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As an increasing number of professionals seek development opportunities, and the finance profession grows more diverse, the need for tailored, relevant and up to date learning becomes ever greater. Today, and in future years, more is expected of finance professionals than ever before, and finding learning that lives up to that demand is essential.

ACCA's recent report, 'Developing the skills of the sustainable business and finance professional' looks into how expectations of learning and development for finance professionals are changing. It was estimated that 40% of the main skills used today by finance professionals will change over the next five years, and with sustainability practices shaping the future of business, it is important for professionals to have access to resources that will help them stay ahead of the game.

The report considers what good learning and development is and lists 6 dimensions that are used to determine this:

  1. Relevance: Meeting learner and stakeholder needs
  2. Motivation: Driving the achievement of the learning purpose and supporting lifelong learning
  3. Digital and Data: Supporting the development of L and D strategy and its implementation across content, production, delivery and monitoring
  4. Reliability: Delivering learning outcomes that are trusted irrespective of different learning approaches for a given capability or learner
  5. Person and People: Placing learners and their tutors at the heart of learning and its approach, at an individual, cohort and community level
  6. Sustainability: Business models employ an integrated approach to environmental, social and financial matters

Of course, with over 20 years' experience of providing high quality CPD and watching people consume it, we have a thing or two to say ourselves about what good learning looks like. So, let's take another look at that list with a more critical eye:

1. Relevance

It is hard to doubt the importance of relevance when it comes to learning. Most professional bodies recognise this and use the word in their policies and CPD requirements. Our users find it easier to keep learning relevant when they plan it in advance, as when it is left to the end of the year it is much harder to ensure that everything is strictly relevant. With our new 'Save for Later' feature, it is easy for learners to map out their learning for the year.

2. Motivation

Planning ahead can also help learners to stay motivated. Whether that motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic, taking the time to consider what you are working toward is likely to increase your drive to complete the learning. Our newly published Career Progression Pathways, for example, enable learners to work on their CPD with a specific goal in mind.

3. Digital and Data

As an online CPD provider, we agree with ACCA that digitalisation of learning in the modern world is essential to making learning accessible. It reduces cost, makes learning more accessible and reduces environmental impact. Developing digital skills more generally, is also crucial- the report itself highlight that 90% of jobs in 2030 will require digital skills.

4. Reliability

This is a fundamental for learning of any kind. Producing accurate and up to date content should be the basis for all learning providers, as once a learner knows they can trust your content, they can be confident in the reliability of their CPD.

5. Person and People

Engaging with the individual may seem less possible with online courses as it is hard to judge engagement from behind a screen. Our courses combat this by introducing ideas and encouraging learners to consider the idea in the context of their own experiences. We believe that with the way that our courses are designed, everyone can learn something different and relevant to their unique situation.

6.Sustainability

While we offer courses on sustainability and integrated reporting, a recent poll of our learners showed that sustainability is not yet high on their priority list for CPD topics. We at accountingcpd have been vocal in our belief that accountants can change the world, but it seems as though we all have a way to go before it becomes a regular feature of accountants' CPD plans.

All in all, we seem to be pretty much in agreement with ACCA about what makes good CPD. What's more, we think that we have been putting that into action for a number of years now. And judging by the numbers of you who are coming back year after year for more, or signing up for multi-user licences, it feels as though you agree! If you would like to learn more about our team licence, you can find more information here.

  1. Shehnaaz R
    Posted 11-Oct-2022 at
    we have to accept that the world is moving forward and we need to keep up. even simple digitalisation of systems, use of AI is key to keeping accountants at the forefront of change
    1
  2. Alena D
    Posted 07-Jul-2022 at
    I would most certainly agree with reviewing the reporting procedures regularly and streamlining them to make them more effective
    4
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