Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Continuing Professional Development is the process through which a Certified Accountant updates and develops professional knowledge, skills and values after entering the profession. Law No. 10091 calls this obligation “continuing professional qualification” and makes it mandatory for every member; IKM organises it as an annual CPD programme, through the Education and Professional Qualification Committee (KEKP), in accordance with Regulation No. 6 “On Professional Education and Qualification”, Regulation No. 9 of the Public Oversight Board and IFAC’s International Education Standards (IES).

Categories of hours

The Regulation distinguishes three categories of activity, with limits for each:

• Structured CPD by IKM — training that IKM organises directly, with the field, topic, programme and number of hours set in advance: at least 50% of the hours reported for each calendar year and for each three-year cycle.
• CPD from other programmes — training organised by higher education institutions, by other professional education centres or by Accounting Firms for their employees, recognised in advance by IKM: up to 50% of the hours reported.
• Self-reported CPD — individual activities declared by the member, such as publishing technical and professional articles, academic supervision, participation in technical committees and individual study: up to 20% of the hours reported.

The rates for converting self-reported activities into hours, the recognition procedures and the related forms are set out in the CPD Assessment Strategy, an integral part of the Regulation.

Annual programme and calendar

The CPD programme is approved by the Managing Council within January of each year, on a proposal from KEKP, and published on this page together with the training calendar. The programme is based on IKM’s Competence Map, on the requests and suggestions of members and branches collected up to November of the previous year, on national and international developments affecting the profession, and on recurring findings of Quality Management Review. As a rule, the programme includes at least one activity in each of the following areas: professional ethics and the Code of Ethics; the financial reporting framework and changes to it; tax legislation and changes to it; prevention of money laundering; quality management in accounting services; information technology and data security; sustainability reporting.

Training is held in Tirana and at the branches and sections, with in-person attendance or in a hybrid format combining in-person and remote attendance, so that members throughout the country have equal access.

Registering for training

Registration for IKM training is open to Certified Accountant members who have settled their membership obligations under the Statute and have paid the training fee. Registration is made through the online form published with the announcement of each training; the fee is communicated to registrants by email and paid into IKM’s accounts with the description “Emër Mbiemër, pagesë kuote trajnimi [datat e trajnimit]” (Name Surname, training fee payment [training dates]). Training materials are prepared by IKM and made available to participants.

How hours are recorded and recognised

• Structured hours are recorded by IKM in the CPD Register after each training, on the basis of the attendance list, and are shown in the Member Portal.
• Training from other programmes is recognised when the organiser has the appropriate capacity and the programme has been agreed in advance with IKM. The member notifies IKM in writing at least two weeks before the start of the training, with details of the institution, the lecturers, the venue and the schedule, and submits the attestation of completion, together with the related assessment where there is one, no later than 30 days after the end of the training.
• Self-reported activities and hours from other programmes are assessed by the Commission under KEKP, in accordance with the Assessment Strategy, and recorded in the CPD Register.

For each member, the CPD Register holds the number of hours, the category of activity, the competence area covered and the date of the activity. Members follow the status of their requirement for the year and for the three-year cycle in the portal.

Attestations and certificates

At the end of each training, participants receive the training attestation or certificate, which bears the register number and is signed by the Chair of KEKP, by the head of the specialised centre where the training is delivered through it, and by the Chairman of the Managing Council.

Testing of members

• Periodic knowledge testing. At the end of each three-year cycle, Certified Accountant members take a test of the knowledge acquired through CPD, within the limits set by Regulation No. 9 of the BMP. The test is evaluative in nature.
• Supplementary testing. A member who has not met the CPD requirement for a calendar year, or who has not passed the periodic test, takes a supplementary test organised by KEKP during December, on the content of the activities not attended or of the areas in which the member did not pass.

The costs of CPD and of testing are borne by the member.

Inactive members

CPD is also mandatory for Certified Accountants who do not practise the profession. Before being included again in the Public Register as active, they meet the CPD requirements and, where they have missed sessions, are tested on the relevant knowledge through supplementary testing.

Failure to meet the requirement

A member who does not complete CPD in accordance with the requirements of the law, or who fails the supplementary test, is subject to the disciplinary measures provided for in the Statute and in the law. Failure to meet the requirement is also taken into account in the renewal of the licence and in the selection for Quality Management Review.

Legal basis and regulation

The continuing professional qualification of Certified Accountants is governed by Articles 25 and 52 of Law No. 10091, dated 05.03.2009 “On statutory audit, the organisation of the profession of statutory auditor and of certified accountant” (in Albanian), as amended, and by IKM’s regulation on Professional Education and Qualification.

For questions about CPD, IKM staff are available to help at ikm.alb@gmail.com or through the Contact page.