All ICAS members must undertake CPD unless they are fully retired from all business or professional activities.

Please note that if you've told us in your most recent membership renewal that you hold non-executive director or trustee appointments, or that you're involved on a voluntary basis with charities, these activities are considered to be professional work under the ICAS CPD Regulations and will count towards your CPD record.

Further information on our CPD requirements is available here.

The main category of members exempt from CPD is members who are retired. It is important to understand what is meant by 'retired' for the purposes of CPD, bearing in mind that the definition for CPD is different to the definition used for payment of membership subscriptions.

A member will only be exempt from the CPD requirements on the basis of retirement if they are:

• Not performing any activity which relies on their skills as a CA.
• Not performing any activity where others rely or could reasonably be expected to rely on the member's skills as a CA.
• Not holding themselves out to be a CA in performing any activity.
• Not performing any activity which has a possibility of causing damage to the reputation of ICAS if the member did not have the competence to perform the activity.
• Not directors of a limited company (whether or not it provides accountancy or related services).

In contrast to the position applied for membership subscriptions, the absence of payment for services is not relevant for the CPD requirements. This is because any provision of services by a member comes with a reasonable expectation that the individual providing the services does so with appropriate professional competence, which requires maintaining and updating knowledge.

Any member who is uncertain over their need to undertake CPD should contact ICAS at members@icas.com.