Regulatory Matters CPD Online

CPD Exemption (Waiver) Criteria

• Overall Exemption
• Retired
• Caregiver Leave
• Personal Medical Disability
• Other Special Circumstances
• Volunteer who sits on a Board or similar entity
• Non-resident Member
• New Chartered Accountant during the year
• Change in status during the year
• Plan to rebuild competency

Overall Exemption

A member who meets the following criteria will be exempt from the minimum CPD requirements:

A member who is “on leave from the workforce”, “retired” or ”inactive”, and

1. is NO longer involved in any paid activity where it is reasonable to believe that another party is relying on his or her skills as a Chartered Accountant and/or
2. does NOT serve on a board or governing body of a public company or reporting issuer as contemplated by Rule 204

In all other situations, CPD is required.

Specific Exemptions

Retired

A retired member who meets the following criteria will be exempt from the minimum CPD requirements:

1. is NO longer involved in any paid activity where it is reasonable to believe that another party is relying on his or her skills as a Chartered Accountant and/or
2. does NOT serve on a board or governing body of a public company or reporting issuer as contemplated by Rule 204

However, these members will be required to complete the CPD Reporting Form and report their compliance with the exemption criteria annually. A member who chooses to re-enter the workforce (or professional activity) after having been on leave for a period of longer than one year should create a CPD plan to rebuild the competencies that are necessary to enable them to reintegrate into professional activity.

Caregiver Leave

A member who is on leave from the workforce to care for a child (or children) or a family member with a critical, terminal or chronic medical condition meets the following criteria will receive an exemption from CPD for as long as they are in the ‘Caring for Dependants’ member Category:

1. is NO longer involved in any paid activity where it is reasonable to believe that another party is relying on his or her skills as a Chartered Accountant.  and/or
2. does NOT serve on a board or governing body of a public company or reporting issuer as contemplated by Rule 204

Members who have not completed the minimum requirements while on leave should create a CPD plan to rebuild the competencies that are necessary to enable them to reintegrate into the workforce.

Personal Medical Disability

A member who is on leave from the workforce for a personal medical disability will receive an exemption from the CPD requirements as long as the member is:

1. is NO longer involved in any paid activity where it is reasonable to believe that another party is relying on his or her skills as a Chartered Accountant.  and/or
2. does NOT serve on a board or governing body of a public company or reporting issuer as contemplated by Rule 204

Members who have not completed the minimum requirements while on leave should create a CPD plan to rebuild the competencies that are necessary to enable them to reintegrate into the workforce.

Other Special Circumstances

Consideration of waivers for members in other special circumstances will be governed by the principle that exemptions should only be considered where the member is not involved in any paid activity where another party is relying on his or her skills as a Chartered Accountant or the member does not serve on a board or governing body of a Public Company or reporting issuer as contemplated by Rule 204. Members who believe their situations warrant special consideration should apply to the PD Review Committee in writing for assessment of their exemption request.

Volunteer who sits on a board or similar governance/oversight entity

The PD Review Committee will grant exemption from the CPD compliance requirements to a member who declares he/she is retired, inactive or on leave from the work force and is a volunteer who sits on a board or other similar body with governance and/or oversight responsibilities for an entity, signs financial statements, information returns or other government filings, grant applications or similar documents unless:

• The entity is a public company or a reporting issuer as contemplated in Rule 204, and/or;
• The Chartered Accountant is remunerated for services provided.

Volunteer members who are exempt from CPD as defined above need to ensure that they are current and proficient in the competencies required in these roles on an ongoing basis and pursue CPD where appropriate.

Non resident members

A member who resides outside of BC and who meets the CPD requirements of another Canadian provincial Institute/Ordre or who resides outside of Canada and is a member of another accounting organizations where CPD requirements of that foreign accounting body are substantially similar to the ICABC’s requirements must report annually that they have complied with the requirements of the other accounting body. However, non-resident members who do not meet CPD requirements that are substantially similar to the ICABC requirements are required to meet the minimum CPD requirements of the ICABC.

New Chartered Accountant during the year

Individuals who have been initially admitted to membership (CA designation) are required to meet the annual minimum CPD requirements on a prorated basis for the year in which they are admitted to membership.

Change in status during the year

A member may prorate his/her minimum CPD requirements in situations where during the year the member:

• Retires or leaves the workforce
• Returns to the workforce after being provided with an exemption the previous year
• Moves to BC from another jurisdiction

Plan to rebuild competency

A Chartered Accountant who was exempt from the minimum CPD requirements for a period exceeding one year and who plans to return to paid professional work is strongly urged to prepare a written plan to build the competencies that are necessary to support the activities in which he/she will engage, and on request, submit the plan to the Institute.

The plan should include (at minimum) the following:

• Length of time out of the workforce
• A description of the member’s career path and (anticipated) related professional activities
• Identify the competencies required to perform the work associated with the chosen career path and related professional activities
• Identify the CPD required (both verifiable and unverifiable) that may be needed to ensure competencies identified above are current
• Provide description of CPD participation anticipated in the next year (and next 2-5 years) and the timing of each activity