CIMA Professional Development
Members can now download their copy of a new CPD guide. Log into the CPD Centre now.
Lifelong learning has always been at the heart of CIMA membership as a commitment to development following on from obtaining the CIMA qualification. Undertaking development activities is an obligation of membership to ensure that members are professionally competent as they carry out their roles.
Recent times however have led to an increased scrutiny of the profession and, as with other sectors, the accountancy profession has responded by making continuing professional development an integral part of professionals practising within the sector.
If you are a member looking into CPD, log on to the CPD Centre now. Situated within MY CIMA to retain exclusive member access to products and information, this new centre provides all the CPD information, guidance and support that you need. Log on now.
What is CIMA Professional Development?
CIMA Professional Development is the new CPD scheme for CIMA members. Introduced in January 2006 the output-based policy is applicable to all members. Unlike input-based schemes, that require members to count hours or units for their development, CIMA Professional Development allows members to concentrate on the learning activities relevant to them and the ensuing learning outcomes. We feel this method of CPD allows our diverse membership to fully benefit from CPD by selecting development activities that are truly relevant to themselves as each member will require differing forms, levels and time for their own tailored CPD.
For most members the scheme will be ‘business as usual’ as development activities were already being undertaken. Under the new scheme we simply require members to formalise their CPD activities using the Development Cycle and by doing so they can maximise the benefit of CPD by evaluating their learning outcomes and defining their progress towards their career aspirations.
As part of membership the policy requires members to progress through the CIMA Professional Development Cycle on annual basis and to keep records of their development activities as evidence, should CIMA sample them as part of the monitoring process. Full details of the policy and monitoring process can be found in relevant pages on the left hand menu.
How does CIMA support its members?
To support members as they undertake their CPD, CIMA has developed a range of products and services called CPD Solutions. The resources are a combination of reading materials, online planning tools and journal archives and training courses amongst others, many of which are available at no charge to members. CIMA has grouped them under the banner of CPD Solutions to help members locate and benefit from all the resources available to them.
Members can access CPD Solutions in the CPD Centre.
What are the benefits of CIMA Professional Development?
We believe that there are many benefits of CPD for members which can be achieved through the new scheme.
- CPD provides members with a robust framework for their professional development.
- Members can show their professional competence and ethical awareness which will drive their employability.
- It encourages members to define their professional aspirations and work towards them.
- CPD enables members, through continuous improvement, to be able to take advantage of change.
- CIMA Professional Development gives members a competitive edge in the employment market place.
Members can also see benefits beyond their own role as it encourages employers in the retention of professional and competent staff and gives the public confidence that the profession is maintaining high standards of practice.
CIMA Development
CIMA understands that employers are also supportive of continuing professional development and can benefit from the development their employees are undertaking. As a result CIMA created CIMA Development, a CPD accreditation scheme for employers of CIMA members. Visit Employer Support for full details on the scheme.