Whether you’re looking to complete your ethics continuing professional development (CPD) requirement, boost your Excel skills or improve your knowledge of international reporting standards, ICAEW has an e-learning option for you.

These courses offer a way to expand your professional development at your own pace, whenever is convenient for you. They can also encompass a range of resources, from video and audio to interactive quizzes.

Ethics and governance

With ethics at the heart of CPD, ICAEW launched a comprehensive online Ethics CPD Course last year.

The free e-learning resource offers guidance and support on applying the Code of Ethics to everyday working life in industry and practice. Split into four modules, the course covers the fundamental principles that underpin the code before delving into ethical decision-making and the support you need to help you make good decisions. 

The third module looks at ethics in specialisms, including in corporate reporting, tax and combating economic crime. The final module provides case studies, using ICAEW’s training films to support learning. 

The course provides up to 12 hours of verifiable CPD and is going to be updated each year, with an additional hour of learning to cover the latest developments.

Going hand in hand with the ethics course is the new e-learning resource: Applying Professional Judgment in Audit. Launched in May this year, this four-hour practical programme focuses specifically on supporting those in audit in exercising good professional judgement.

Created with world-renowned expert Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, the e-learning programme examines what is needed to make good judgements and how the process of making a judgement should be approached. It then focuses on the Financial Reporting Council’s professional judgement framework, offering support and guidance to enable you to apply the framework in the final module case study.

While the course has a £260 price tag for non-members, for ICAEW members the course is free. Log into the e-learning platform using your standard log-in details and a full discount will be applied at the checkout.

ICAEW also provides free e-learning tailored for those acting, or wanting to act, as charity trustees. Our Trustee Training Modules provide an overview of the legal and financial responsibilities of trustees, as well as offering support on the broader skill set needed to succeed as a trustee.

The six modules offer support on risk management and managing board dynamics and other relationships, as well as on how to plan for success and create impact. 

Technology

ICAEW’s long-standing e-learning offering on technology is the Finance in a Digital World programme. It was created to help members get to grips with disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and robotic process automation, as well as the broader questions of how technology impacts the finance function.

At the end of 2023, the course brought out two new modules focusing specifically on generative AI. Alongside an introduction to the technology and how it differs from ‘traditional’ AI, a second module explores what Gen AI means for finance, particularly the value it could offer. 

As well as looking to support members with disruptive technologies, ICAEW provides training on the tools members use every day. Live and virtual courses on making the most of Excel have long been popular and so this year, ICAEW has launched six e-learning modules on the software mapped to ICAEW’s spreadsheet competency framework. 

The Excel Series builds on users familiarity with the software, starting at Module 1 with simple ways to speed up when using Excel. The modules then cover how to create good formulas and adding graphics, before moving on to more sophisticated uses. 

Each module costs £30 and includes a 30-minute video and an Excel workbook with examples, exercises, tips and shortcuts. 

Technical training

Building further on the low-cost, short course approach to e-learning of the Excel Series, ICAEW has just launched a suite of new courses offering technical training. The courses start from just £15 and offer between one and four hours of learning.

There are courses focused on tax, with areas covered including: VAT, corporation tax, computing profits and capital allowances. For those working with individual clients, there are also courses on inheritance tax and capital gains.

Alongside tax, there are a series of courses on financial management and project management. There are also modules on accounting standards: IAS 2 – inventories and IAS 33 – earnings per share. You can browse for courses on our e-learning platform.

For those wanting more comprehensive online training on accountancy related standards, ICAEW offers certificate programmes on:

• International standards on auditing (ISAs) 
• International financial reporting standards (IFRSs).

Both programmes offer 12-month access to a suite of detailed elearning modules covering all aspects of current standards and their application. Once the assessments have been completed successfully, you receive a certificate. ICAEW members are entitled to a discount on the cost of these courses.

Leadership and sustainability

Alongside its certificates on international accountancy standards, ICAEW offers two further comprehensive e-learning programmes:

• ICAEW Sustainability Certificate
• Board Director’s Training Programme

Aimed at current and aspiring board directors, the 4.5-hour Board Director’s Training Programme offers a way to benchmark yourself against ICAEW’s competency framework for high-performing board directors. 

It also offers an overview of the latest governance codes and standards, alongside a range of learning activities exploring the knowledge and skills needed by board directors.

Meanwhile, ICAEW’s Sustainability Certificate offers the practical knowledge and support to be able to integrate sustainability into your organisation’s reporting. 

The five module-programme starts with an introduction to environmental, social and governance, before focusing on climate change risks and opportunities, and the process to complete and interpret sustainability assessments. The final module is made up of two case studies, one aimed at those in practice and the other for those in industry.

ICAEW members are entitled to discounts on both courses.