1. INTRODUCTION

As from 1 January 2005, the Lesotho Institute of Accountants will be introducing a mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for all its members. The scheme will help ensure that members maintain and develop their knowledge and skills throughout their working lives.

This mandatory CPD comes as a result of the International Education Standard 7 (IES7) published by IFAC in May 2004 requiring all member bodies to have a mandatory CPD programme for its members. The standard comes into effect from the 1st January 2006; however ECSAFA has required its member bodies to have the CPD programme from the 1st January 2005. LIA’s CPD scheme is compliant to the IFAC IES7 and ECSAFA CPD requirements.

2. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or Continuing Professional Education (CPE) can be described as the continuous maintenance, development and enhancement of the professional and personal skills, which Professional Accountants will require throughout their working lives. CPD can also be described as learning aimed at developing relevant capabilities of individuals to perform competently within their current and future professional environments. CPD is aimed at the post-qualification maintenance or enhancement of professional competence.

Competence is the ability to perform the tasks and roles expected of a professional accountant, both newly qualified and experienced, to the standard expected by employers and the general public. Continued development of professional competence and lifelong learning are critical if the professional accountant is to meet these expectations. Competence is therefore not a static term, but evolves over a lifetime of learning.

CPD ensure that members stay abreast of the developments in the profession, such as changes in Accounting/Auditing Standards, new practices in the market and technological development. It reassures employers that members are equipped with the latest and up-to-date skills and increases public confidence in the accounting profession. It furthermore reinforces the professional ethics that a professional accountant is expected to uphold.

CPD is an extension of the education process leading to qualification as a professional accountant, where the professional knowledge, professional skills and professional values and attitudes gained continue to develop and are refined in order to be appropriate for the professional activities and responsibilities of the individual. In this regard one can distinguish between “education and “development”.

Education is a formal, structured and systematic learning process whereby individuals develop knowledge, skills, character, or other abilities. Education also includes formal learning processes such as on-the-job and off-the-job training. Development is the acquisition of capabilities, which contribute to competence, however achieved. Development is therefore broader than education and includes a wide range of processes such as learning (including education); experience; reflection; observation; or receipt of information; other structured and unstructured learning activities or natural growth over time.