Help with your CPD declaration

Every member must complete a CPD declaration

It's a requirement of ACCA membership*, no matter which CPD route you’re following.

If you’ve met the CPD requirement but haven’t submitted your annual CPD declaration, you should submit it via myACCA as soon as possible.

*If you’re a new member, you must begin your CPD from 1 January after you become a member and submit your CPD declaration by 1 January of the following year. If you’ve joined the lifetime member register, you don’t have to complete CPD or submit an annual CPD declaration.

CPD declaration guidance

Not everyone's circumstances are the same, and your CPD obligations reflect that. This guide covers the most common situations to help you determine what applies to you – and what to do next.

I have or need to apply for a waiver

If you’ve been granted a waiver, you still need to submit your CPD declaration to confirm you’re in receipt of a waiver and have completed 19 units of non-verifiable CPD, plus any verifiable CPD units not covered by your waiver. You should select the ‘Unit route’ when completing your declaration.

Waivers for some, or all, of the verifiable CPD requirement are considered if you have been off work for at least one month for long-term and/or serious illness, maternity or paternity leave, unemployment, or a career break.

Waivers are granted pro rata to the length of absence. In exceptional circumstances, a discretionary waiver of 7 units of verifiable CPD can be granted in respect of onerous caring duties, even if you have not been off work. You will need to retain evidence of your eligibility for a waiver for three years and provide this if you are selected for a CPD review.

Please note that if you’ve not already applied, you may be eligible for a waiver for a previous year. If you think you may be eligible for a waiver you can read the waiver guidance and then apply for a waiver via myACCA. Any supporting evidence requested would need to be submitted to ACCA before this could be granted.

If you hold Irish statutory auditor status, you will not be eligible for a CPD waiver. Please contact Professional Development to discuss your circumstances.

Once your waiver has been granted you can submit your CPD declaration, selecting the Unit route, via myACCA.

I’m part-time/semi-retired

If you meet ACCA's definition of part-time/semi-retired (you work 770 hours or less per year), you may set your own level of verifiable CPD, relevant to your role and responsibilities. You still need to achieve 19 units of non-verifiable CPD per year however the verifiable requirement may be reduced.

Members undertaking certain types of work are not eligible to follow this route so if you’re involved in the preparation or presentation of accounts that investors may rely on, or are a non-executive director of a listed company, you will need to follow a different route.

Ensure that you keep:

a summary of your non-verifiable CPD;
evidence of your verifiable CPD; and
a note of why you think your verifiable CPD is relevant and adequate for your role.

If you’re selected for a CPD review, you will also need to provide evidence that you’ve been working in a role that meets our part-time/semi-retired route conditions, and of the number of hours you worked.

Download our CPD evidence checklist for members working part time/semi-retired.

If you meet the requirements for the part-time/semi-retired route, you can complete your CPD declaration, selecting this route, via myACCA.

I’m a member of another IFAC professional accountancy body

If you’re a member of another professional accountancy body in addition to ACCA, you may be following their CPD programme. We’re happy for you to follow their CPD programme, if:

you’re a full member of the other professional accountancy body;
they’re a member of IFAC; and
their CPD policy complies with IFAC's International Education Standard (IES 7).

If the answer is 'yes' to all three, you can follow the IFAC member body route.

ACCA reserves the right to check with your other professional accountancy body that you participated in their learning and development programme and to request that you submit your CPD records. If you hold an ACCA practising certificate and audit qualification you will be required to submit your full CPD records if selected for a CPD review.

If you’re following the IFAC member body route, you can complete your CPD declaration via myACCA, selecting this route.

I work for an ACCA Approved Employer

If you work for an employer who holds Approved Employer status for the Professional Development stream, then you can follow their employee development programme to complete your CPD. You’ll follow your employer’s development programme by taking part in their appraisal process and completing your personal development plan with them.

If you’ve worked for an Approved Employer for only part of the year, you can still follow the Approved Employer route for your CPD for the entire year – you do not have to undertake additional CPD activities.

Please check with your employer that they hold Approved Employer status for the Professional Development stream and that you or your team are covered by the scope of the approval. You can also check our Approved Employer directory.

