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CPD

(Continuous Professional Development)

Definition

CPD is the means by which members of professional associations maintain, improve, and broaden their knowledge and skills and develop the personal qualities required in their professional lives.

Benefits of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The term CPD is being used both locally and abroad for the ongoing self-development of professionals. In effect CPD requires that professionals undertake learning activities that develop and maintain capabilities to perform competently within the professional environments.

The corporate and financial sector look at the members of any professional body with an expectation for updated knowledge and skills and will not accept  any member of a professional body that does not conform to some form of CPD. Members of the professional associations thus have a professional duty to develop the skill and knowledge base for themselves.

Planning, doing and recording your CPD will allow you to

• Provide evidence of your commitment within your profession and of your continuing competence;
• Have an excellent reference document for both updating your own CV and in providing a base of future reference of topics you have studied;
• Hold a useful aid for career development and allow you to plan, record and review your relevant activities;
• Have an awareness of your shortcomings and a strategy to overcome them;
• Exploit change and not be driven by it;
• Identify your skills and assist others in acquiring similar skills;

 The professional association in particular and the profession in general will benefit

• Efficient and skilled members;
• Motivation to develop and learn increases members performance which  contributes to business objectives of the organizations they are working for;
• Create the image of a progressive and committed organization that maintains development following professional qualifications;
• Members who are able to adapt more readily to changing demands within their profession.

 The market will benefit

• The assurance that the professionals are maintaining skills and developing new skills whilst also ensuring that their skills are passed to other members;
• Establish a quality benchmark of the competence of all members.
  

Development Activities

CPD is about improving your own performance and those of others at work, enhancing your career prospects, increasing your capacity for learning and being more efficient and confident when faced with challenges.

Your CPD activities would include

•  Attending training courses, seminars, workshops and conferences;
• Serving on committees and technical committees of your professional association;
• Undertaking distance and open learning packages and qualification;
• Technical authorship of papers, teaching and facilitating or preparing of lectures for organized events.

 The following activities are included in the accredited CPD activities

• E-courses
• Teaching relevant professional or degree courses
• Research paper published in a peer reviewed journal
• Watching videos/CDs of CPD programmers
• Self-certified readings (interim arrangement)

Following three exemptions are available to students

• Sick or incapacitated so that he/she cannot perform normal work
• Retired from whole time business
• Career breaks

The Methodology of CPD

CPD, on its own, does not provide assurance that all members will provide high quality professional service all the time. Doing so involves more than maintaining professional competence; it involves applying knowledge with professional judgment and an objective attitude. Also, there cannot be assurance that every person who participates in a CPD program will obtain the full benefits of that program, because of variances in individual commitment and capacity to learn. Nevertheless, it is certain that members who are not up-to-date on current technical and general knowledge pertinent to their work will not be able to provide professional services competently. Therefore, despite the inherent limitations of any CPD program, a CPD requirement is important in preserving the standard of the profession and also in maintaining public confidence

It is the responsibility of the individual member to develop and maintain professional competence necessary to provide high quality services to clients, employers and other stakeholders. Members are free to choose from the opportunities both locally and internationally available, as approved by the CPD Committee, to fulfill their relevant CPD needs. This directive prescribes that member:

1. foster a commitment to lifelong learning
2. establish benchmarks for developing and maintaining the professional competence necessary to protect the public interest; and
3. monitor and enforce the continuing development and maintenance of professional competence

CPD Approach

CPD can be achieved by at least three different approaches:

1. In-put based approaches by establishing a set amount of learning activity that is considered appropriate to develop and maintain competence.
2. Out-put based approaches by requiring professional accountants to demonstrate, by way of outcomes, that they develop and maintain professional competence.
3.  Combination approaches by effectively and efficiently combining elements of the input and output based approaches, setting the amount of learning activity required and measuring the outcomes achieved.

The Institute has adopted a combination approach before moving towards a comprehensive output-based system.

Organization

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The CPD Committee of the Institute has the responsibility for the establishment of directive and overall coordination of CPD activities for its members in Pakistan & abroad. Branch Councils would coordinate with the CPD Committee in execution of CPD activities

CPD Requirements

Every member is required to complete 40 hours in one year or 120 hours in every 3 years period with a minimum of 20 hours in a year.

Measurement of CPD Credit Hours

The CPD credit hours are to be measured as follows

In order to self-certify, a member must maintain a schedule of all such reading material, specifying the following:

a.date

b.title of the publication,

c. the title of the specific article and

d. the number of CPD hours in respect of the reading

The schedule must be self-certified on an annual basis and retained as part of their CPD records. It is also recommended that the member make a copy of the relevant reading and certify that they have read it by signing it off and retaining it with the annual reading schedule. This interim arrangement will be reviewed at the end of the first three-year cycle

Non-compliance

For all members, non-compliance of this Directive will be reviewed by the CPD Committee and if deemed appropriate the matter may be referred to the Executive Council.

Recording and Monitoring

CPD records are to be maintained by the CPD Section of the Institute as follows:

a. Where CPD activities are organized by the Institute / Branch Councils
i.The Branch Councils will maintain a register of attendance at Institute organized activities
 ii.  Within two weeks of holding the activity, the register details will be sent to the CPD Section
b.  Where a member participates in other CPD credit programs
i.The member will maintain evidence of the CPD activity e.g. attendance confirmation / copy of article published.
On an annual basis the member will complete a CPD declaration form (annexure) summarizing
ii.the details of the CPD activities and necessary supporting documents in which they participated based on the credit hours measurement prescribed in Para 13. The declaration should be sent to the attention of the CPD Section,
iii.Head Office, which in time would present such deceleration to the CPD Committee.
iv.The above declaration along with supporting evidence must be received by the CPD Section annually by December 31
v.The Branch Councils will summarize the declarations and send a summary to the CPD Section on a monthly basis for updating of records
vi.The CPD Section of the Institute will be responsible for maintaining record in respect of members participating in CPD activities and uploading latest CPD data on the website for member's to review.

Minimum hours to be completed during a calendar year

• Practicing Members (for Renewal of COP)30 hours
• Practicing Member (for New COP)20 hours
• Non Practicing Members20 hours
• Members overseas  5 hours
•  For Admission to Associate Membership 20 hours (cumulative)

For Admission to Fellow Membership

The stations other than Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, located beyond radius of 50 KM from these cities would be treated as Remote Areas for the purpose of CPD. CPD Hours requirement for the members of Remote Areas would be as follows:

• Fellows / Associates/ Students 10 hours
• Certificate of Practice (new)  10 hours
• Certificate of Practice (Renewal)15 hours

Note:

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