New to CPD?

If you have recently qualified as a ICAEW member or become a reciprocal member (after first qualifying as a member of another professional body) then you now fall within the scope of ICAEW's CPD Regulations and are required to undertake continuing professional development.

CPD requirements

All ICAEW members are required to reflect on their professional development requirements, create a plan to meet those needs and record what activities they've undertaken each year.

The regulations outline the number of CPD hours that should be undertaken - determined by your level of responsibility, the type of work you undertake and the organisations you work with - and stipulate that a proportion must be verified as taking place.

ICAEW outlines six steps to hep you understand your CPD requirements, including how to identify which CPD category you fall into, what counts as verifiable CPD and your options for recording your CPD.

First year: pro-rata CPD

ICAEW's CPD year runs from 1 November until 31 October. When you become an ICAEW member during a CPD year, you are required to undertake the minimum number of CPD hours for your category on a pro-rata basis for the time left in the CPD year.

For example, if your work means that you fall into CPD category 3, and you qualify as a member with three months of the CPD year remaining, you will have to carry out at least five hours of CPD before 31 October.

If you are working in practice you will need to ensure that 2.5 hours of this CPD can be independently verified and if you are working outside of practice you will need to verify 1.25 hours.

More support

ICAEW provides a range of guidance to help you understand your CPD requirements, including:

• Your guide to CPD
• Identifying your CPD category
• What counts as verifiable CPD
• Recording CPD 
• Answers to FAQs
• CPD resource showcase
• Find a CPD course