ACCA reserves the right to check with your employer that you participated in their learning and development programme and to request that you submit your CPD records.

If you work for an Approved Employer for the Professional Development stream, you can complete your CPD declaration via myACCA, selecting this route.

I'm not working in an accounting or finance role

If your employment situation has changed and you no longer work in an accounting or finance role, you still need to complete CPD, but it does not need to be related to accounting or finance.

You need to make sure the CPD you do is relevant to your current role or future career aspirations. For example, if you now work in IT, we will recognise CPD activities which are related to IT. If you currently work in accounting or finance but you’re planning a career move, we will recognise CPD that supports your new career plans.

Please note that, if you are not currently working due to long-term and/or serious illness, maternity or paternity leave, unemployment or you are taking a career break, you may be eligible for a waiver (link to waiver section in this guide).

If you’ve completed your CPD requirement, you can complete your CPD declaration via myACCA, selecting ‘Unit route’.

Do you have a CPD shortfall, or cannot complete your CPD?

You may have completed more CPD than you realised, or you may be eligible for a different route or even a waiver.

If necessary, you may need to make up your shortfall to enable you to complete the requirement.

For further guidance, choose from the statements below.

What best describes your CPD position this year?

I was too busy to do CPD

If you are very busy at work, it’s likely that you are learning and developing in the workplace, which ACCA recognises as valid CPD. Many of the activities you do at work, for example, attending meetings or discussion groups, on-the-job training and undertaking research and self-study, will enable you to maintain and develop your knowledge and skills.

Provided what you learn is relevant to your role or future career aspirations, then lots of different activities can count as CPD, including:

webinars
online courses by an external provider or provided internally by your employer
face-to-face courses by an external provider or provided internally by your employer
work shadowing
on-the-job training
undertaking research or self-study, for example to carry out a new task or project or to write publications and technical articles
attending meetings (where new learning is gained)
attending conferences
attending workshops
podcasts
online articles
committees/ panels/ discussion groups
additional qualifications
coaching or mentoring (either being coached or mentored by someone else, or completing learning to carry out coaching or mentoring yourself)
networking

You can also browse our CPD & events finder for a range of free and paid-for events and courses near you, as well as articles, e-learning, webinars, research and qualifications relevant to your career path.

Remember that you may be able to carry forward CPD from last year. If you completed more than 21 verifiable units last year, you can carry forward up to 21 excess verifiable units to the current year. You must have exceeded the minimum requirement of 40 CPD units overall in the previous year. Non-verifiable units cannot be carried forward.

If you have had onerous caring duties at home, you could be eligible for a discretionary waiver of 7 units of verifiable CPD, even if you have not been off work. For example, if you have been working from home while also caring for dependants due to care facility/school closure, or your usual care-helper has been unavailable.

To qualify for the waiver, your onerous caring duty circumstances must have been in place for a minimum of three months, but this need not be in one continuous period. If you think you may be eligible for a waiver, you can read the waiver guidance and then apply for a waiver via myACCA.

You may find that, following the above, you have now met the CPD requirement for the year and you can complete your CPD declaration via myACCA.

I started a new job

Starting a new job is often a very rich source of CPD. You will have learned a lot of new information to carry out your job and this activity can count as CPD. For example, you may have had an induction to a new company, learned new systems, processes and policies, or received in-house training. You may have spent time in research and self-study.

Provided what you learn is relevant to your role or future career aspirations, then lots of different activities can count as CPD, including:

webinars
online courses by an external provider or provided internally by your employer
face-to-face courses by an external provider or provided internally by your employer
work shadowing
on-the-job training
undertaking research or self-study, for example to carry out a new task or project or to write publications and technical articles
attending meetings (where new learning is gained)
attending conferences
attending workshops
podcasts
online articles
committees/ panels/ discussion groups
additional qualifications
coaching or mentoring (either being coached or mentored by someone else, or completing learning to carry out coaching or mentoring yourself)
networking

Work-based activities can be an excellent source of CPD, so look back through your work calendar and diary to help you remember any learning you’ve done during the year. You can then add this learning to your CPD record. You may find that by including these, you have now met the CPD requirement for the year and you can complete your CPD declaration via myACCA.

