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CPD update

The onus thus rests on the shoulders of the professionals to continuously develop his/her knowledge and skills relevant to the role they perform.

SAICA CPD Policy
Continuous professional development (CPD) requires professionals to foster a commitment to life long learning and continuous improvement of their competence relevant to the specific role that they perform such as a CEO, financial controller, lecturer or entrepreneur.

So how does a member foster this commitment and embrace the philosophy of life long learning?
Members are required both to do and record their CPD activities.

It is the requirement of the CPD policy to measure the activities undertaken. In terms of the SAICA CPD policy the following measures are applicable and are required to be adhered to, to ensure member compliance:

• Complete 120 hours of relevant CPD activity in a three year rolling cycle of which;
• A minimum of 60 hours needs to be verifiable within the three year rolling cycle; and
• A minimum of 20 hours of learning must be completed each year.

CPD activities are categorised into two areas, verifiable and non-verifiable activities. Examples of the categories are listed below:

Verifiable sources
• Workshops, courses & technical updates
• Committee work
• Presenting information to others
• Articles in ASA etc

Non-Verifiable sources
• Reading time e.g. Business Day
• Scanning internet sites
• Watching technical DVDs etc

A question that arises is what is meant by a three year rolling cycle?
To illustrate this concept the following example applies:

Cycle 1
Year: 2006 Measurement: Min 20 hours
Year: 2007 Measurement: Min 20 hours
Year: 2008 Measurement: Min 20 hours, 120 hours in total of which 60 are verifiable.
Cycle 2:
Year: 2009 Measurement: Min 20 hours
Year: 2010 Measurement: Min 20 hours
Year: 2011 Measurement: Min 20 hours, 120 hours in total of which 60 are verifiable
Cycle 3:
Is measured over the years 2010, 2011, 2012 with measurement being:
• 20 hours per annum
• 120 hours in total of which 60 are verifiable.
Cycle 4:
Is measured over the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and measurements as in Cycle 3.

SAICA offerings
SAICA along with its alliance partners provides an extensive variety of seminars and events to its members to assist them in obtaining and maintaining knowledge and skills to perform their everyday duties.

A new products and services catalogue is available with this issue of ASA to assist members in planning and selecting their learning activities, which in turn can assist them in meeting the SAICA CPD policy requirements. This list is continuously being reviewed to add value to our members. Members are not limited to selecting SAICA activities to meet CPD requirements and may therefore make use of the variety of other opportunities available.

Another value added service to members is the CPD verifiable articles found monthly in the ASA magazine. For members selecting this as a verifiable CPD activity, they are required to read the specific article, then complete an online questionnaire relating to the article on the SAICA website. In order to be credited with verifiable CPD, a member must obtain a 25% average per ASA issue and a maximum of 1 hour verifiable CPD is allowed per month.

In addition to the above, the ASA website provides additional CPD verifiable articles and questionnaires to members to assist with their variable CPD requirements and learning activities.

Members are also encouraged to visit the SAICA website and explore the other various offerings available, which complement and assist members to develop and enhance their competencies.

Looking forward
In terms of the requirements of International Education Standard 7, and in line with the ever changing business environment, it is necessary for member bodies periodically to review their CPD polices and the application thereof.

The CPD unit is thus undertaking a review of the SAICA CPD policy, with specific attention being given to (but not limited to):
• exemptions and reductions; and
• the measurement approach (input, output or combination approach)

Committing to life long learning is a journey that our members need to take to ensure they are in the best position to display their skills and knowledge as a professional. The CPD team at SAICA stands ready to assist members in making this journey, so that together we can be able to meet the demands of this ever changing environment.

Brett Godfrey CA(SA) is Project Director: CPD, SAICA.