How Technical CPD Can Help Accountants Keep Pace with Change

How Technical CPD Can Help Accountants Keep Pace with Change

The accounting world has changed and keeps changing. Having a robust technical understanding is core to being able to perform effectively in any accountancy role and this requires knowledge and new skills.  

When we consider all of the challenges that face the modern-day accountant there’s a number that spring to mind: 

1. The impact of technology

When you believe you have a high-quality robust accounting system in place companies can take their eye off the ball. 

Many accounting errors are caught by doing manual checks and regular financial audits. Too many companies have trusted in technology only to be let down by not paying attention to the numbers.

2. Adapting to rapid change

Whether it is your business, legislation, tax rules or accounting standards your business can change rapidly. Sometimes faster than you have the resources to handle. 

This can be often down to processes and making sure all staff have access to resources where they are regularly informed of potential changes in their industry or the professional rules, such as accounting standards.

3. The faith put into advisory services

Companies often make the mistake that they can buy an answer from a third-party company. 

But the question is do they understand the answer provided and do they agree? Buying an answer is not absolving the company of responsibility.\

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4. Legislation for the company and changes in the tax system

In some industries, the pace of change in legislation, or simply figuring out the impact of a country’s annual budget can be overwhelming. 

Clearly this is dependent on the size of the company. However, more people does not mean that there will be no mistakes. 

It’s about identifying the resources and being able to apply the impacts to your company accurately.

5. Cybersecurity

Whether it’s a virus on your laptop or the operations of a company being brought to a standstill, cybersecurity, or a lack of it, has played a key role in a number of world events in recent times, including major elections. 

This is something that is often misunderstood and ignored until there is a problem, but the cost of rectifying it is a lot higher than fully considering it in the beginning.

How Can CPD Help You Solve These Issues?

How Can CPD Help You Solve These Issues?

Continuous Professional Development or CPD, should not be viewed as just a task to complete to maintain your professional accounting qualification. 

It’s an opportunity to constantly update and improve your skills that can protect your profession and your company.

Here a few topics that as an accountant you might feel are outside your responsibility, but are an important consideration for your role:

Taking a course in any or all of these areas can enhance your value to the company and make your job as an accountant more interesting and rewarding.

Having looked at the topics that would be added value to the business, what about some of those topics that would help those who work with and for you:

The previous two sets of topics contain technical content but also help build additional skills. A lot of times they can be more interesting for an accountant. 

However, accounting scandals rarely happen because of team management or data protection. They happen because of a lack of understanding of all involved in the technical aspects of accounting. 

There will usually be technical standards that apply most to your company and you should always stay on top of theses and those tangentially linked to your company. These can include:

All these courses are just a summary of what you should be aware of and your knowledge should be regularly maintained. 

Don’t look at your technical CPD as a chore, but as a chance to take your career to the next level.

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Topics: CPD