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CONTRIBUTION OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO CAREER

ADVANCEMENT OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT

Article · July 2015

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CONTRIBUTION OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO

CAREER ADVANCEMENT OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT

JOEL B. TAN, CPA, MBA

University of Mindanao

ABSTRACT

This paper determines the effectiveness of Continuing Professional

Development (CPD) to the career advancement of Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
when analysed by profile. Respondents were 100 CPAs fairly distributed as to age,
sex, sector connected, year working and credit unit earned. The study covered periods
2010-2013. The paper employed descriptive-quantitative design and used a validated,
self-construct questionnaire as instrument. The sampling technique was stratified,
purposive random. Data were gathered through survey and personal interview. The
statistical treatments used were frequency, mean, Annova and logistical regression.
The critical alpha was set at.05 level of significance. Results revealed that majority of
active CPD participants were young, female CPAs. The extent of participation was
found minimum. The overall level of contribution of CPD to career advancement was
held negligible although CPD showed strongest impact on improvement of financial
income and weakest on enhancement of personal competencies. Further, the study
found out that no significant difference exists between the level of CPD contribution
and career advancement of CPA when grouped according to profile. Thus, the null
hypothesis is accepted. This suggests that descriptive variables have no statistical
impact on the level of CPD contribution. The predictor variable which is CPD credit
unit has shown statistical influence to career advancement. The strength of association
is determined by a model CPD = -2.67 + 0.43units_earnedCPD.

Keywords: Continuing professional development (CPD), certified public accountant

(CPA), career advancement
 ii

INTRODUCTION

The environment within which the Accounting professional functions is more

dynamic and demanding today than ever before. The profession is characterized by

explosion of relevant knowledge and skills due to advancing technology,

globalization of commerce, increasing specialization, burgeoning regulations, and the

complex nature of business transactions (Udani, 2002; AICPA, 1992). These

conditions and developments require a renewed emphasis on the

continuing professional development among Accounting professionals within and

beyond.

Continuing professional development (CPD), before known as continuing

professional education (CPE), is described as lifelong education of professionals on

specialized knowledge, skills, attitude and ethical and moral values after the initial

registration and admission in the profession (PRC, 2008; IES 7, 2006). It is expected

to raise and enhance the professional’s technical skills and competence required and

expected by the stakeholders and the profession (IES 7, 2011; Metz and Tharenou,

2001). The thrust of CPD is to contribute to the advancements of every professional in

terms of career development, financial income, professional networks and personal

competencies. Thus, teachers, military officers, health care professionals, lawyers,

accountants and engineers among others engage in various professional development

activities.

This study is anchored on the idea that CPD is essential to all CPAs in order to

enrich and refine the professional knowledge, skills and ethics earned by the time of

qualification (IES 7, 2006; PRC, 2008). Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is an

individual who holds a valid certificate issued by the Board of Accountancy (BOA) to

practice Accounting profession whether in public practice, commerce and industry,

 iii

government or academe. In the Philippines, Section 32, Article IV of Republic Act

No. 9298, otherwise known as the Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004 provides the

rules and regulations in the implementation of CPD for CPAs in the practice of

accounting.

The Professional regulations commission (PRC) (2008) had strongly directed

that participation to CPD courses offered by CPD Council and PRC accredited CPD

providers be required for all registered and licensed professionals to be in good

standing and globally competitive. The mandate was made following the

liberalization in the trade of services under the fourth Protocol of the General

Agreement for Services in Trade (GATS) and the Mutual Recognition

Arrangements/Agreements (MRAs) pursued by the World Trade Organization (WTO)

and the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) where Philippines is an

active member.

Along this thought and direction that many organizations and practitioners

invest money, time and resources to sending their CPA employees to different CPD

activities for their professional productivity, growth and networking (Garavan et al.,

2004). Common reasons and motivations to CPD participation among Accounting

professionals include interest in lifelong learning (Metz and Tharenou, 2001), sense of

moral obligation, to maintain and improve professional competence (Eaton et al.,

2011), to facilitate career progression, to keep abreast of new technology and

practices (BOA, 2010) and to comply with professional regulatory organizations.

