CPD FAQ's
- What is CPD?
- Why should I do it?
- Is CPD mandatory for Accounting Technicians Ireland?
- What types of CPD courses can I do?
- How do I make a booking?
- Can I attend a course with a colleague (who is not a member of Accounting Technicians Ireland?
- What is the cancellation policy for courses?
- Are CPD hours recognised by other professional Accounting bodies?
- Why are classroom courses only based in bigger towns/cities?
- Where do the ideas for courses come from?
CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is essentially a means of supporting Accounting Technicians in the workplace to understand more about the environment in which they work, the jobs they do and how to do them better. It is an ongoing process throughout their working lives.
We live in a rapidly changing world where legislative, social and economic developments directly affect the environment in which Accounting Technicians live and work, and where technological advances provide radically different ways of working. CPD courses provide a means whereby we can keep abreast of these changes, broaden skills and be more effective in work.
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CPD can be part of an individual's personal ambition to be a better Accounting Technician, enhance his/her career prospects or to simply feel more confident about their work and make it more personally fulfilling. It can be a step on the ladder to higher qualifications or enhanced job prospects or be required by other Accounting bodies to maintain professional status. It can be part of meeting targets set by workforce performance management schemes or an opportunity for individuals to change their career paths.
Whilst CPD is an important part of working lives, it also represents a means for employers to support their staff. CPD can facilitate access to specialised structured training, help to review working practices and contribute to a more effective and profitable business. Indeed engaging staff in CPD activities can be invigorating for individuals and the business alike.
Accounting Technicians Ireland's range of CPD courses, designed to achieve these personal or corporate ambitions is diverse, flexible and varied. They can be as simple as developing practical skills through highly focused short courses or they may be designed to increase theoretical knowledge and in depth understanding based on critical examination of specific working practices over a longer period of time.
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At present, there is no mandatory requirement for Members of Accounting Technicians Ireland to partake in a minimum allocation of CPD hours. It is principally provided as a Member Benefit (at a hugely discounted rate) in order that Accounting Technicians can avail of courses to assist in meeting specific training needs for present or future work.
Many of our Members and students are also members of other Accounting bodies (who have a mandatory CPD hours system) and the great news is that the CPD course hours gained for attending our courses is recognised with Chartered Accountants Ireland, ACCA, CIMA, CPA and ITI.
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We offer a very comprehensive range of courses across our 7 "classroom-based" venues in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Athlone and Wexford under the broad headings of "Business and Interpersonal Skills", "Finance Skills" "Taxation (NI and ROI)" and "Refresher Courses".
We also have an ever-expanding Online CPD offering from our training partners Nelson Croom and The Excel Club, enabling Members to avail of CPD "on-demand" at home, in the office or commuting.
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Online
i. Go to www.accountingtechniciansireland.ie/cpd. Click links for either Classroom courses or Online courses
ii. Click on link in Book a CPD course. (MEMBERS: PLEASE REMEMBER TO LOG IN TO AVAIL OF YOUR CPD DISCOUNT)
iii. See list of all courses available. Click 'more information' for further course details.
iv. Click 'Add to Cart' to go to your shopping cart.
v. Check the course that you wish to purchase is correct and click 'Proceed to Checkout'
vi. Follow the step-by-step instructions on-screen to purchase the course using a credit/debit card.
By post/fax/email
Complete a booking form and return it to us by post, fax or email, along with payment details. Booking forms can be found at the back of the CPD brochure.
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Yes, Accounting Technicians Ireland CPD courses are open to non-members so please feel free to bring along any colleagues who wish to attend (Please note that member discounts for CPD will not be available to them).
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Potential attendees will need to confirm a cancellation in writing/email no later than one week prior to the course commencement date. After this time, no refund or course credit will be given for cancellations. All cancellations will incur an administrative fee of €25 / £20.
Accounting Technicians Ireland reserves the right to cancel courses that have not reached sufficient quorum. We do this so as to keep costs - and thus fees - to a minimum. In such cases, attendees will be contacted and offered course credit to the same value or a refund.
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Yes, all CPD hours gained for attending Accounting Technicians Ireland classroom-based courses or completing online courses is recognised with Chartered Accountants Ireland, ACCA, CIMA, CPA and ITI.
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Accounting Technicians Ireland organises classroom-based courses in the main cities of Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Galway and for 2011, we have added two new venues in Athlone and Wexford.
In essence, the population spread of Members tends to be concentrated very heavily around the main urban centres across the island of Ireland and therefore holding courses in these centres offers a better chance of reaching a sufficient quorum to allow them to run as scheduled. Even allowing for this, some courses may be cancelled due to not reaching a sufficient quorum to make them viable, however Accounting Technicians Ireland will make every effort to ensure as many courses run as possible.
In such cases, Accounting Technicians Ireland will either hold a course credit to the same value or make a full refund.
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Accounting Technicians Ireland encourages our Members and Students to participate in annual satisfaction surveys and to respond to our bi-monthly newsletter "Technical Matters". Based on feedback from these and also spontaneous communication from Members, we endeavour to provide topical, cutting edge courses that both address the requested training needs and also provide best value in money for Members.
If there is a specific course or avenue of learning in which you are interested but do not see currently featured or indeed if you are a provider of such courses, please contact us by email cpd@accountingtechniciansireland.ie or telephone Paul Coyle on 01-6498118.
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