Strengthening Continuing Professional Development In Ghana Chartered Accountancy Profession

Policy Goal: Reorient ICAG’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework from attendance-based compliance to outcomes-based verification by 2030, so that every programme is followed by structured post-training support, participation is affordable and schedulable for all members, and CPD demonstrably strengthens professional competence in line with International Education Standard 7. The Challenge: ICAG’s CPD system currently certifies hours attended rather than competence gained. Evidence from the Institute’s first formal evaluation shows that attendance frequency bears no relationship to competency outcomes, while cost, scheduling and the near-absence of post-training follow-up restrict access and limit the consolidation of learning. The result is a well-regarded set of programmes housed within a compliance framework that measures the wrong thing. Key Finding: A structured survey of 273 members in good standing across the public sector, industry and commerce, financial services, public practice and consulting found programme quality strong on all nine dimensions assessed, with facilitators rated highest (M = 4.23) and follow-up support lowest (M = 3.30). All five digital and technological competencies improved significantly (p < .001), led by accounting software and ERP systems (+0.78) and cybersecurity (+0.73), and taxation recorded the largest single gain of the study (+0.70). Learning transfer is high: 85.0% of members apply CPD-acquired knowledge at least monthly. Critically, programme quality predicts competency (r = .251, p < .001) and attendance frequency does not (r = .031, ns); cost (81.7%) and scheduling (64.1%) are the dominant participation barriers. Strategic Recommendation: • Outcomes-Based Verification: Phased introduction of a portfolio component in which members evidence competency development and workplace application, operationalised through IES 7. • Post-Training Follow-Up: A minimum follow-up standard for every programme, comprising a resource database, application guidance and structured check-ins at 30 and 90 days. Affordable, Flexible Delivery: Half-day and modular formats scheduled for Saturday mornings and weekday evenings, with subsidised options considered for public sector members. • Future-Ready Curriculum: Concentrated investment in artificial intelligence and automation, data analytics, and sustainability/ESG reporting, alongside continued advanced IFRS programming. Expected Impact: These reforms address the structural conditions around demonstrably good programmes rather than the programmes themselves. They convert verified attendance into verified competence, extend the reach of CPD to members with the least financial and temporal slack, and align the Institute’s framework with the global shift to outcomes-based professional development, and in doing so sustain the credibility of the chartered accountant designation in an era of rapid professional change.