CPAs are also expecting that CPD will help them become more valuable and viable

to existing and potential clients or employer, gain advantage in the highly competitive

labor market and have a better career mobility and greater earning potential (Reiling,
 iv

2011; Garavan et al., 2004). Simply put it, lifelong education is the heart of

professional development.

Of its own accord, the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) however,

does not provide absolute assurance that all members will provide high quality

professional service all the time nor will every person who participates in CPD

programs and activities obtain its full benefits because of variances in personal and

professional efficacy and motivation along with the individual’s commitment and

capacity to learn (IES 7, 2006). Taylor and Francis (2012) also argued that current

policies, regulations and practices in continuing professional development are

frequently based on unexamined assumptions and discounted functions of the

complexities and contingent nature of actual practice. Nonetheless, despite its inherent

limits and constraints, CPD requirement, with its objectives and mechanisms, is but

imperative to maintaining public reliance and confidence to the professional’s

credibility and work quality.

The results of the study provide valuable inputs to individuals and

organizations that have direct and potential role, influence and interest on the policy

creation and program implementation of CPD with the end goal of protecting the

prestige and dignity of the profession and the professionals. Researchers can also

draw rich literature from here for future studies.

METHOD

This paper applied descriptive-quantitative design that intends to explicate

state of phenomenon and to articulate what variables, conditions and attributes are

present (Orig, 2010). The research instrument used was a self-construct, 3-point

Likert-type survey questionnaire validated by panel of experts. The form and content
 v

of questions were based on the criteria of appropriateness, clarity, coherence and

attainment of purpose of the study. Answers to survey were confirmed and enriched

through personal interviews. The null hypothesis reads there is no significant

difference of the level of CPD contribution to career advancement of CPAs when

analysed according to profile.

There were 100 respondents (MacCallum, Widaman, Zhang and Hong, 1999)

objectively distributed as to age, sex, sector connected and years working. The

sampling method used was stratified, purposive random. No incentives were given to

informed CPA-respondents. The study covered periods from 2010-2013. The study

employed statistical tools to include frequency, mean, the Annova and logistical

regression. The frequency and mean analysed the profile of CPAs and level of

contribution of CPD to career advancement. Meanwhile, the Annova determined the

significant difference of the level of contribution of CPD when grouped as to profile.

The alpha was set at .05 level of significance. The logistical regression examined

relationship of independent variables to dependent outcomes (Wright, 1995; Peng,

Lee & Ingersoll, 2002). It is assumed that the probability of CPD to influence career

advancement increases as the CPD credit units earned increases. The paper used

maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to express the likelihood of impact on career

advancement owing to CPD participation.

The researcher had undergone an organized process to safeguard the integrity

and quality of this study. The data were carefully tabulated and prudently interpreted

using specialized statistical software, the SPSS.

 vi

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of the CPAs engaged in CPD.

Majority of the respondents aged below 30 years and were relatively fledgling

Accounting professionals. The study was dominated by female. The male class

corresponds to only 38 percent. The four sectors where CPAs may get connected with

were fairly represented in this paper. The government, however, showed the least

distribution at 22 percent. Most of those surveyed have work experiences ranges from

one to five years while few others have been in professional service beyond 20 years.

As with CPD credit units, many respondents have earned a minimum score

oscillating from 3 to 12 points which is far below the required units set by the PRC-

CPD Council. The total CPD credit units for registered Accounting professional shall

be 60 credit units for three years, provided that a minimum of 15 credit units be

earned each year (Salosagcol, Tiu and Hermosilla, 2011).

