One of the central pillars of our profession is commitment to continuous improvement, and in that vein Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (“CAANZ”) have introduced new rules to provide members greater flexibility in recording Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”).
The major changes are on-the-job training may now make up to 50% of your total verifiable/formal hours and all members must now complete a minimum of 2 verifiable hours of ethics training every triennium.
1. When are these changes active?
The changes are effective from 1 July 2021, however if you are partway through your existing triennium – you may complete it under the old rules.
If you would like to early adopt the new standards, you may do so on a pro-rated basis, noted below:
2. What is “on-the-job training”?
Per CR7 of the Member’s Handbook, on-the-job training is training the Member receives, usually in their place of work, while they are doing the professional role they are being trained for, the training is documented and verified by another person, not necessarily another Member.
In order to count as verifiable/formal CPD hours, the training must support the development and maintenance of your professional competence, and be relevant to your current and expected future roles. The hours must also be supported by the on-the-job CPD supporting evidence form, which you may be required to provide to CAANZ if you are selected per their monitoring program.
3. Ethics training changes
The other major update is that all members are now required to complete 2 hours of verifiable/formal Ethics-specific training per triennium. The CAANZ has not mandated that it must be completed by any specific provider (or even specifically mention Ethics), however the training must relate to the fundamental principles of the Code of Ethics, as appropriate to your role. Members should ensure that verifiable evidence is recorded for this training, as it is likely to be requested in the event you are selected per the CAANZ monitoring program.
4. What are my current requirements?
To summarise, the requirements for most Members under CAANZ per triennium are as follows:
90 hours must be verifiable CPD (i.e. there is objective evidence/proof in written or electronic form [certificates]) and of these 90 hours, a maximum of 45 hours may be “on-the-job training” as noted above;
30 hours of non-verifiable CPD may be claimed (which may be technical reading, non-verifiable on-the-job training etc.);
2 hours of Ethics-specific training must be completed;
A minimum of 20 hours of CPD must be completed each year; and
Members are obliged to maintain appropriate records of the above (or of any exceptions) for a period of six-years to be provided to CAANZ upon request.
As with all things, exemptions and special cases apply (Associate Members [ACA], Accounting Technicians [AT], dual-memberships, members with Australian registrations/licences etc.), so Members are encouraged to review CR7 of the Member’s Handbook to ensure they are in compliance.
Further details on the new changes, as well as a message from CAANZ President Dr Nives Botica Redmayne FCA, can be found here.
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This guide has been produced by DYLA.
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