Approaches to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Measurement - IFAC

International Accounting Education Standards Board

Information Paper

June 2008

Approaches to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Measurement

International Accounting Education Standards Board International Federation of Accountants 545 Fifth Avenue, 14th Floor New York, New York 10017 USA E-mail: educationpubs@ Website:

The mission of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is to serve the public interest, strengthen the worldwide accountancy profession and contribute to the development of strong international economies by establishing and promoting adherence to high-quality professional standards, furthering the international convergence of such standards, and speaking out on public interest issues where the profession's expertise is most relevant. The International Accounting Education Standards Board develops and issues in the public interest Standards, Practice Statements, and Information Papers on prequalification education, training of professional accountants, and on continuing professional education and development for members of the accountancy profession. The International Accounting Education Standards Board also acts as a catalyst in bringing together the developed, developing and emerging economies to assist in the advancement of accountancy education programs worldwide, particularly where this will assist economic development. This Information Paper may be downloaded free-of-charge from the IFAC website: . The approved text of this Information Paper is published in the English language.

Copyright ? June 2008 by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). All rights reserved. Permission is granted to make copies of this work provided that such copies are for use in academic classrooms or for personal use and are not sold or disseminated, and provided further that each copy bears the following credit line: "Copyright ? June 2008 by the International Federation of Accountants. All rights reserved. Used by permission." Otherwise, written permission from IFAC is required to reproduce, store or transmit this document, except as permitted by law. Contact permissions@. ISBN: 978-1-934779-37-8

ii

Preface

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) commissioned the Professional Associations Research Network (PARN) to conduct this research and prepare this Information Paper on measuring Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The purpose of an Information Paper is "... to promote awareness of, and transfer knowledge and information on, education and development issues or practices relating to the accountancy profession." As such, this Information Paper does not represent guidance, nor does it necessarily represent the collective or consensus view of the IAESB.

The objectives of the project were (a) to contribute to filling the current gap of research in this area, and (b) to promote discussion on how International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) member bodies can improve their CPD systems, especially those that combine input and output measures as identified in International Education Standard 7 (IES 7).

We believe that the Information Paper will interest many stakeholder groups, including professional accountants and those training for that profession; education directors and other executives of professional associations; regulators; educators; CPD providers; employers, including public accounting firms and their risk management groups; and policy makers. We believe that this research will also interest professional bodies outside the accounting profession, as many of the objectives and challenges of CPD exist in other professions, both regulated and unregulated.

Readers are introduced to the four-phase CPD cycle. We recommend that they consider how this cycle can be used to improve the effectiveness of their approach to current CPD responsibilities, whether these are measured and monitored by their member body using input, output, or a combination of these methods. The four-phase approach can add value to personal CPD by enhancing planning, action, results, and reflection (Chapters 1 and 2).

Those readers responsible for measuring and monitoring CPD are directed to the definition of "Professional Development Value" (PDV) and the use of the CPD model as a framework for measuring CPD (Chapter 2).

Education directors of professional associations will find that the case studies and profiles provide some practical examples of how measurement and monitoring systems have been developed and used in practice. In particular, the comparisons of the different CPD measurement systems show how the CPD model can be used to benchmark one CPD measurement system against others (Chapters 3 and 4).

The discussion of issues and recommendations, together with advice and opinions from other professional associations, will be of interest to those readers evaluating the pros and cons of various approaches to measuring CPD (Chapters 5 and 6).

The appendices provide additional detail on other topics:

? What other CPD research is available (Appendix A literature review);

? Current CPD practices in four countries (Appendix B);

? Background related to the case studies presented in Chapter 3 (Appendix C);

? Interview Questions used in researching the case studies presented in Chapter 3 (Appendix D); and

? A bibliography (Appendix E).

iii

PREFACE

In publishing this Information Paper, the IAESB hopes to (a) advance developments in CPD measurement, and (b) stimulate an ongoing debate on how to achieve this most effectively. Based on feedback on this Information Paper and further developments in measuring CPD, the IAESB will reconsider the need to develop guidance in the form of a practice statement supporting IES 7. The IAESB welcomes feedback from readers on the following questions: ? Whether the 4-phase CPD cycle represents a good framework for professionals. ? Whether the concept of "professional development value" offers a helpful approach to

evaluating different measurement techniques. ? Whether the CPD measurement model (Figure 2.3) is useful in supporting the evaluation

of measurement techniques. ? Whether additional guidance on implementing IES 7 in the form of an International

Education Practice Statement (IEPS) would be helpful to member bodies. Feedback on these or any other topics or issues related to CPD should be sent to

International Accounting Education Standards Board, 545 Fifth Avenue, 14th Floor New York, NY, USA 10017

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Andy Friedman and Susannah Woodhead of PARN for undertaking this research and working collaboratively with the IAESB in its finalization.

Henry Saville Chair of IAESB June 2008

iv

APPROACHES TO CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) MEASUREMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

Page viii

1

Background ............................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1

1.2 What is CPD and What is its Purpose? ....................................................................... 1

1.3 CPD Measurement: Inputs and Outputs ..................................................................... 3

1.4 CPD Measurement and Different Outputs from CPD ................................................ 4

1.5 A Model of the CPD Process on Which to Base the CPD Measurement Model .......................................................................................................................... 6

2

A Model of CPD Measurement ............................................................................... 7

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 7

2.2 Inspiration for the Model ............................................................................................ 7

2.3 Professional Development Value ............................................................................... 9

2.4 Professional Development Value Measurement and the Public Interest .................... 11

2.5 The Distinction Between Outputs and Results ........................................................... 12

2.6 The Overall Model ...................................................................................................... 13

2.7 Using the Model ......................................................................................................... 14

3

Mapping the Cases .................................................................................................... 16

3.1 PDV Measurement Scale: What the Levels Mean ..................................................... 16

3.2 The Cases..................................................................................................................... 25

3.2.1

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) ................................... 26

3.2.2

Construction Industry Council (CIC) ................................................................... 28

3.2.3

Royal College of Psychiatry (RCPSYCH) ........................................................... 30

3.2.4

The Southern African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) ................... 32

3.2.5

Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (PCNZ) ........................................................ 33

3.2.6

Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) .................................................... 35

3.2.7

Case X ................................................................................................................... 37

3.2.8

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) ................................... 39

3.2.9

The Institute of Information Technology Training (IITT) ................................... 42

v

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download