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FAQS - Change to Training and Development requirements
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I hear the Training and Development Requirements have changed. Am I affected?

 
 
If you are licensed or registered in one of the following specialist areas, your Training and Development requirements have changed. 
  • Registered company auditor  
  • Licensed municipal auditor (or its equivalent) 
  • Registered company liquidator 
  • Financial Planning specialist 
  • Registered tax agent 
  • Registered trustee in bankruptcy
Since 1 July 2004, you have been be required to allocate 40% of your total minimum Qualifying hours to your specialisation (i.e. – tax agents are required to undertake at least 40% of their hours in tax-related Training and Development). If you have more than two of these statutory registrations, you will have to dedicate 40% of your Qualifying hours to each of those specialist areas (i.e. – if you have three specialist designations you will need to undertake 120% of the minimum hours normally required). 
 
 
What is my Training and Development obligation as a Financial Planning specialist? 
You are currently required to undertake a minimum of 20 hours Training and Development annually in the Financial Planning field. Regulation R10, paragraph 1306.1). 
 
From 1 July 2004, you will be required to undertake a minimum of 40% of your minimum Training and Development requirements in the Financial Planning field. (ie 40% of 120 hours over 3 years). This change occurred to maintain consistency across the various areas of specialisation. 
 
 
Who determines which speciality a particular course belongs to? 
You do! As before, Training and Development is self assessed. A single session on, say, tax effect accounting may qualify as a tax course for a registered tax agent or as an audit course for an auditor. It will be up to you to substantiate the relevance of the course to your specialty when a Training and Development audit is conducted. Don’t forget the percentages are assessed over a 3-year period. 
 
 
I am a member in public practice. I am a registered company auditor (RCA), however, I have not conducted any audits for the last 8 years. Do I need to do 40% of my Training and Development in audit related areas? 
Yes. Presumably you are maintaining your RCA registration so that if a job arose in the future that required a RCA, you would be in a position to accept it. It is in the public interest for you to maintain your competence levels in areas in which you wish to practice. Don’t forget that a Training and Development course on accounting standards and a wide variety of other courses may qualify as being audit related. 
 
 
I am a registered company auditor, liquidator or financial planner. Do the Training and Development courses have to be specific to my specialty? 
Qualifying activities should maintain and/or expand your capacity to enable you to discharge your professional obligations. Due to the dynamic nature of tax, accounting, auditing, financial planning etc, satisfying the minimum requirements should not be onerous. 
 
 
I am a registered company auditor, a registered tax agent AND a financial planning specialist. What are my minimum required Qualifying hours?  
Your MINIMUM hours over the 3-year triennium are 120% of 120 hours or 144 hours. During periods of great legislative change your actual Training and Development may need to be more than this just to maintain your competence.