Requirements

All members, whether an individual or a firm*, must ensure that they:

  1. complete CPD in areas relevant to their work;
  2. maintain competence in professional ethics; and
  3. keep their business and finance knowledge up to date.

Competence

To safeguard our reputation for excellence, we ask you to maintain and develop your technical competence in the specialist areas of your practice.

If you hold our practising certificate and audit qualification, please ensure that you maintain your competence in audit, even if you aren’t currently doing audit work. You must also be able to justify why the amount of audit related CPD you have undertaken is sufficient to maintain your audit competence. This will be checked during an ACCA CPD review.

International Education Standard (IES) 8 (revised)

IFAC has issued International Education Standard (IES) 8, Professional Competence for Engagement Partners Responsible for Audits of Financial Statements (Revised).

IES 8 prescribes the professional competence that professional accountants are required to develop and maintain when performing the role of an Engagement Partner responsible for audits of financial statements.

If you hold an ACCA practising certificate and audit qualification and/or you are an Engagement Partner you will need to demonstrate developing and maintaining your professional competence to perform this role by the achievement of learning outcomes specified in the standard.

We have produced a guidance note and checklist - which can be downloaded from the 'related downloads' section on this page - which you should use to plan and record meeting this requirement. You will be required to submit a completed checklist if you are selected for a CPD review. It will also be reviewed during a regulatory or Approved Employer monitoring visit to a firm.

More information on IES 8 can be found on IFAC’s website

*Firms

Similarly, firms:

  • holding our auditing certificate; and/or
  • that are regulated by us to carry out exempt regulated activities in the UK; or
  • hold our investment business certificate (Ireland)

should ensure that partners, directors and agents of the firm all comply with our CPD policy.

This applies to all individuals, including non-members, who are responsible for:

  • the firm's audit work; or
  • carry out exempt regulated activities in the UK or investment business in Ireland (including providing advice to consumers on retail financial products); or
  • arranging or offering to arrange retail products for consumers on behalf of the firm.

You’ll find more details in our guidance on CPD for practising members, which you can download from the ‘related downloads’ section of this page.