The Training Records provide a means by which the student's relevant supervised training can be recorded, documented and evaluated by the Institute with a view to admission to Membership. The general requirement of the Institute is that the student has a broad base of practical training and each completed set of Training Records will be assessed on its overall merit prior to admission to membership. Students are required to have a minimum of three years of completed Training Records accepted by the Institute before applying for Membership. The training must be signed off and supervised by a qualified accountant.

Students are required to submit their training records for review on a quarterly basis using the online system which is accessed through the MyCPA portal. Mentors are required to review and approve the training each quarter, in order to be passed onto CPA for final review.

The deadline for submission of records is one month after the end of each quarter. So, for example, records for Q1 of each year must be submitted by the end of April in that year.

All students are required to have at least three years of training records accepted by the Institute when applying for membership.

Training is an essential part of the process of preparing CPA students for membership of the Institute. It has a number of elements, the most significant of which is supervised practical experience in accounting-related work. Other relevant supervised activities, such as simulation, research, project work or training courses may also be included. Experience on its own does not constitute training. It must be progressive, supervised and entail structured feedback. 

CPA will not accept more than 48 weeks (1,800 hours) in any one calendar year.

If you change employment during the calendar year you must add a new mentor with a start date corresponding to the start date of  your new position. The system will then automatically change the end date of your previous mentor.

Trainees may record training at two different levels Collect, Categorise and Analyse (CCA) and Evaluate, Report and Recommend (EvRR). This is to record the expected escalation in complexity and responsibility as the training progresses.
CCA is more common at the earlier stages of a trainee’s structured training programme, where there is less scope for working independently and the work is less complex or technical than when nearing qualification. This is appropriate where a trainee is involved in collecting and organising basic business facts into meaningful data in an environment in which the standards have been previously determined and there are established reporting structures. The trainee may be involved in the preparation, verification and analysis and extrapolation of information while under the close supervision of senior staff.
EvRR – is a progression from the training classified as CCA. The trainee will have a greater degree of autonomy and a more in depth understanding of relevant principles and procedures. The trainee will: be capable of exercising autonomy and judgement in applying knowledge and skills in the context of the Professional Standards and Ethics that apply to professional practice; manage and transform work contexts that are complex, unpredictable and require new strategic approaches; and, take responsibility for decisions and recommendations.

You mentor must be a fully qualified accountant who is a current member of an accountancy body which is a member of the International Federation of Accontants (IFAC). When you first register your mentor, we will confirm their membership status.
Please see mentor specific User Guide here.