The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has made continuing professional education (CPE) a key area of concentration in order to guarantee that its members maintain the required professional competence and, consequently, uphold high standards in the professional services they deliver.
With effect from January 30, 2024, the Council of ICAI has published guidelines on CPE that specify the prerequisites for members and the procedure for Program Organizing Units (POUs) to follow.
From 2024 onward, failure to comply with CPE standards will have repercussions decided by the Council in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. POUs are in charge of keeping track of attendance, and members need to retain documentation of their CPE compliance so that the Institute can verify it.
The CPE Committee (CPEC) is responsible for creating the CPE Calendar, authorizing credit-bearing learning events, and monitoring program quality and member engagement, among other duties. The Committee may publish circulars or guidance notes to ensure that the CPE objectives are carried out effectively.
At every level, members have six months to make up for any CPE hour deficiencies. Failure to comply will result in penalties beginning in the next calendar year, 2024. Certificates of Good Standing will not be issued until complete compliance is obtained. As of the calendar year 2025, consequences for non-compliance will be in effect.
Exceptions
With the following exceptions, all Institute members are required to complete the CPE credit hours in accordance with the Council's guidelines:
For their first calendar year of membership, new members are excused from completing the CPE credit hours requirement.
A number of members are excluded from the need for CPE credits, including those who are 60 years of age or older and do not hold a Certificate of Practice, judges, legislators, civil servants, entrepreneurs, and others, under specific guidelines.
Members requesting exemptions must affirm that they did not execute attestation duties during the exemption period, as confirmed by the UDIN Portal of the ICAI.
Based on specific circumstances that make it difficult for a person to comply with CPE requirements, the Council may, at its discretion, provide complete or partial exemptions.
The amount of time spent on learning activities determines the number of CPE credit hours; unstructured learning requires one hour, whereas structured learning requires a minimum of two hours. Lists of acceptable activities for each category are available from the CPE Advisory.