I didn’t have access to CPD resources

It’s important to keep in mind that CPD isn’t just about attending external courses. While external courses provide great opportunities to maintain and develop your knowledge and skills, workplace learning is also an excellent way to gain CPD during the year.

In fact, provided the learning is relevant to your role or future career aspirations then lots of different activities can count as CPD, including:

webinars
online courses by an external provider or provided internally by your employer
face-to-face courses by an external provider or provided internally by your employer
work shadowing
on-the-job training
undertaking research or self-study, for example to carry out a new task or project or to write publications and technical articles
attending meetings (where new learning is gained)
attending conferences
attending workshops
podcasts
online articles
committees/ panels/ discussion groups
additional qualifications
coaching or mentoring (either being coached or mentored by someone else, or completing learning to carry out coaching or mentoring yourself)
networking

Remember that you don’t always need to pay for CPD. You can browse our CPD & events finder for a range of free and paid-for events and courses near you, as well as articles, e-learning, webinars, research and qualifications relevant to your career path.

Look back through your work calendar and diary to help you remember any learning you’ve done during the year. You can then add this learning to your CPD record. Once you’ve met any outstanding requirements you can then complete your CPD declaration via myACCA.

I’ve been studying for an additional qualification

Studying for an additional qualification is an ideal CPD activity if it’s relevant to your role or your future career aspirations. Both part and full-time study can count towards your CPD, and both online and face-to-face learning will count. Please note that only time spent attending lectures, carrying out research and in self-study can count as CPD - time spent taking an examination will not count.

Remember to keep evidence of your studies in case you are selected for a CPD review.

Depending on the number of hours of study you completed, you may have exceeded the CPD requirement. If you complete more than 21 verifiable units in any year, you can carry forward up to 21 of these additional units to your next CPD year. You must have exceeded the minimum requirement of 40 CPD units overall. Unfortunately, non-verifiable units can’t be carried forward.

Once you’re satisfied you’ve met the requirement you can complete your CPD declaration via myACCA, selecting the ‘Unit route’.

I've been away from work

If you’ve been off work for at least one month for long-term and/or serious illness, maternity or paternity leave, unemployment, or a career break, you may be eligible for a waiver. Waivers are granted pro rata to the length of absence.

In exceptional circumstances, a discretionary waiver of 7 units of verifiable CPD can be granted in respect of onerous caring duties, even if you have not been off work.

A minimum of one month’s absence from work is required to be eligible. Waivers will be granted pro rata to the period of absence from work. When applying for your waiver, you should select ‘Career Break’ from the drop-down menu.

If you think you may be eligible for a waiver for a previous year, you can read the waiver guidance and then apply for a waiver via myACCA. If requested, any supporting evidence required would need to be submitted to ACCA before this could be granted.

Once your waiver has been granted, you can submit your CPD declaration confirming you’ve met your adjusted CPD requirement via myACCA.

If you have already been granted a CPD waiver and have met your adjusted requirement, you should submit your CPD declaration to confirm that you have completed 19 units of non-verifiable CPD, plus any verifiable CPD units not covered by your waiver, via myACCA. You should select the ‘Unit route’ in your declaration.

I have not met the CPD requirement

If you’re having problems with your CPD, please let us know as soon as you can so we can help. You might be eligible for a different route or even a waiver, without realising it.

If you’ve not met the CPD requirement for the year, you must still make a CPD declaration to confirm that you’ve not met the requirement and that you understand that CPD is a requirement for your continuing membership, via myACCA. We’ll then contact you about making up any CPD shortfall and ask you to submit an updated declaration when you’ve fulfilled your CPD requirements.

If your CPD shortfall relates to last year, then any CPD you do this year will firstly go to making up that shortfall to then allow you to submit/resubmit your CPD declaration for last year when you have fulfilled your CPD requirements. Only then will you begin to accrue CPD to meet your current year’s requirements.

Remember that you may be able to carry forward CPD from last year. If you completed more than 21 verifiable units last year, you can carry forward up to 21 excess verifiable units to the current year. You must have exceeded the minimum requirement of 40 CPD units overall last year. Non-verifiable units cannot be carried forward.