Redefining best practice in accounting continuing professional development (CPD) for NZICA
| Client :: |
New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants |
| Media :: |
Consultancy services |
| Industry :: |
Professional services (accountancy) |
| Completed :: |
Ongoing |
The context
As the representative body of accounting professionals in New Zealand, NZICA
delivers continuing professional development (CPD) to a membership of around
30,000. NZICA sees CPD is a cornerstone asset in maintaining the professional
standards New Zealand accounting professionals are renowned for.
NZICA recognised that a number of forces were bringing rapid change to the
CPD world, and contracted Synapsys to engage in a two stage process:
- To resolve a best practice model that would inform the vision for CPD in
the future
- To develop an implementation plan that would make that vision a reality.
This was not simply a process of choosing a learning management system and
implementing it. Some of the factors that impacted on the context were:
- New member demographics. Membership spans baby boomers to generation Y,
with widely differing expectations of how they want to learn
- Increasing volumes of professional knowledge and increasing rates of
change
- Emerging technologies including mainstream elearning, push technologies,
and blended learning solutions
- A suite of existing IT tools that had real strength in mapping
competencies to learning opportunities, to members individual plans.
- An international community of accounting professionals with an interest
in common standards and processes
- Strong existing face to face CPD delivery with a loyal membership base
- 3rd party relationships with providers that play an important role in
CPD delivery.
The Process
Stage One
Stage one resulted in the sign-off of a best practice model. Synapsys
formulated a set of best practice characteristics:
- CPD is delivered in a pedagogically sound and effective way, maximizing
access, relevance, and application for all users [CPD is offered in the best
way]; and
- CPD activity results in the desired outcomes from delivery of CPD [it
achieves the results with members that it is meant to]; and
- CPD delivery and administration systems are designed to ensure that the
strategic and operational objectives of NZICA and relevant stakeholders are
met [it achieves the results that NZICA and other stakeholders want].
We then engaged in
- An information gathering process, including strategic issues,
demographics, current delivery data and IT systems audit.
- A consultation process with stakeholder groups that resulted in a draft
best practice model. The model addressed such issues as:
- An ongoing system for the evaluation of training needs
- A curriculum framework for the articulation of those needs
- A suite of delivery tools that enabled multiple delivery modes
depending on the particular content and member profile
- An appropriate assessment and reporting relationship.
- A model for the engagement of 3rd party providers.
Stage two
Stage two involved the formulation of an implementation plan that would
result in the best practice model becoming a reality in a realistic timeframe.
The implementation plan proposed alternative business models and made
recommendations. It then went on to specify an integrated programme of projects
that incorporated
- New rules
- New tools
- New systems
The plan has been used a basis for budgeting and planning the implementation
process.
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