Bookkeeping is a regulated profession and ICB members are committed to the continuing development of their professional skills, ensuring they maintain their status as the UK's leading bookkeepers.
Continuing Professional Development is defined as the systematic maintenance, enhancement and continuous improvement of the knowledge, skills and ability, often termed 'competence', that one needs to work as a professionally qualified bookkeeper. There are two strands to CPD:
- Update CPD, which ensures professional competence and prevents technical obsolescence within the member's field of work.
- Developmental CPD, which provides new knowledge, broadens skills and opens up career opportunities.
It is the responsibility of the individual member to develop and maintain the competence demanded by their role and the needs of those to whom they provide a service.
The purpose of CPD:
- Meet the demands made of members for knowledge, understanding and skills in keeping with the newest legislation, practice and technology.
- Provide members with the opportunity to extend those technical interpersonal and managerial skills which they seek to aid their career progression.
- Maintain the confidence of employers and the general public in the standard of the ICB qualification and professional ability of ICB members.
Types of CPD:
- Short courses
- Webinars
- Seminars and workshops
- Articles and case studies in the ICB online newsletter and other professional journals
- Directed reading
Structured & Unstructured CPD:
ICB recommends that members complete a minimum of 30 points of CPD per year of which at least 15 should be structured and a maximum of 15 should be unstructured. Each hour of structured CPD equates to one CPD point, whilst an hour of unstructured CPD equates to half a CPD point. Any activity that is verifiable, such as attending a conference or webinar, or achieving qualifications, is considered structured CPD. If your activity is not externally verifiable or monitored, such as reading the newsletter, this is considered unstructured CPD.
ICB's online CPD Portal will show a running total of your achieved CPD points according to the activity you have recorded. Your total points will be made up of a maximum of 15 unstructured points and as many structured points as you have recorded.
Log Your CPD
Structured CPD examples
|
Unstructured CPD examples
|
- Internal training courses
|
- Reading educational or technical materials including textbooks, financial press, manuals and ICB's newsletter
|
- External training courses
|
- Taking on a new client or discussions with colleagues
|
- Attendance at ICB Branch Meetings
|
- Developing/editing a website
|
|
|
|
- Achieving ICB qualifications
|
|
- Attendance at the Bookkeepers Summit
|
- Taking on a new project within your employment
|
The online portal to record and track CPD activity is available in MyICB. Your should log your CPD work as an Activity and judge for yourself how many points you have achieved in its undertaking. We recommend that you also use the log to set Goals for yourself and you can assign individual activities to an overarching goal.
Log Your CPD
Frequently asked questions
When should I start recording my CPD activities?
Annual CPD is measured by your subscription year as opposed to the calendar year, so we recommend uploading activities from the time of your last membership renewal.
What happens if my subscription year starts in February and I start uploading CPD activities in June?
Although we would advise members to log CPD activity on the online portal as soon as possible, you are able to upload previous activities from up to the last 6 months.
Can I upload all activities at in one go or in stages throughout the year?
ICB would recommend uploading your Goals at the start of your subscription year and uploading CPD activities regularly over 12 months. You are also able to upload numerous activities in one session.
Who will check that I am meeting the Goals I set myself?
CPD is about your professional development, so it is up to you to regularly update any CPD activity and measure this against your initial objectives.
What will I need to do to prove my hours of Structured CPD?
The online portal will enable you to upload any documentation to prove attendance at any event or course that can be counted as Structured CPD.
How do I know how many CPD points my activities are worth?
One hour of Structured CPD equates to one CPD point, whilst one hour of Unstructured activity is worth half a CPD point.
My CPD Log isn't adding up my CPD points correctly
Your total points will be made up of a maximum of 15 unstructured points and as many structured points as you have recorded. This means that your total will only include 15 of your unstructured points even if you have completed more.
If you would like further clarification on what constitutes structured and unstructured CPD please contact ICB.
Log Your CPD
Professional status, global recognition, support, exclusive discounts, and the kinship of the world’s biggest bookkeeper community.
Read more
Students and members can update account details, book an exam, apply for a job or choose a new password all in MyICB.
Read more
With a different Branch in almost every county, there's always an event to attend and something to get excited about.
Read more
Join us online for the biggest ever global gathering of bookkeepers. #BookkeepersSummit
Read more
ICBenefits is the award-winning membership benefits scheme that helps ICB students & members pay less for their everyday shopping.
Find out more
