As the summer draws to a close and we move into Q4, it might be time to starting checking if you are going to hit your CPD target.  But have you asked yourself recently, what exactly is it? CPD, that is. Take the DTI’s description: ‘CPD is defined as the holistic commitment to structured skills enhancement and personal or professional competence’.

Did you know that? CPD encompasses personal development too.

Ah, but we’re accountants, we have our own professional definition and guidance, I hear you retort. But guess what? There are two Ps in our CPD too. Anything from negotiation skills and personal effectiveness to learning Spanish could be classed as CPD. OK I may be teaching grandma to suck eggs here but I’ll wager that there are quite a few of us still stuck in ‘technical’ CPD mode. So let me explain.

The story begins with the IFAC’s IES7, effective 1 January 2006. This educational standard applies to member bodies of IFAC – that includes ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIPFA and associate member AAT. Quite a few UK accountants then.

IES7 prescribes mandatory CPD for professional accountants and introduces a raft of recommendations to ensure compliance. And of course this in turn has permeated the CPD frameworks of each of the UK accounting organisations. So while each body, still retains its own distinct CPD system, they are all heavily flavoured with the essence of IES7. As you’d expect of course - all being compliant.

So what does it mean to you? If you haven’t yet experienced this brave new world let me take you on a tour of CPD in the 21 century…

CPD is role and personal specific

Forget the old days of ‘core competencies’. The emphasis is now on skills and experience relevant to an individual’s role. And this means taking into account the full range of responsibilities. It’s no longer just about technical prowess in finance and accounting but embraces all aspects of the role from people management to presentation skills to learning that foreign language (as long as it’s required for the job!).

And this heralds the end of the ‘one size fits all’ approach to L&D. For you this could mean the end of that annual update on the latest technical pronouncement on derivatives. You simply don’t have to maintain competencies and knowledge which are irrelevant to your role. For me, I proudly describe myself as an FCA (instead of ‘former chartered accountant’ – which is so last century), maintaining my designation by virtue of my personalised CPD which supports my career as a coach, writer and presenter in the field of personal development.

This relevance and specificity is supported by the move towards output based learning rather than input based. This simply means recognising that there can be more value in measuring effectiveness in terms of competence achieved rather than accumulating hours and units.

 
CPD is your personal responsibility

All of which results in an individual, bespoke CPD plan. Even in the same role, we will all be starting from different places, hence the importance of individual CPD planning, considering personal development as well as professional development.

And there’s no prescription. It’s now your individual responsibility. You use your own personal judgement (taking into account the expectations of your stakeholders) to design your CPD.

And don’t forget the more strategic side of this. The new CPD processes urge us to consider our future roles and responsibilities. This puts an autonomous slant to the L&D plan. Capitalise on that and you’re the navigator as well as the driver.

 
CPD comes in all shapes and sizes and many, many different guises

Entirely congruent with this new world of flexibility, individuality and relevance, the new frameworks recognise that CPD is available in all sorts of different mediums. Here’s some possibilities: self-study CD roms, podcasts, webucation, on-the-job learning, discussion groups, coaching or being coached, RSS news feeds, conferences, secondments, teleseminars.

So we have massive flexibility. Not only can we choose modes to match our preferred learning styles and working environment, but we can also take into account our lifestyle needs. This delivers a programme which is effective and efficient, maximising our personal ROI (time and money) as well as that of our organisation.

So if you’re not up already, its time to awake and smell the coffee. That brave new world is looking good.

Change the way you look at CPD and you’ve got a more extensive skill set, better equipped to do the job you’ve already got and better positioned for a broader range of future roles. All this at lower cost to you and your employer in terms of both time and money.

So don’t forget that second P in CPD.

The last word goes to the ACCA who sums it up beautifully, lest you should forget. ‘CPD is the continuous maintenance, development and enhancement of the professional and personal knowledge and skills which members require throughout their working life’.

This article first appeard in accountingweb.

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Carol McLachlan, FCA is a chartered accountant, executive coach and NLP practitioner. She runs theaccountantscoach supporting the accountancy profession, both individuals and organisations, in a multitude of development areas: career planning, work-life balance, time management, performance enhancement, communication. For more information, email info@theaccountantscoach.com