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ICAS CPD requirements

ICAS promotes CPD as a mandatory part of good professional practice as well as a fundamental principle of professional ethics. For the public and employers CPD provides the reassurance that as individuals, and as a profession, Chartered Accountants are committed to upholding standards.

How to access your CPD record

ICAS is currently reviewing the way we manage Continuing Professional Development.
The MyCPD site has been taken offline while we work towards a new format for managing your CPD.

An ICAS CPD record template is available to record your CPD.

Download an ICAS CPD Record Template


To request a copy of previous years CPD records please email us or call 0131 347 0100 with your full name, member number and the years you require.

Continuing Professional Development FAQs

The ICAS CPD model places the onus on each member to decide what their professional development needs are and how to address them through a variety of CPD activities. Members are asked to focus on the outcome of CPD activities, as opposed to the time spent on them.

The CPD Sample Explained

The ICAS Professional Development Process

The ICAS Professional Development Process consists of four steps:

Step 1 - Define current and future role(s)

Define in broad terms what is expected in your current role. Future career options and goals should also be taken into consideration.

Step 2 - Deciding on training and development needs

Decide on the skills and knowledge levels needed to meet the expectations identified in step 1 and which will enable effective performance. These should be compared against existing skills and knowledge levels to help identify training and development needs.

Step 3 - Developing or undertaking a personal development programme

Identify and plan to undertake CPD activities that are relevant to your role and which will help meet the training and development needs identified in Step 2. Wherever possible, you should aim to undertake a breadth of CPD activity.

Step 4 - Record when you have undertaken a particular CPD activity

Reflect on the learning outcome of an activity, decide if it has had an impact on your skill or knowledge levels and then provide a brief statement to this effect.

How Much CPD and what counts as CPD?

This development framework allows the individual member to be the best judge of how much CPD they need and which activities are most beneficial in meeting their learning and development needs. CPD should be proportionate and relevant to a member's role. 

ICAS recognises that there may be periods where CPD activity fluctuates and some years will require more development than others. CPD activity can, for example, include work-based learning; undertaking new projects at work, on-line reading, researching a particular issue relating to a client or a role, and focused discussions with colleagues or other professional advisers.

Under the CPD scheme there is no requirement to achieve a certain number of hours or points - the important feature is that consideration is given to the requirements of the position and that learning addresses this.

Providing Evidence

The Annual Declaration :

Each November, ICAS will ask members to self-certify that they have met their CPD requirements for the year, when the annual return is distributed. This is to be submitted by 1 January. Fully retired members wishing to claim an exemption from the scheme may do so. Full details of exemptions available are on the CPD Exemptions page.

The Annual Sample:

Each year ICAS selects a sample of Members to submit their CPD records.  Members selected for monitoring will be asked to show that they have complied with the CPD requirements and their CPD record should mirror the four steps described above. ICAS will be checking for a discernible and reasonable process of professional development in keeping with a member's role and career stage. Members can use the form available from this website to record their CPD but we will accept records in the format maintained for your employers.

CPD sanctions policy

Failure to submit the CPD record when requested shall result in a referral to the CPD Regulatory Committee. The sanctions available to the Committee are:

  • to propose a Regulatory Penalty,
  • publication of non-compliance on ICAS website and in 'The CA' magazine,
  • failure to pay a penalty and/or two consecutive years of non-compliance will be referred to the Investigation Committee as unsatisfactory professional conduct.

CPD support services

ICAS is committed to ensuring that its members have the CPD support and guidance they need. Using the dedicated CPD website and CA Magazine, ICAS will continue to issue guidance to help members to meet their CPD requirement.

Example CPD Records

Example CPD records are available to download below.

Voluntary

Industry

Practice

Career Break

Non-Exec director

How to submit your CPD record

There are two different methods for submitting your CPD record:

Email your completed form

Once you have completed your CPD record, attach it to an email and send to cpd@icas.com .  You may use the ICAS CPD Form available below.  We will also accept your CPD records in the format maintained by your employer.

Download CPD form DOC [63 KB]

OR

Mail your completed CPD record

This should be sent to: CPD Department, ICAS, CA House, 21 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh, EH12 5BH