Continuing professional development

Continuing professional development (CPD) keeps you up-to-date with valuable knowledge and the skills necessary to succeed in the fields of business and finance. All members have a professional obligation to themselves, their employers and the community to plan and participate in a continuing education program, tailored to meet their own needs.

If you hold the status of Associate (ASA), CPA, Fellow (FCPA) or if retired and provide public accounting services (whether or not for reward), you must complete 120 CPD hours each triennium. You must do at least 20 hours of CPD each year and you may be required to submit records and a diary of your CPD activities.

CPD hours cannot be carried forward and each triennium will start afresh with a minimum of 20 hours required per year accumulating to 120 hours over the triennium.

CPA Australia members working for employers participating in the CPA Australia Recognised Employer Program are provided with an alternative method to demonstrate adherence to CPA Australia’s minimum CPD requirements.

How to gain CPD hours

It is up to you to decide how to satisfy the requirements. For example, activities may be offered by professional bodies, educational institutions or organisations or as in-house training by an employer, or you may elect to undertake a home-study course or develop your own structured program of study. The activities claimed, while relevant to the your employment, do not have to directly relate to accounting or finance and could involve, for example, learning a new language.

Activities must be structured, with a clear set of objectives and a logical framework. Only the actual time during which you participate in a recognised type of technical activity can be claimed.

CPA Program

Both private study and workshop attendance for CPA Program segments and the public practice study program can count towards your CPD. You will be granted 120 hours in any one triennium for each CPA Program segment, provided the segment is passed, and a maximum of 20 hours per segment if the examination is not passed or sat.