Table 1.1
Profile of Respondents

Descriptive variable f %
Age
below 30 50 50
30 to 40 25 25
41 to 50 5 5
above 51 20 20
Total 100 100
Sex
Female 62 62
Male 38 38
Total 100 100
Sector connected
Government 22 22
Academe 26 26
Commerce 26 26
Public 26 26
Total 100 100
Years working
 vii

1-5 45 45
6-14 28 28
15-20 8 8
above 20 19 19
Total 100 100
CPD units earned
3-12 49 49
15-24 14 14
27-48 14 14
above 48 23 23
Total 100 100

The study discovered that those novice accountants and those who are yet

establishing their professional careers are more aggressive and committed to CPD as

they yearn for authority, status and self-worth. This is expected as CPD is designed to

enhance professional characteristics and capacities essential for quality service and so

increase professional value (AICPA, 1992; De Lange et al., 2008; Wessels, 2007).

Overwhelmingly, female CPAs were seen actively engaged in various CPD activities

which suggested that women are more predisposed to professional development

initiatives than men. Accounting is more of paper analytics and less of physical

activities which most men find boring and unchallenging. The presence of CPAs in

four sectors indicated the profession’s marketability and importance across all fields.

This further implies that opportunities abound for present and would-be Accounting

practitioners. Salosagcol et al. (2011) accentuated that every CPA, in the exercise of

profession, is duty bound to remain competent and maintain public confidence. This

responsibility is mandatory and extends to all Accounting professionals in the

commerce and industry, public practice, in education and government.

The result noted that after acquiring meaningful experiences and relevant

skills, respondents preferred to work abroad owing to high work demands and

lucrative remuneration packages and benefits. This explained why the years of
 viii

experience oscillated after five to 10 years of local employment. Meanwhile, every

participation or involvement to CPD has corresponding or equivalent credit units

(Salosagcol et al., 2011). A CPD credit is the unit of measuring the extent of CPD

participation. CIPFA (2010) identified two levels of participation, the level one or the

minimum requirement like attending seminars and trainings; and the level two or the

best practice requirement as doing discipline research. CPAs must earn at least 60

units within 3 years so he or she can renew the professional license. However, results

showed that most of the CPAs surveyed earned very low credit units from period

2010 to 2013 and that the participation was overwhelmingly on level one or

minimum. This disconcerting condition can be explained by the fact that many CPAs

still do not understand the objectives of CPD and find no relevance of it to current

work and professional growth. Alejandro (2001) held that intrinsic and extrinsic

motivators influenced participation and learning. Extrinsic motivators include

expected financial benefit and status while intrinsic motivators include the desire to

transform people and society and win professional identification. Many employers

also thought that engaging their CPAs to CPD is very costly and oftentimes not

translated to greater productivity and profitability. In US though, employee education

spending has increased by eight percent during the recent past years. Few others

believed that CPD is just a waste of time, money, and energy especially when

activities are inapplicable and irrelevant to present and future job (De Lange et al.,

2008). This is a challenge to both PRC-CPD Council and CPD providers to continue

improving the design, programming and delivery of CPD activities to tailor fit it with

what the client needs and wants. New strategies must be explored to inspire and guide

professionals on what CPD activities to participate in. Institutional factors like the

location, time and cost as potential barriers to participation must also be addressed.
 ix

Table 1.2 provides the ranking of the CPD activities participated in by the

respondents. The nature and frequency of participation of CPAs to different PRC-

CPD Council accredited programs, activities and sources vary. Among the hit CPD

regime include participating in seminars, conferences and courses; taking formal

studies like masteral and doctoral degrees; organizing self-learning packages and

trainings. None has engaged to writing books, doing research and professional re-

examination and certifications conceivably because these activities require specialized

knowledge and competencies.

