Members' CPD FAQs

What are ACCA's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements?

Members can choose one of the following routes when meeting their CPD requirement:

  • unit route
  • unit route - part-time or semi-retired
  • ACCA Approved Employer route
  • other International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) member-body route.

The unit route is for members who plan and organise their own CPD. If you follow the unit route, you are required to complete 40 units of CPD each year, where one unit is equal to one hour of development. 21 units must be verifiable; the other 19 can be non-verifiable.

If you are employed for 770 hours or less over the course of a CPD year, then you may be eligible to follow the part-time or semi-retired route.

If you work for an organisation which is an ACCA Approved Employer - professional development, you may achieve your CPD by participating in your organisation's employee development programme; you are not required to follow the unit route.

If you have worked for an ACCA Approved Employer - professional development for all or any part of a CPD year, you can indicate that you have taken the employer route when you make your annual CPD declaration.

If you are also a member of another professional accountancy body, then you can choose to follow your other body's CPD programme instead of ours.

Full information on ACCA’s CPD requirements is available on the managing your CPD area of the website.

Who completes CPD?

All ACCA members should complete CPD on an annual basis. If you have just become a member you need to ensure that you’re participating in our CPD programme from 1 January after you became a member. You don’t have to complete CPD if you’re on our register of lifetime members.

ACCA affiliates should focus on achieving the practical experience requirements (PER) for membership. However, if you are an ACCA affiliate and you have held this status for three or more years you should participate in relevant and sufficient CPD if you’re not fulfilling any PER.

Why do I need to undertake CPD and is this mandatory?

Members are required to undertake relevant CPD to ensure that they maintain and develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in today's dynamic and demanding business environment.

All active ACCA members are required to complete CPD on an annual basis and submit an annual declaration to confirm this. Members on the register of lifetime members are not required to undertake CPD.

If personal circumstances mean you cannot complete your CPD requirements, then you may be eligible for a CPD waiver.

Our CPD programme complies with the CPD Standard (IES 7) released by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) of which ACCA is a member.

I forgot to submit my declaration by 1 January, what should I do?

Submit it to ACCA as soon as possible. The quickest way to do this is online via your myACCA account.

How do I notify ACCA that I have completed the CPD requirements?

All members are required to submit an annual CPD declaration each year, no matter what CPD route is followed. You can submit your annual CPD declaration online at any point in the year by logging into myACCA. Alternatively you can complete a paper version, which can be downloaded from our website. This must be returned to ACCA by 1 January of the following year. 

I am not working, do I still need to comply with the CPD requirements?

We recognise that sometimes members will not be able to fulfil their CPD requirements. Members may have a long-term or serious illness, be caring for a family member, be on maternity or paternity leave, be unemployed, or taking a career break.

You can apply for a waiver for the period when you are not active in the workplace. A minimum of one month's absence from work is required in order to be eligible. Waivers will be granted pro rata to the period of absence from work.

You can apply for a waiver in one of the following ways:

In all cases, you should retain documentary evidence related to the waiver application for a period of three years. You will still have to complete your annual CPD declaration.

Please note that not all members are eligible to apply for a CPD waiver therefore please refer to the CPD waiver guidance for full details.

I have been awarded a CPD waiver. Do I need to make a declaration?

Yes. If you were awarded a waiver of all 21 verifiable units, you will still need to meet the non-verifiable requirement ie reading activity and confirm you have done this. You should make your CPD declaration to indicate this.

If you were awarded a waiver of some of the verifiable units, you will need to meet your remaining CPD requirement - both verifiable and non-verifiable - and submit an annual CPD declaration, selecting Unit route.

Please remember to keep evidence of your CPD activities as well as evidence to support your waiver.

I can't afford to attend courses in order to meet the CPD requirements. What else can I do?

There are many other forms of professional development that are acceptable to ACCA. For instance, work-based learning, coaching, mentoring, e-learning, networking, discussion groups, reading and undertaking research are just some of them. We also have a comprehensive range of services and tools to support you in planning, sourcing and achieving your CPD  These are available via our dedicated CPD Resources page many of which are free or are being offered to members by our CPD partners at a discounted rate. 

I no longer work in accounting or finance, will I still have to do CPD?

All members, regardless of their role, are required to meet the CPD requirement and must submit an annual declaration to confirm this. However, we ask members to undertake CPD relevant to their current roles. For example, if you work in IT, we will recognise your CPD activities which are focused on IT.

I am currently studying and don't have time for CPD – what should I do?

Studying for an additional qualification is a great CPD activity. Members undertaking such study may even have exceeded the CPD requirement. Send in your annual CPD declaration as soon as possible and keep evidence of your studies in case we require it.

I work for an ACCA Approved Employer but was on a career break for some of this year, can I still follow this route for CPD?

Yes, you are eligible to meet your CPD requirement through the Approved Employer route if you have been employed by an ACCA Approved Employer – professional development stream at any point during the year. When you returned to work, you and your employer will have reviewed your ongoing development needs and agreed a plan of action to meet these.

I am also a member of another IFAC member body and follow their progamme to meet my CPD requirement. What should I do?

You will remain eligible to meet the ACCA CPD requirement through following the IFAC body route, if you remain a member of your other IFAC member body and meet the requirements of that body’s IFAC complaint CPD policy. ACCA will respect any amendments, variations or waivers your other IFAC member body may decide to make.

Did ACCA reduce the CPD requirement in response to Covid-19?

The CPD requirement was not reduced or amended. Any member whose working arrangements were significantly impacted by Covid-19 should refer to the CPD waiver guidance.

I was not working due to Covid-19. Do I still need to comply with the CPD requirement for those years?

We understand that the impact of Covid-19 may have resulted in members being off-work and as a result they may not be able to fulfil their CPD requirements.  If this applies to you then you can apply for a waiver for the period when you were not active in the workplace. As per our CPD waiver policy, a minimum of one month's absence from work was required in order to be eligible. Waivers will be granted pro rata to the period of absence from work. 

You can apply for a waiver in one of the following ways:

You should retain documentary evidence related to the waiver application for a period of three years. You will still have to complete your annual CPD declaration. Please refer to the CPD waiver guidance for full details and eligibility requirements.

I had to adapt my working practices in response to Covid-19 and did not have time for CPD. What should I do?

We recognise the challenges many members faced due to the impact of Covid-19. This could have been working remotely or being involved in crisis management for the first time. While it may not have been your CPD plan for those years, in doing this, you may have gained new skills or improved upon your current expertise - and therefore undertaking CPD.

If you were unable to work during this time, then you may be eligible to apply for a CPD waiver. Please see the CPD waiver guidance for further details.

I need help submitting my annual CPD declaration. Do you have more guidance available?

You should submit your CPD declaration by 1 January each year - or as soon as you have completed your requirements. Information on how to do this can be found within the Help with your CPD Declaration section of our website

I would like more details on ACCA’s CPD requirements. Where can I find more information?

Full information on ACCA’s CPD requirements is available on the managing your CPD area of the website.