Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Regulations 2023

2. These regulations apply to:

a) all Members and Relevant Persons who are not exempt pursuant to regulations 5 and 7,
b) all ICAEW Member firms, and
c) all Other Firms.

3. Members and Relevant Persons (unless they are exempt) are responsible for complying with the requirements set out in regulations 6 and 8, and their annual renewal of ICAEW membership (or the annual renewal or continuation of their licence/registration by Regulated Individuals) shall be treated as confirmation that they are in compliance. The requirement set out for Member Firms and Other Firms in regulation 18(a) does not derogate from that responsibility.

5. Members and Relevant Persons shall be exempt from the requirements of regulation 8 if they, during a CPD year:

a) do not carry out or undertake, for reward or without reward, any accountancy or finance work or provide any accountancy, finance or non-reserved legal services, and
b) do not act as a trustee, director of a body corporate or in any other capacity which carries with it an equivalent level of legal or financial responsibility.

6. If, during a CPD year, Members and Relevant Persons:

a) only carry out or undertake accountancy or finance work or provide accountancy, finance, reserved legal or non-reserved legal services without reward during a CPD year, and
b) this work does not involve working in a senior financial or executive role at, or acting as a trustee of, a charity

will only be required to reflect on the nature of the work being undertaken and their professional development needs and undertake any necessary training. 

8. All Members and Relevant Persons who are not exempt under regulations 5 or 7, or who do not fall within the ambit of regulation 6, are required to:

a) Identify, at the start of every CPD year, the CPD category in the schedule to these regulations which is most applicable to them (given the nature of the accountancy work or services they are carrying out or undertaking at that time and what they can then reasonably foresee carrying out or undertaking for the rest of that CPD year), and reflect on their professional development needs, how they can meet them and create a plan for fulfilling those needs during that CPD year.
b) Undertake at least the minimum number of CPD hours stipulated for the CPD category which is most applicable to them, including the minimum number of relevant and verifiable CPD hours.
c) Undertake a minimum of one hour’s ethics training either by:

• i) completing the ICAEW ethics module created for use by Members and Relevant Persons during that CPD year (or earlier CPD years if not already completed); or
• ii) undertaking alternative ethics training whch satisfy specified learning outcomes aligned with the ICAEW Code of Ethics.

d) Retain evidence of their relevant and verifiable hours for each CPD year for at least three years from the end of each CPD year and supply it promptly together with a written summary of their reflection on their development needs, if requested by QAD.

9. Relevant and verifiable CPD is any activity that meets a specific learning outcome(s) identified by Members and Relevant Persons subject to the CPD requirements in these regulations as necessary to remain up to date and competent in their professional role(s) and which can be evidenced. 

10. Members and Relevant Persons, who only become subject to these regulations for the first time after the start of a CPD year, will be required to comply with the obligations set out in regulation 8 on a pro rata basis for the remainder of that CPD year. 

11. Members and Relevant Persons, who are exempt under regulations 5 or 7 at the start of a CPD year but become subject to regulation 8 during that CPD year, will be required to reflect on their development needs and to comply with at least the minimum CPD requirements for their CPD category on a pro rata basis for the rest of that CPD Year.

13. Members and Relevant Persons, who change their role during a CPD year which puts them in a different CPD category, will still be required to comply with the minimum requirements of the CPD category which applied to them at the start of that CPD year but will be required to reflect on whether they should be doing more than the minimum required for that category in view of the change in nature of their role and when, during the CPD year, the change of role takes place.

14. Any Member or Relevant Person who is found on a review by QAD to have:

a) failed to identify themselves in a CPD category and failed to comply with the minimum number of CPD hours they were required to undertake for the CPD category they should have identified themselves to be in; or
b) identified themselves in the wrong CPD category with a lower minimum CPD hours requirement than the CPD category they should have identified themselves to be in; or
c) identified themselves in the correct CPD category but failed to undertake the minimum required amount of CPD hours for that CPD category; or
d) identified themselves in the correct CPD category but failed to demonstrate that they have complied with the requirement to undertake a minimum number of relevant and verifiable hours for that CPD category; or
e) failed to reflect on the nature of their professional development needs and undertaken any necessary training where they are partially exempt from part of the requirements of regulation 8.

will be required to provide an undertaking to QAD to remedy any failures set out in (a)-(e) during the CPD year in which the non-compliance is detected in addition to the minimum requirements for compliance in that CPD year and is required to inform their firm or their employer of their breach of these regulations. 