Table 1.2
Ranking of CPD Activities Participated in by Respondents

Rank CPD Activities f

1 conferences/seminars/courses 97
2 formal study 23
3 self-learning modules/packages/trainings 17
4 teaching a course 11
5 speaker/resource person in conferences/seminars 11
6 working on technical committees 10
7 publication/academic writing 5
8 writing books 0
9 research 0
10 professional re-examination/certifications 0

The results thus, dare the PRC-CPD Council and the CPD regulators and

accredited providers to review the policy on conferring equivalent credit unit to

diverse CPD activities based on the nature of the activity and level of CPAs

participation giving much weight on best practice participation like working on

technical committees, writing books, doing academic researches and taking

professional certification among others.

Table 2.1 presents how CPD considerably impacted professional development

of CPAs in terms of career mobility and employment viability. With a mean average

of 1.80, CPD warranted substantial contribution by allowing CPAs to qualify and get
 x

promoted to higher work position and responsibilities. With enriched competencies

and knowledge acquired from various CPD activities, CPAs increase that service

worth, beefs up that credentials and improves that qualification. Thus, make him or

her best fit for greater assignments and authority. It opened many doors to job

opportunities and growth. In the study of Sangsawang (2011), he found out that CPD

had positive effect and influence to Thai accountants' work success. Tames (2012)

however noted that CPD did not have direct impact on the practice of profession but

rather on personal faculties.

On matters of career growth and satisfaction, North (2008) pointed out that it

is both a continuing process and a personal responsibility. In addition, Salosagcol et

al., (2011) cited that voluntary compliance with CPD is a credible means to ensure

proficiency, integrity and global competitiveness of a professional.

Table 2.1
CPD and Career Development Contribution

Indicators Mean Description

Helped me get promoted in the company 1.91 Substantial
Paved the way for me to qualify for higher position in the 1.80 Substantial
company
Allowed me to be given greater responsibility in the 1.77 Substantial
company
Expedited my application for better job assignment in the 1.81 Substantial
company
Offered me career options within and/or outside the 1.70 Substantial
company
Helped increase my qualifications for overseas 1.81 Substantial
employment
Mean 1.80 Substantial
2.34-3.00 Very substantial
1.67-2.33 Substantial
1.00-1.66 Negligible

Table 2.2 shows that CPD improved the financial condition of CPAs. It

brought in more clients to the practitioners and allowed them to venture into potential

and alternative income sources following that enriched credibility and competence.
 xi

The mean average score of 1.81 indicated that CPD has significant impact to

increasing the earning capacities and ensuring fiscal sustainability of CPAs. Through

CPD, professionals increase their eligibility and professional value which normally

translated to higher pay and business opportunities (Reiling, 2011). Most often, salary

increases and demands are driven by and based on qualifications and competencies

which CPD affords.

Bowles et al. (2001) made a strong attribution to human capital as critical

driver of income and wealth differences. The human capital model, in contrast to

behavioural model, proposed productive skills and not individual characteristics

determine economic returns and prosperity. Professionals who invested on trainings

and developmental courses will have higher chances to get promoted and increased

financial (Metz and Tharenou, 2001).

Table 2.2
CPD and Financial Income Contribution

Indicators Mean Description

Helped increase my earnings, salaries and benefits 1.85 Substantial
Opened opportunities for me to do consultancy works 1.68 Substantial
Increased my professional fees 1.93 Substantial
Made me attractive for prospective livelihood sources 1.67 Substantial
Helped me improve income flow 1.81 Substantial
Increased the number of my clients 1.94 Substantial
Mean 1.81 Substantial
2.34-3.00 Very substantial
1.67-2.33 Substantial
1.00-1.66 Negligible

Table 2.3 displays the statistical effectiveness of CPD to the development of

professional networks. Network is a carefully established and interconnected web of

professional associates that provided each other mutual benefits to include valuable

information and insights for performing better in their current position and in

furthering their careers (Sunseri and Kosteva, 1992; Sweitzer, 2007). Though the

overall level of contribution was deemed negligible at an average mean of 1.66, it was
 xii

found that engagements to various CPD endeavours build client referrals and

professional partnerships (Tagliaventi and Mattarelli, 2006). It also allowed

accountants to be a member or even officer of professional and civic organizations

that widen even more professional contacts and market. Sweitzer (2007) and Hopkins

et al. (2006) suggested what social capital such as membership to professional

organizations and establishing mentoring relations and networks can spell a big

difference to survive in a highly competitive labor market. Social network has been

noted, though plausible by default, as career development bias (Metz and Tharenou,

2001).

