How It Works
eLearning Portal
The ‘Digital Revolution’ is leading to significant changes in the way that accounting and advisory firms manage their work, their people and their clients.
Our eLearning platform has been specifically designed to provide people working within accounting and advisory firms with a step-by-step guide to developing skills necessary to excel in the modern professional service environment.
In particular, our courses explore the impact that technology is having on the nature of client relationships and workflow within professional firms. This has had a significant effect on the expectations of staff and clients. Our courses examine the impact of these changes and discuss what firms and their people need to be doing now to build sustainable practices.
All content is directly relevant to public practice. Examples and case studies refer to real life situations experienced in a professional service environment. The core presenter utilises over 16 year’s working directly with accounting and advisory firms to achieve sustainability and growth.
Each module incorporates an online presentation that you can view at a time and place that suits you. Assessment tasks encourage learners to develop practical actions relevant to their real-life work environment.
CLICK HERE to download the CPD For Accountants eLearning Brochure
Key Features
- The portal gives learners access to self-paced learning courses in modular format
- Learners can complete courses at a place that suits them, within and outside work hours
- Leaders and managers are able to see at a glance how their staff are progressing
- All learners have access to course content for 12 months following their enrolment
- All our courses are designed for CPD points with a certificate of completion provided
- Assessment tasks are qualitative, encouraging learners to develop practical actions demonstrating understanding of the concepts
- Supporting material including workbooks, PowerPoint Slides, templates, scripts and articles are provided with each module.
CPD Points
The structure of all of our courses lies within the eligibility criteria outlined by the various Member Associations including CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants ANZ and the Institute of Public Accountants..
All our courses are directly relevant to the accounting profession. All of our courses have clear, documented learning objectives and assessment tasks that are scored independently. CPD hours are calculated on the basis of the time typically taken to complete each module including viewing presentations, completing workbooks and assessment tasks and developing your SMART action plan for professional development purposes.
You should record all your CPD activities to ensure you are completing the requirements of your Member Association.
For more information, CLICK HERE
Learning Objectives
All courses and modules are structured with specific learning objectives and assessment tasks. Learners are expected to demonstrate that they understand learning objectives and can apply concepts through completion of the assessment tasks.
Examples of learning objectives and assessment tasks from The Proactive Accountant Course:
| Area | Focus Area | Module | Learning Objectives | Assessment Tasks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | How to take control of personal workflow | What service agreements and scope of work is all about | Understand what scope of work really means in relation to client engagement | Review the service agreement provided. Compare with engagement letters provided to clients by your firm. What are the differences? |
| Identify the key areas of focus in effectively managing personal workflow | How can you more clearly identify client understanding of the service agreement and scope of work? | |||
| Understand how to identify and manage changes in scope of work | Identify 2 recent situations where work was completed that was out of scope. How was this managed? What could have been done differently to get a better result? | |||
| Identify up to 3 SMART actions that you can take in relation to your learnings from this module. | ||||
| 6 | Keys to delivering work on time, within budget | Understand the key steps in effectively managing job turnaround and deadlines | Explore your firm’s approach to job turnaround and deadlines. How does this influence the way that you start and complete jobs? | |
| Outline the key steps required to manage job time cost budgets | What could you do differently to better manage the time cost budget associated with the jobs you complete? | |||
| Identify the key actions to take if workflow gets out of control | Develop a checklist to monitor the key steps in delivering jobs on time, within budget | |||
| Identify up to 3 SMART actions that you can take in relation to your learnings from this module. |
Assessment tasks are designed to help learners implement objectives relevant to their specific situation and capabilities. Learners will often find these tasks challenging, as they will refer to skills, systems, procedures and responsibilities that may not yet be in place within your firm. Indeed, learners are encouraged to suggest changes in the way your firm operates, when it affects their ability to manage their workflow and clients.
SMART Actions
The eLearning platform is designed to ensure that learners take practical steps to improve their skills and capabilities. As the course finishes, your learner(s) will have a comprehensive action list in place for further action. They will also be encouraged to make recommendations to their manager in relation to firm systems, procedures and structures.
Learners in all courses are required to identify and complete SMART actions in association with each module. SMART actions are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. All actions are documented and included in module assessment tasks.
Example from a learner in The Proactive Accountant Course:
| No. | Action | URG | IMP | Pri | Current Status / Next Steps | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | I will think about my clients' future | 2 | 2 | 4 | When completing work for a client I am going to brainstorm on ideas in regards to managing their tax position going forward. These notes should be collated separately in a digital format for all users to see. This brainstorming will be based on the value-added analytics profile. | ||
| 3.2 | I will ask clients what their preferred method of communication is | 1 | 2 | 2 | When initially making contact with a new client and with already engaged clients I will ask them what their preffered method of communication is so that we can be more client centric in our approach to client interaction. | ||
| 3.3 | Take charge of compliance workflow | 2 | 2 | 4 | Take time to understand the scope of the jobs I am going to complete including budget and WIP before I start the job. Make notes for admin who will pick up the job after me so that they can do the same. | ||
| 4.1 | I will complete further research about the clients I work on | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ideally before starting a job I will complete research about the client that I am about to work on. This will be a combination of discussing the client with their manager (if not me), looking into their social media presence and looking at the current news and events in their industry. | ||
| 4.2 | I will look for opportunities to communicate with clients beyond workflow | 3 | 3 | 3 | In doing my research I will probably have topics that I can discuss with the clients or questions I can ask them that are specific to their individual situation. | ||
| 4.2 | I will communicate more with new clients | 3 | 3 | 3 | I will create a list of open-ended questions that I can use with new clients to get a discussion happening. Questions that delve deeper than 'how has your day been?'. Ideally the questions won't lend themselves to a one word answer and will force both of us to talk more. |
As the course proceeds, the learner will be required to identify the importance and urgency of each SMART actions. Learners are encourage to share their SMART actions with their manager and to incorporate them in their professional development program.
Course Feedback & Expert Advice
Our eLearning courses all feature the opportunity for learners to give and receive direct feedback as they progress through the course. The feedback may include
- Advice on how to successfully complete assessment tasks
- Feedback on how to apply module learnings to real life situations
- General feedback in relation to access to the online platform
All learners have access to the course administrator through the direct email portal within the eLearning platform. Where possible, responses are provided same day and certainly within 24 hours.
As learners complete their course, they are asked for direct feedback on the value they received from the course as well as recommendations for the structure and content of the course. You can read some of the feedback received from learners in the section ‘Learner Feedback’ on course enrolment pages.
Manager Access to Learner Status
Our eLearning platform incorporates MANAGER access to course status for each of the firm’s learners enrolled in courses. A manager may be the learner’s direct manager, the senior partner or principal of the firm or a key administrator such as the firm’s training and professional development manager.
Managers have access to learner status anytime, anywhere.
There are three key reports available for managers:
- Course completion
- Course enrolment
- Course status
The course status report incorporates detailed information on the following areas of focus:
- Progress – Click to see which modules have been completed
- Scores – Click to see scores of individual assessment tasks
- Grade – Click to see grades on completed assessment tasks
- Due – the number of assessment tasks required to complete the course
- Enrolled – the date enrolled and the number of days since the last visit
- Cogwheel – further information on learner activity
Have another question?
If you'd prefer a direct response to your query from our support centre, just submit your question and we’ll get back to you shortly.
Contact
P: 1300 133 848
E: support@cpdforaccountants.com.au
M: PO Box 481 Lindfield NSW 2070 Australia
CPD For Accountants
A division of High Tech Soft Touch Pty Ltd
ABN 71 614 705 029