15. If any Member or Relevant Person fails to provide an undertaking to QAD within 14 days of it being requested (without reasonable excuse for providing it within that time), or objects to providing an undertaking, the Member or Relevant Person will be referred by QAD to the Practice Assurance Committee which will:

a) Review the written report submitted to it by QAD together with any written representations made by the Member or Relevant Person as to why no undertaking has been given or should be given (checking that an opportunity has been given to the Member or Relevant Person to make written representations); 
b) Determine whether it agrees with QAD’s assessment that the Member or Relevant Person is in breach of regulation 8 and

• i) if it agrees, the Committee will request the Member or Relevant Person to provide it with an undertaking within 14 days to remedy within that CPD year any breach of regulation 8 (in addition to the minimum requirements on that Member or Relevant Person for that CPD year), and
• ii) if it disagrees, the Committee will ask the Head of Committees and Tribunals to inform the Member or Relevant Person of its decision and that no further action is required.

c) Refer any Member or Relevant Person who fails to provide within 14 days an undertaking requested under regulation 15(b)(i) to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and IDRs.

16. Any Member or Relevant Person, who is found on a subsequent review by QAD to have failed to comply with the undertaking they provided pursuant to regulations 14 or 15, will become liable to disciplinary action and will be referred to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and IDRs.  

17. Any Member or Relevant Person who is assessed by QAD to have failed to comply with any of the requirements of regulation 8 twice within five CPD years, will become liable to disciplinary action and will be referred to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and IDRs. 

18. All Member Firms and Other Firms will be required to:

a) Ensure that all of their Members and Relevant Persons are in compliance with at least the minimum relevant and verifiable hours requirement for their CPD category for the professional work which their Members and Relevant Persons carry out for their firm.
b) Maintain records of at least the relevant and verifiable CPD hours undertaken by all of their Members and Relevant Persons.
c) Make available to QAD on request their records for CPD carried out by their Members and Relevant Persons.

19. Any Member Firm or Other Firm, which QAD has assessed during a review as failing to comply substantively with regulation 18(a), will be required to provide an undertaking to QAD that it will:

a) identify whether any of its other Members and Relevant Persons were not in compliance in the CPD year which is the focus of QAD’s check; and
b) ensure that any such Members and Relevant Persons remediate any deficiencies found in their compliance with regulation 8 for that CPD year during the CPD year when QAD’s assessment takes place.

20. Any Member Firm or Other Firm, which fails to comply substantively with regulation 18(b), will be required to provide an undertaking to QAD that it will remediate, within a reasonable period stipulated by QAD, any failings identified within its records for that CPD year and the CPD year when QAD’s assessment takes place if the failings are continuing.

21. If any Member Firm or Other Firm fails to provide an undertaking to QAD within 14 days of it being requested (without reasonable excuse for providing it within that time), or objects to providing an undertaking, the Member or Relevant Person will be referred by QAD to the Practice Assurance Committee which will:

a) Review the written report submitted to it by QAD together with any written representations made by the Member Firm or Other Firm on why no undertaking has been given or should be given (checking that an opportunity has been given to the Member Firm or Other Firm to make representations).
b) Determine whether it agrees with QAD’s assessment that the Member Firm or Other Firm is in breach of regulation 18 and

• i) if it agrees, the Committee will request the Member Firm or Other Firm to provide it within 14 days with an undertaking to carry out the actions set out in regulation 19 and/or 20 within a reasonable period set by the Committee, and
• ii) if it disagrees, the Committee will ask the Head of Committees and Tribunals to inform the Member Firm or Other Firm of its decision and that no further action is required.

c) Refer any Member Firm or Other Firm which fails within 14 days to provide an undertaking requested under regulation 21(b)(i) to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and IDRs.

22. Any Member Firm or Other Firm, which is identified on a subsequent review by QAD to have failed to comply with any undertaking provided pursuant to regulations 20 or 21 will become liable to disciplinary action and will be referred by QAD to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and IDRs.

23. Any Member Firm or Other Firm, which is identified by QAD to have failed to comply with any of the requirements of regulations 18(a) and (b) twice within five CPD years, will become liable to disciplinary action and will be referred to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and  IDRs.

24. Any Member Firm or Other Firm which fails to comply with the requirement in regulation 18(c) will become liable to disciplinary action and will be referred by QAD to the Conduct Department for investigation under the Disciplinary Bye-laws and IDRs.