CPA Australia’s Best Practice Program kicks off

This article was current at the time of publication.

As tumult in the business landscape continues, CPA Australia’s new Best Practice Program is helping practitioners move confidently into the future.

An easy-to-use portal and program features that support members’ needs are two of the reasons the revised offering is generating positive feedback, says CPA Australia’s Senior Manager Professional Standards, Melissa Read CPA.

“The new program – which replaces the previous Quality Review Program – includes more tailored assessments to suit practitioners’ businesses and a focus on resources that fit a broader set of business objectives,” Read says. 

Building better relationships

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to reimagine the superseded program, she explains.

Rather than just focus on compliance with professional and ethical standards, the  CPA Australia Best Practice Program – a requirement for all Public Practice Certificate holders– also supports and guides members towards building a sustainable business aligned to best practice as laid out in the MY FIRM. MY FUTURE. framework.

After completion, the assessments provide practitioners with ongoing support plans linked to a variety of resources and tools. They are designed to enhance their continuing professional development and to help future-proof their practice.

Investment in new technology maximises the member experience, making sharing files and tracking progress simple and secure.

“The new program will allow CPA Australia to have a closer relationship with members,” says CPA Australia’s Continuous Improvement Manager, Best Practice team, Cheryl Lam.

“We now have engagement managers internally to participate in every assessment, which allows us to better understand their challenges and needs as their professional body.”

Depending on pandemic-related restrictions and the complexity of assessments, consultations can be conducted virtually, face-to-face, or in combination.

Driving outcomes and personal growth

Members who may have struggled with technical aspects of the previous program can be assured the new, dedicated portal with a three-way dashboard is simple to operate, Read emphasises.

It serves as both a communication platform and a document-sharing portal and helps with the overall review process throughout the assessment. 

Virtual assessment processes have also been refined to enable document sharing from a variety of platforms members may already have, such as TeamViewer.

These are tracked on a progress bar that initially includes confirmation of services offered as well as memberships and licences, as well as file uploads such as their risk management framework and quality control manual.

Post-assessment, you can make comments regarding findings and actions that are rated as low, medium, or high, based on the level of urgency to implement corrective actions. 

Jonathan Maharaj FCPA, Director of Aurora Financials in Wellington, New Zealand, whose business includes auditing, advisory and accounting services, believes support mechanisms such as these drive business outcomes and personal growth. He was a peer assessor during the pilot period and will be an external assessor going forward.  

“The program is about helping practitioners think outside the box and at the same time ensuring that as a profession we live up to a high standard of client service and trust,” Maharaj says.

Sole practitioner Kari Derrick CPA of Intoto Business Services, which mainly specialises in tax compliance, participated in the program’s trial.

“After I supplied a variety of client files and uploaded documents on policies and procedures, I was able to get feedback on areas where I could improve processes,” Derrick says.

“I received a full report from the assessor and we talked about my awareness of certain codes – for example, making sure I was dealing with trust accounts correctly and having them regularly audited.

“We also looked at stationery to ensure I was including the correct logos and terminology in engagement letters.”

Derrick says the area in which she needed the most advice, especially as a sole practitioner, was succession planning. It’s an issue she will address this year. 

Read and Lam agree that one of the best outcomes from the new program is the identification of root causes behind problems and the ability to address them before the next review.

“We are getting a bird’s eye view of every member in practice and that is allowing us to see where we can promote and support best practice,” Read says.

Mutual support

By piloting the program last year before launching it in January, CPA Australia has been able to refine several key aspects to benefit members as well as maintain the professional standard of public practitioners and ensure transparency and efficiency. 

During the assessment pilots, CPA Australia trialled different notification periods, resulting in members now being notified eight to 10 weeks in advance of their assessment. 

A notable change with the new portal is that practitioners will be allowed to elect their preferred planning and assessment dates within a cycle that best suits their availability.  

The Best Practice Team elected to defer reviews in the ACT, New South Wales and Victoria after extended COVID-19 lockdowns during mid-2021. 

The decision was widely welcomed and reinforced the need for recognition of the over and above challenges members face and the imperative of greater flexibility.