Statement from the Board 4 September 2020

1. Digital Finance Micro-Credential offer

CPA Australia has increased the breadth of our education and CPD offer to members with the launch last month of our Digital Finance micro-credential courses. Focusing on areas of growing importance to the profession, micro-credentials are short-form certification courses that enable members to develop new areas of knowledge. The initial courses, ‘The Digital Finance Ecosystem’ and ‘Data Interpretation and Visualisation,’ have been positively received by members with strong early take-up.

Available to fully qualified members as CPD, they offer the equivalent of 20, 30, 40, or 60 hours of learning, including assessment. The Digital Finance suite will comprise six micro-credential certifications overall, with the second pair of courses, ‘The Future of Finance’ and ‘Data Analytics’ set to launch on 15 September.

2. Divisional Council Elections

After the close of nominations for Divisional Council positions, elections will be held in 10 of CPA Australia’s 13 Divisions: Australian Capital Territory, Europe, New South Wales, New Zealand, Northern Territory, Queensland, Singapore, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Greater China, Malaysia and South Australia will not proceed to an election as the number of nominations in these Divisions did not exceed the number of vacancies.

In total, 103 members nominated to fill 62 vacancies on Divisional Councils, highlighting the strong level of interest members have in contributing to the membership and the broader accounting profession. Elections will be held from 28 September to 19 October 2020 with eligible voting members to be sent voting information at the opening of the polls. The Board encourages all members to participate.

3. Centres of Excellence – Call for nominations

CPA Australia is seeking nominations to join our Centres of Excellence (CoEs). The Centres of Excellence are critical to our policy, thought-leadership and advocacy work. As a CoE member, your professional experience helps to shape and inform CPA Australia’s policy responses to issues affecting the profession and the wider community. We are seeking members with expertise in the following areas – Retirement Savings; Environmental, Social and Governance; External Reporting; Ethics and Professional Standards. Watch a short explainer video and download a nomination form from the website.

4. Semester 2 exams

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure candidates can continue to progress with their studies despite COVID-19 restrictions, CPA Australia is offering a hybrid exam model for semester 2. Candidates in most locations are able to choose between attending a Test Centre or to sit an online proctored exam. This provides ASA members with greater certainty in scheduling their exams. There has been a positive response with more than 30,400 enrolments for Semester 2, including approximately 55 per cent of ASAs choosing physical exam centres and 45 per cent the online proctored solution. The exam period will run from 14 October - 2 November.

5. New Best Practice Program to replace Quality Review

To help mitigate the anticipated impact of COVID-19 on members working in public practice, CPA Australia has postponed the Quality Review Program in 2020. We have taken the opportunity during this period to conduct a review of the existing program involving extensive consultation with both members and regulators. We are pleased to announce that we will be relaunching the program in 2021 as the new Best Practice Program. Further details on the new program will be provided to members in public practice later this month.

6. COVID-19 Hub update

The Road to Recovery on CPA Australia's COVID-19 web hub has been updated along with a range of resources to assist businesses in navigating the stages towards recovery. With interactive links to guides, webinars, podcasts, INTHEBLACK articles and more, the roadmap is designed to help members and their clients adapt to the rapidly evolving situation. The hub also includes information from government and regulatory bodies as well as CPA Australia's submissions to government, media engagement and our detailed analysis of stimulus packages.

Peter Wilson AM FCPA

President and Chair
On behalf of CPA Australia’s Board of Directors