event or even a calendar record.

Up to 50% of your verifiable hours can be met through on-the-job training where you have completed the relevant on-the-job training form and had this approved by a person who can attest to your on-the-job training.

What cannot be counted as CPD at all?

In short, anything that does not develop or maintain your professional competence with respect to performing your role.

Why is your CPD logbook more friend than foe?

Your CPD logbook is crucial in meeting your requirements and helps to chart your path towards completion. 

All members are required to maintain a CPD log which details their verifiable and non-verifiable CPD. They must also retain evidence of verifiable CPD.

Your CPD logbook can be as simple as an Excel sheet, or, more practically your online My CA CPD.  If you use My CA CPD log, you can upload a copy of your verifiable evidence to the relevant CPD record.  

Make sure your log also includes:

• The date of the activity undertaken and number of hours attributed to it
• The provider of the activity 
• Whether the activity satisfies any professional registrations, licences or specialisations that you hold

All members are required to maintain a log of their CPD.  Working for a particular organisation does not exempt you from this personal membership obligation.