Responding to COVID-19: insight, support and guidance

Continuing Professional Development

CIPFA Chartered Members are required to participate in CIPFA's continuing professional development (CPD) scheme which has been designed to meet the recommendations set out by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). This flexible scheme also caters for CIPFA members who work inside and outside mainstream accountancy and audit roles.

By participating in the CPD scheme, you are demonstrating your commitment as a Chartered Public Finance Accountant to developing your knowledge and skills to deliver the highest levels of service to employers and the wider public and profession.

CIPFA's CPD scheme

The CPD scheme has been updated to reflect changes in the new CPD standard, effective from January 2020. Summary of key changes to the CPD scheme are as follows:

The scheme has been simplified, with one level for all CIPFA members.
Recording CPD will now be done on an annual cycle, which will make it easier for you to manage your CPD and CIPFA membership.
A learning and development record template is available for you to download and use to document your CPD activity.

Download CPD Guide L&D record template SoPP

In this section

CIPFA CPD Requirements

CPD year

CIPFA Members select their CPD year. The CPD year can be based on a calendar, financial or appraisal year eg January to December, April to March and September to August.

CPD hours

CIPFA Members are required to complete at least 20 hours of verifiable CPD activities over a 12 month period.

Members are also expected to reflect on the learning they have done and the outputs achieved.

Standard of Professional Practice (SoPP) for CPD

The SoPP has been approved by the CIPFA Council. This document outlines the CPD requirements and what members need to do to participate in the CPD scheme.

Identifying your development needs

To identify relevant areas of development, refer to the CIPFA Key Competencies for Public Finance Professionals. It's designed as a guide to identifying appropriate skills to develop at different stages of your career. The key competencies can be found here.

Ways to maintain your CPD

One of the many ways to contribute to your learning and development is through structured training. CIPFA offers a range of qualifications, short courses, e-learning and introductory workshops that are ideal for keeping your skills and knowledge up-to-date.

As a CIPFA member, you can also register for the CPD Bites service from accountingcpd, a leading provider of online CPD for accountants. CPD Bites is a weekly email containing a bite-sized, 15 minute CPD session. The sessions are fully tracked, giving you a clear record of the hours you complete. Over a 12 month period, you can accumulate 13 of the required 20 hours of CPD from the service alone.

You will also get 10% off their range of online training courses. To register for CPD Bites and the discounted training, click here.

Explore our full range of training here.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the CPD scheme, please contact the membership team:

E: members@cipfa.org
T: +44 (0) 20 7543 5600