Typical gains of having affiliations and professional contacts included access

to industry leads and potential business partnerships (Taylor, 2003) and opportunities

for mentoring and coaching relationship. Sweitzer (2007) posited that mentoring

provided career and psychosocial support. Likewise, Garavan et al. (2004) declared

that investing to networking facility has shown helpful to employee’s adaptability,

flexibility and visibility in the workplace. He added that Asians make greater use of

contacts within the industry for recruitment and promotion opportunities whereas

Europeans are most likely to utilize external networking for labor market access and

gains. Taylor (2003) commented that professional membership and networks provided

not only sense of value and identity to being (Dobrow and Higgins, 2005) but also

enhance professional life. However, it must be understood that while CPD provided

the platform, the interpersonal attitude and communication skills of the professional

played the greatest role in the process. This attributes will help accountants take full

advantage of the CPD and be able to expand his or her sphere of influence and

discover latent business partners and professional friends.

 xiii

Table 2.3
CPD and Contribution to Development of Professional Networks

Indicators Mean Description

Widened my professional contacts 1.44 Negligible
Helped me build business partnerships 1.72 Substantial
Increased the number of my client-referrals 1.87 Substantial
Allowed me to be a member and/or officer of 1.80 Substantial
professional organizations
Reconnected me to old colleagues and/or coworkers and 1.44 Negligible
employers
Allowed me to discover would-be mentees and advisees 1.71 Substantial
Mean 1.66 Negligible
2.34-3.00 Very substantial
1.67-2.33 Substantial
1.00-1.66 Negligible

Table 2.4 describes the level of influence of CPD to personal competencies of

Accounting professionals. Personal competencies refer to personal qualities, abilities

and attitude. It is a function of a well-defined, focused and sustained personal

development program that improves self-awareness and identity, develops talents and

potentials and enriches quality of life and contributes to realization of dreams and

aspirations (Sweitzer, 2007; Metz and Tharenou, 2001). It was observed that personal

competencies and experiences facilitate employability (Garavan et al., 2004) and

warrant professional success (Hopkins et al., 2006).

The statistical mean average was 1.33 interpreted as negligible. The result

showed that CPD bears no significant impact to personal competencies that could lead

to intrinsic transformation of the accountant (Tames, 2012). Although CPD allows

CPAs to acquire new skills and update knowledge in Accounting standards and

practices, it could only make sense and work best in the context of daily work

experiences (Cervero, 1992) and with integration of psychosocial support (Hansman,

2000). Further, the significance and appreciation of CPD is affected by many factors

including disposition to learn and interest to the type, design and delivery of CPD

activities (Lam, 2010; IES 7, 2006). In many instances, CPD failed to achieve its
 xiv

objectives and rather becomes futile because the motivation behind participation is

plain compliance to regulatory and policy requirement than skills development and

lifelong learning (De Lange et al., 2008; Wessels, 2007). Furthermore, the conduct of

CPD programs and sources do not meet the expectations of the participants and are

incongruent with what the professional needs and wants. Needless to say, the

concentration and programming of CPD is to developing chiefly professional

capacities and not personal qualities.

