Bookkeeping is a regulated profession, and ICB members take pride in staying up to date and continually improving their skills. Ongoing learning helps our members remain the best in the business — trusted, knowledgeable, and ready to meet the needs of their clients.
CPD is all about keeping your knowledge fresh and your skills sharp. It’s also about growing professionally and exploring new opportunities. There are two main types of CPD:
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Update CPD keeps you current with changes in legislation, software, and best practice.
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Developmental CPD helps you expand your knowledge and prepare for new roles or responsibilities.
Every member is responsible for their own professional development, making sure they’re able to deliver high-quality work and maintain the trust of clients, employers, and the public.
Why CPD matters
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It helps you stay up to date with the latest laws, tools, and techniques.
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It supports your career growth by developing your technical, interpersonal, and leadership skills.
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It protects the reputation of ICB members as competent, trusted professionals.
What counts as CPD?
There are many ways to earn CPD points, including:
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Attending short courses, webinars, seminars, or workshops
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Reading relevant articles or case studies, including in ICB newsletters or journals
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Completing further qualifications or structured learning
Structured vs Unstructured CPD
ICB recommends members aim for at least 30 CPD points per year:
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15 points should be structured (e.g. courses, webinars, exams)
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Up to 15 points can be unstructured (e.g. reading articles or journals)
Structured activities are those that are planned, measurable, and verifiable. Unstructured learning is more informal and can’t be independently verified, but still counts towards your total.
Keeping track
Your online CPD Portal will show a running total of your points, based on the activities you log. It’s a great way to see your progress and plan your learning for the year ahead.
If you’re ever unsure about what qualifies as CPD or how to record your activities, the ICB team is always here to help.
Log Your CPD
Structured CPD examples
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Unstructured CPD examples
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- Internal training courses
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- Reading educational or technical materials including textbooks, financial press, manuals and ICB's newsletter
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- External training courses
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- Taking on a new client or discussions with colleagues
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- Attendance at ICB Branch Meetings
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- Developing/editing a website
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- Achieving ICB qualifications
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- Attendance at the Bookkeepers Summit
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- Taking on a new project within your employment
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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
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