Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a non-negotiable requirement for accountants in practice and in business. Whether you’re a member of ICAEW, ACCA, or CIMA, staying up to date isn’t just about technical compliance — it’s about building the skills to support clients, firms, and businesses more effectively.
The VFD Mastery Programme is designed to do both. It delivers 28 hours of structured, verifiable CPD across compliance, management reporting, forecasting, and exit planning – while at the same time equipping accountants and finance professionals with tools they can use immediately with clients.
Below, we break down how Mastery maps directly to the CPD requirements of the major UK accounting bodies.
ICAEW CPD and VFD Mastery
ICAEW introduced a new CPD framework in 2023 with categories based on role and responsibility:
- Category 1: Responsible individuals, audit partners on large/public interest clients – 40 hrs CPD (30 verifiable)
- Category 2: Audit managers and partners on significant audits – 30 hrs CPD (20 verifiable)
- Category 3: Other members in practice and business – 20 hrs CPD (10 verifiable)
How Mastery fits:
- VFD Mastery delivers 28 hrs verifiable CPD with attendance certificates and structured learning outcomes.
- This exceeds the Category 2 verifiable requirement and fully covers Category 3.
- For Category 1, Mastery covers the majority of the annual verifiable requirement.
- Ethics CPD (minimum 1 hour) is not included, but can easily be added from ICAEW’s own modules.
Modules mapped:
- Technical competence: Compliance, reporting, forecasting, valuations.
- Professional skills: Client communication, board-level reporting, advisory frameworks.
- Business & leadership: Acting as FD/CFO, succession planning, strategic funding.
- Ethics: Not explicit, but elements of integrity and professional scepticism are embedded.
ACCA CPD and VFD Mastery
ACCA members must complete 40 units (hours) per year, of which at least 21 must be verifiable. CPD activities are classified as:
- Technical competence – accounting, audit, finance, reporting, tax.
- Professional skills – communication, leadership, decision-making.
- Ethics – expected as part of verifiable CPD.
How Mastery fits:
- The full 28 hrs of Mastery count as verifiable CPD under ACCA’s rules.
- This exceeds the 21-hour verifiable requirement, leaving only 12 non-verifiable hours to be logged from other activity (such as reading, mentoring, or attending events).
- Ethics is not a core part of Mastery, so members should supplement with ACCA’s own ethics resources.
Modules mapped:
- Technical competence: Business Overview, performance analysis, forecasting, valuations.
- Professional skills: Client meetings, funding proposals, board-level facilitation.
- Ethics: Not directly covered.
CIMA CPD and VFD Mastery
CIMA does not prescribe a set number of hours but instead requires members to:
- Assess their development needs.
- Act to meet them.
- Record CPD activity.
- Reflect on how learning improved competence.
CIMA expects members to demonstrate development across four areas:
- Technical competence (finance, analysis, risk, reporting).
- Business skills (strategy, decision-making, planning).
- People skills (communication, influencing, engagement).
- Leadership skills (guiding teams, governance, ethics).
How Mastery fits:
- VFD Mastery provides 28 hrs structured CPD with certificates, making it simple to record and justify.
- It covers all four competency areas:
- Technical – management reporting, forecasting, valuations.
- Business – strategy, funding, exit planning.
- People – client communication, facilitation, advisory conversations.
- Leadership – FD role, succession planning, value creation.
This makes it an ideal programme for CIMA members who want to evidence a balanced development record.
Key Takeaways
- 28 hrs verifiable CPD across ICAEW, ACCA, and CIMA frameworks.
- Structured content, attendance certificates, and mapped outcomes ensure compliance.
- Only additional requirement: 1 hr ethics CPD (for ICAEW/ACCA).
- CPD budget becomes an investment in practice growth and client impact.
Whether you’re an accountant looking to meet CPD obligations, or a business leader wanting to benefit from forward-looking financial insight, the VFD Mastery Programme is designed to deliver.