Micro-Credentials | CPA Australia

Content Summary

Mid-year PD sale ending soon

Last chance to save up to 30%* on selected professional development courses until 11:59pm (AEST), Monday 14 July 2025. *Terms and conditions apply.

Find out more

What are micro-credentials?

Each of our micro-credentialed courses are designed to refine the specific skills and capabilities that will help you advance in your career. They are available to both CPA members and non-members, and the flexibility of their online delivery allows you to tailor the study to your specific needs. Simply pick the topics you’d like to know more about, and then start learning at a pace that suits your other work and personal commitments.

Learning topics

The learning topics of our micro-credentials address the issues and knowledge that finance professionals need to master as the business world continues to evolve. The broad range of courses includes strategic communication, financial leadership, data analytics, creating value through sustainability, and statistical analysis. And the online format of each online course allows participants to demonstrate their knowledge and competence in each topic area.

The benefits of completing micro-credentials

There are many different benefits to be experienced by completing our micro-credentials. Each of the targeted online courses are:

Flexible: you choose the topics and pace of study that suits you.
Visible: you can display your achievements online with digital badges.
Trusted: each course is awarded by CPA Australia, a globally recognised authority.
Specific: you can upskill in areas that are relevant to your unique career.

Show off your digital badge

Once you’ve successfully completed a micro-credential, you will be awarded a digital icon, such as a badge. These digital icons – which can be shared on platforms such as LinkedIn – visually represent your achievements and contain embedded metadata. This means that when you share your digital badge, the people viewing your badge can explore the metadata to learn more about the course you’ve undertaken, the skills you obtained, how you were assessed, and the badge’s authenticity.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re still unsure about any aspect of these micro-credentials, please review these FAQs for more information.

How do study and exams work for micro-credentials?

No, the micro-credential assessments seek to replicate real world practice, while validating the competency requirements of each course. You may refer to the course or other supporting resources you deem necessary.

However, open book exams don’t mean you won’t need to study the content. Answers won’t be easy to find during your assessment. You need to be familiar with the concepts and contents of the course, plus any supporting resources that are used in the assessment.
Your assessment will be an accurate representation of the skills that you need to demonstrate at the advised level of competency. View our definitions of levels of capability and experience in the resources and guides section below.

We encourage you to spend the recommended study time on the course, and read through the entire content, before attempting your assessment.

Some micro-credentials have supporting resources to help you prepare for the exam, such as a practice exam and a short ‘assessment assistance’ video containing study tips.

What the Credly digital badge is and how it works

When someone clicks on your digital badge, they can view details about your achievement. We call this information ‘metadata’. It includes:
- who has awarded the badge
- the content you studied (including learning outcomes)
- the hours of learning
- the assessment process you undertook
- the skills demonstrated.

CPA Australia micro-credentials

Content Summary

Mid-year PD sale ending soon

What are micro-credentials?

Learning topics

Data and Digital

Ethics and Integrity

Financial Fluency

Self and People Leadership

Sustainability

The benefits of completing micro-credentials

Show off your digital badge

How to use the badge

Frequently Asked Questions

How do study and exams work for micro-credentials?

How do micro-credentials work?

Why do CPA Australia offer micro-credentials?

Do I need to complete an assessment to achieve a micro-credential?

What's the format and structure of the assessments?

Is the assessment closed book?

How should I prepare for my assessment?

What the Credly digital badge is and how it works

Who is Credly?

Is there a fee for using Credly?

Where can I find support with using Credly?

What's the digital badge metadata?

Can someone copy or fake a digital badge?

Where and how can I share a digital badge?

Discover more

Career and Professional Development

FAQ

Subjects and course guide

Take your next step forward

Advance to FCPA status

Profession Sessions

In The Black

Future-proofing a career through AI fluency