Professional Development Cycle 2010

CIMA requires that members must work through the CIMA professional development cycle annually and record their development activities.

The CIMA development cycle ensures that CPD is planned relevant and effective.  This post records how I achieved steps 1 - 3 and 6. Steps 4 and 5 are addressed by separate posts which are cross referenced at step 5. 

The CIMA Development Cycle

Step 1: Define what is expected of you in your role, and future goals. Draw up brief descriptions of these roles and expectations.

I operate as an Interim Accountant across several sectors, am a director and Company Secretary of Smart Accounts Sussex Ltd and voluntary Governor and Chair of Resources for Chyngton Primary School.  In December 2010 I also became a voluntary director of Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club Ltd.  My key selling points are my CIMA qualification, commercial experience, current IT knowledge, communication skills and systems implementation experience.

Expectations of these roles are that I have up to date accounting knowledge and stay abreast of IT and management developments.  

Step 2: Assess your development needs and outcomes. Compare what is expected of you in your current, or a future role, against your current capabilities.

I identified the following areas that I particularly wished to maintain and develop:

Accounting

IFRS, UK GAAP, FRSME, FRSSE,Tax, Risk Management, Compliance, CRC, Non-financial Measurement, Sustainability, Business and Employment Law, 

Management

Management, Project Management, Outsourcing, Time Management

IT

Teamworking software, Cloud Computing, Systems, Data Security

Step 3: Design your programme around activities you believe are relevant to your role. Document these activities.

Development program contains attending courses, technical updates as well as reading.  Much of the reading is web based and tools such as Google Reader and My6sense are used to sift useful content from many RSS feeds including, CIMA, FT, BBC, Accountancy Age and Engadget.

Step 4: Act. Undertake the development activities planned in Step 3 

and Step 5: Reflect on your development activities, consider what you learned, how you can apply your learning and changes you would make next time.

Following the hyperlinks below takes the reader to relevant individual posts recording development activity and reflection.  Some events are relevant to more than one subject.

Accounting

IFRS, UK GAAP, FRSME, FRSSE,Tax, Risk Management, Compliance, CRC, Non-financial Measurement, Sustainability, Business and Employment Law, 

Management

Management, Project Management, Outsourcing, Time Management

IT

Teamworking software, Cloud Computing, Systems, Data Security

Step 6: Evaluate your actual development against your development needs and outcomes. Any outstanding development can be carried over into the next cycle.

Development was considered very successful and will be continued.

Password security

The link is to a really useful article about password security. Skip the top bit if you are in a hurry but don't miss the concise reviews at the bottom about software that will let you use hundreds of different passwords without having to remember them.

Lifehacker Password Hacked | Productivity501

Cloud computing could lead to more adaptive finance function

Interesting article from CIMA - not necessarily new but good revision.

The gap in the market seems to be ultra-cheap start up solutions. At present there is no cost incentive for small business and personal users to switch from their already paid for legacy systems.

Cloud computing could lead to more adaptive finance function

Inbox zero - how to become an email Ninja

A 20 minute Web video about taking control of email to get more done.

Interesting and useful.  Using many ideas that I have already been using in Outlook but have had trouble adapting to Gmail.

Note: it may be necessary to sign up to get access to this video but it is free.

Grant Thornton Technical Update Seminar

A 3 part seminar:

Overview of The Future of UK Financial Reporting Standards
Presented by Michelle Sansom of the UK Accounting Standards Board

Specifics relating to the future of UK Financial Reporting Standards
Presented by Philip Allen, Assurance Senior Manager at Grant Thornton

Outsourcing and Rightsourcing
Presented by Mike Morrison, CEO and James Bowkes, FD, ISG Technology

1.5 hours

Project Management Masterclass

Professional Body Cross Sector Networking Event.  Included presentation by Nick Lake, former Director of the UK Project Management Institute (good speaker, worth seeing again).  Intro by Laura Dziaszyk of CMI (poor speaker, avoid if she is main speaker).

Joint event with CIMA, Brighton Business School, ACCA, CIM, CIPD, CII, IFA, CMI and IOD.

Points to follow up:

1. Cost/benefits of formal project mngt qualification such as Prince2.
2. The grief cycle (but with applications to many other 'people issues').
3. Motivating Volunteers by Helen Little (because most people working in projects, or with interims, are not direct reports and need to be motivated as if they are volunteers.

Network notes:

First met: People from HMRC, Sussex Police (90 day consultation), someone ex PWC just back from Thailand.

Renewed contacts with Adam Shields, Michael Ramshaw and Judith Newton. 

2 hours for CPD purposes.

Grant Thornton webinar about forthcoming changes to UK GAAP

Attended Grant Thornton webinar about forthcoming changes to UK GAAP (accounting standards). The final standard will not be issued until 2011 and will not come into force until 2014 or 2015.

The webinar was recoded and can be viewed by following this link.

When the new rules come become effective, organisations will have three choices of accounts: public bodies and those with public shareholdings will use IFRS. Smaller entities will be able to use FRSSE and those in the middle will use the new FRSME.

Key points about FRSME:

• Fixed assets will be measured at cost, less accumulative depreciation and any impairments not revalued
• Goodwill will be written off over five years and other intangibles over 10 years unless a very good reason is given.

Grant Thornton's summary of the main points is available by following the link below:

How will moving from UK GAAP to the FRSME from

July 2013 impact on my company’s accounts?

Management Dilemma: The Rule of 98/2 - BusinessWeek

An interesting article which ties in with some of the differences I have sometimes seen between the private and public sectors. In the private sector, they can get rid of the the 2% (and they often do, at a cost) but in the public sector the rules prevent this - therefore more rules are created to control the 2%. The 98% are then constrained by the new rules (at a cost) while the 2% ignore them or get round them.

Management Dilemma: The Rule of 98/2 - BusinessWeek

Huddle webinar about tasks

Huddle has just added task functionality to their team working software and this was a webinar to talk about the new functionality.  I see a big future for tools like this and Yammer that allow teams to work together more closely.  The session was recorded and is available here.

Free Huddle and Yammer accounts are available but you have to pay when the data stored hits limits.

Agency Workers Directive

Read this article. 

Main points are that from Oct 2011 agency workers in UK to get same rights as permanent employees doing same job after 12 weeks unless Ltd Co or self employed.  Consultation still ongoing.

Carbon Reduction Compliance CRC

Attended webinar.

Sustainability, Risks and Opportunities, Reporting and disclosure 2010

Aims and objectives:

Supported by Deloitte, South East Coast FSD brings you this webinar which will introduce you to the CRC initiative and its impact. It will cover CRC in the context of the NHS and the opportunities/challenges associated with reducing energy consumption. Although there is a finance focus this webinar will also be of interest to procurement, estates and other functions.


Who is the event aimed at?
Staff who need an introduction to, or who have a responsibility for carbon reduction/efficiency.

When is the event?
2.30pm till 5pm 15th September 2010

Leading virtual teams

A CIMA organised seminar presented by Mark Fritz. More info here.

Risk Register Maintenance - Safeguard software

Workshop explaining how to use Safeguard software to create and maintain corporate and departmental risk registers. Seemed like a good idea as it keeps better audit trail of changes than a spreadsheet does. System itself seemed unrefined.

CIMA Members in Pactice Conference

2 day event covering a range of subjects including technical updates.

Budget update

Took part in Grant Thornton webinar in keep up to date on latest budget analysis.

Technical Update

A BPP/Grant Thornton update covering the latest changes to IFRS and UK GAAP.