Table 2.4
CPD and Contribution to Personal Competencies

Indicators Mean Description

Helped me acquire and develop new knowledge and/or 1.16 Negligible
skills
Made me more productive professional 1.32 Negligible
Helped me gained self-confidence 1.32 Negligible
Improved my leadership and/ or management style 1.43 Negligible
Developed my commitment to life-long learning 1.34 Negligible
Improved my interpersonal skills 1.41 Negligible
Mean 1.33 Negligible
2.34-3.00 Very substantial
1.67-2.33 Substantial
1.00-1.66 Negligible

Table 2.5 encapsulates the statistical contribution of CPD to career

advancement of CPAs in four dimensions namely: career development, improvement

in financial income, development of professional networks and enhancement of

personal competencies. While it revealed that the collective mean score was 1.65

described as negligible, CPD posted substantial influence on career development and

financial improvement. Only on development of professional networks and

enhancement of personal competencies that CPD showed insignificant impact.

Accordingly, the result qualified the notion that CPD participation guarantees outright

professional growth and satisfaction (Reiling, 2011). Again, it proposed that the
 xv

efficacy and relevance of CPD to every CPA is relative and is affected by many

variables, both intrinsic and extrinsic.

Table 2.5
Summary of Contribution of CPD

Dimensions Mean Description

Career development 1.80 Substantial
Improvement in financial income 1.81 Substantial
Development of professional networks 1.66 Negligible
Enhancement of personal competencies 1.33 Negligible
Mean 1.65 Negligible
2.34-3.00 Very substantial
1.67-2.33 Substantial
1.00-1.66 Negligible

Table 3.1 captures the test of differences of CPD contribution when analyzed

by profile using the Annova. Results clarified that no statistical effectiveness was

noted on the differences of the impact of CPD when analyzed according to the age of

the professional. The recorded F-value of .88 is interpreted as insignificant at .05 level

of significance. Similarly, the number of years working with an F-value of .71

insignificant showed no strong influence on the level of contribution of CPD that

could result to significant difference within the group. This implied that length of

service and experience does not make substantial impact to the degree of contribution

of CPD among Accounting professionals.

Meanwhile, the variances of CPD contribution when analyzed according to

credit units earned also held no significance with an F-value of .93 insignificant still

at .05 level of significance. Meaning, credit points earned from various CPD

programs and activities do not automatically translated to or guarantee substantial

impact to career advancement. The profits of CPD are not instinctive but are gained in

full when it finds relevance and application to current and prospective work

assignments. Likewise, the sector where the accountant is connected found no

statistical significance on the level of CPD contribution. This can be explained by the
 xvi

fact that many CPAs across sectors see CPD participation as mere compliance and

meaningless exercise. Thus, make the impact inconsequential (De Lange et al., 2008).

However, others find CPD indispensable like those in the academe and public practice

where the need to keep abreast of the latest standards and practices is required by the

service. In nutshell, the analysis of variance of the level of contribution of CPD by

profile showed no statistical effectiveness, thus the null hypothesis is accepted.

Table 3.1
Analysis of Variance of Contribution of CPD by Profile of Respondents

Sum of Mean
Variables Comparison Df F Sig.
Squares Square
Age of the between groups 41.03 33 1.24
professional within groups 93.72 66 1.42 0.88 0.66
Total 134.75 99
Sector connected between groups 42.02 33 1.27
with within groups 78.62 66 1.19 1.07 0.40
Total 120.64 99
Number of years between groups 33.85 33 1.03
working within groups 95.14 66 1.44 0.71 0.86
Total 128.99 99
CPD units earned between groups 48.80 33 1.48
within groups 104.99 66 1.59 0.93 0.58
Total 153.79 99
Critical alpha at .05 level of significance

Table 3.2 presents the analysis of difference of CPD contribution by sex. It

was found out that there was no significant difference of the contribution of CPD

between the male and female group. The statistical variance showed that sex has no

impact over the level of CPD contribution. This result repudiated the idea that sex

influences person’s lifestyle, attitude and rationalities (Allana, Asal and Sherali,

2010). While it is true that majority of the respondents were female; men were found

to have same level of disposition and interest on learning new things and acquiring

new skills through various CPD activities. The recorded t and p values were .97 and

.33 respectively, interpreted as insignificant at .05 level of significance. This finding

 xvii

is an inspiration to CPD providers and accreditors to constantly explore, balance and

integrate the interests of both sexes in the design and delivery of CPD activities.

