This is a significant piece of research that will underpin CPA Australia's work to improve value and service to members at each stage of the membership journey. Focus groups, fieldwork research and qualitative surveys have been completed for members in Australia.

Fieldwork research commenced in China and Malaysia in February-March 2019. 

This project will assess the current state of the member service experience, including member interaction channels, customer service delivery models, evaluation frameworks and related systems and technology. It will deliver valuable recommendations on how CPA Australia can improve value to members through technology and service.

The purpose of the audit is to produce a report highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the existing social media strategy, and to help inform the development of a more refined strategy that allows for two-way communication with members.

CPA Australia has invested significantly in technology to improve the enrolment experience for Associate members. The priority is to eliminate outages and minimise delays for members. 

The November enrolment period saw no outages. Overall, members reported a quick and seamless enrolment experience. There were close to 5000 successful enrolments on day one and the average enrolment time per unit was just 30 seconds. The project was delivered on time and to budget. 

A renewed focus on content to reflect member interests has resulted in an increase of 100,000 visits to INTHEBLACK.com in December 2018 compared to December 2017.

A new event management system provides a streamlined process for members booking to attend events. The self-serve system enables members to register for events, provide payment, change sessions, and cancel and arrange a refund.

Communication protocols have been put in place to support email communication from Divisional Presidents to members in that Division. Additional work is being done to establish new digital channels for members in each Division to communicate and connect with each other as part of a professional network.

In November 2018, Division and Branch Councils shared member engagement initiatives and put forward recommendations for potential improvements.

In December 2018, Councils are developing member engagement plans to be submitted to the Member Engagement Committee. These will inform recommendations on changes to the overall strategy for member engagement and help build an appropriate evaluation framework.

Local member events
CPA Australia’s offices host regular member events throughout the year in which industry specialists present on topics that are relevant to members in the local area, the profession as a whole or particular accounting and finance disciplines. Some of the events held in 2019 include:

Ho Chi Minh City

• Consumer Finance – a digital perspective – examining the transition to the era of digital payments in Vietnam.
• Tax Update for members: CPD event focusing on latest tax laws and legislations.
• Trends in leadership – a CPD event that looked at cross-cultural dimension of effective leadership and the terminology of leadership, entrepreneurship and organisational structures.

Jakarta

• Risk and opportunity on investor relations – breakfast dialogue in conjunction with Monash University Indonesia Representative Office.

Malaysia

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the accounting and auditing profession.

Shanghai

• Associate member welcome event – a reception to engage Associate members in their career journey.

Shanghai

• Digital Economy: Opportunities and Challenges for Management. Looked at the rise of digital economy and the impact on government policies, taxation, risk management and the social structure.

Singapore

• Talk on Fintech and the Future of Finance focusing on how Fintech is transforming the industry and broader economy, and changing the way companies do business and people work.

Singapore

• Growing a Fintech Company – explored evolution of Fintech and analysis of regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs.

Singapore

• A women in leadership event in where members heard from inspirational women and discussed what it takes to become a leader in a male dominated industry.

Tasmania

• Business in the Boardroom event in Burnie attended by members and the local business community. The lunch focused on the economic opportunities for the region and the value of developing relationships with the local network of CPA Australia members September.