Table 3.2
Test of Difference of Contribution of CPD by Sex

t-value p-value std error difference

0.97 0.33 0.09

Table 4 displays the result of the logistical regression employed on the data of

the study. The objective of the regression analysis was to estimate the predictive value

of factors that may influence career improvement of CPAs due to CPD. The logistical

regression using MLE revealed that CPD units earned as predictor variable influence

career advancement of CPAs with .43 beta weight. This inferred that frequent

engagement and increased best practice participation to various CPD programs and

sources will help Accounting professional advance, strengthen and sustain his or her

personal and professional development as indicated by progressive career mobility,

improved financial, increased contacts and enhanced personal abilities.

Table 4
Estimating Factors that Influence Improvement due to CPD

Variables B S.E. Wald Df Sig.

CPD units earned 0.43 0.22 3.90 1.00 0.05
Constant -2.67 0.62 18.20 1.00 0.00
2LL = 83
Cox and Snell R-square = 0.04
Nagelkerke R-square = 0.07

Thus, the result established a link between CPD and career advancement of

CPAs but in varying degree of association: the strongest was on improvement of

financial income and weakest on enhancement of personal competencies. The strength

of attribution is determined by a model presented in the form: CPD = -2.67 +

0.43units_earnedCPD. The model provided four to seven percent fitness to the data;

the residual rate is accounted to stochastic error. The prediction model means that for
 xviii

every unit increase in the level of career advancement of CPA, .43 percent is

influenced by and ascribable to credit units, a measure of CPD participation and

involvement. Further, with the discriminating negative 2.67 impact to career

advancement by not participating to any CPD programs and activities, CPAs must not

be indifferent to and disregard CPD; instead get involved with it more frequently and

aggressively. Only then, the professional can maximize its benefits and gains and so

preclude the risk of career improvement to shrink and diminish over time. The model

also suggested that 93 to 96 percent of variation in the level of contribution of CPD to

career improvement of professional accountant can be explained and are linked to

factors other than the predictor variable which are not covered in this study.

CONCLUSION

Given the foregoing results, contribution of CPD to career advancement of

CPAs can be predicted by the credit units earned. As CPD programs, activities and

sources were determined to have influence on professional development, CPAs

should capitalize on increased best practice participation and meaningful engagements

with CPD to bring about significant benefits and improvement on career mobility and

financial income and to some extent to the development of professional networks and

enhancement of personal competencies. CPD makes a credible springboard to greater

opportunities, successful career and quality life for Accounting professionals.

The link that was established between CPD participation and career

advancement poses a challenge to CPD accreditors, providers and regulators to

continually improve the programming and implementation of CPD programs and

activities both the content and delivery for a more meaningful, enriching and

responsive CPD experience. It must bear significance to the current and dreamed
 xix

endeavours of the Accounting professionals. They should also consider and match

programs and approaches on what interests and motivates the professionals so they

can draw in more participants and increase the level of appreciation towards CPD.

The PRC has already provided standardization guidelines and procedures for effective

implementation of CPD menu.

On the same note, employers and firms should encourage their CPAs to

engage with and be active participants of CPD particularly the young professionals.

Through it, accountants can be well equipped with relevant knowledge, values, ethics

and competencies essential for personal effectiveness and institutional productivity.

CPD can also be a good measure to check the commitment and zest of CPA to stay

proficient and competitive in the chosen career. Despite inherent limitations, CPD

remains true to its cause of upholding and strengthening the trust and confidence of

the public for excellent, competent and quality Accounting service.

 xx

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Alejandro, J. (2001). Understanding professionals' reasons for participating

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Allana, A., Asad, N. & Sherali, Y. (2010). Gender in academic settings: Role of
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Board of Accountancy –Philippines. (2010). Resolution No. 25, series of 2010.

Reiterating the completion of CPE units earned from accredited CPE providers for
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