The emergence of mandatory continuing professional education at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland. (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Murphy, Brid; Quinn, Martin
• Other Names: Evans Elaine guest-editor.; Paisey Catriona guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Accounting history. Volume 23:Number 1/2(2018)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 116
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: accounting education -- continuing professional education -- professional body -- institutionalism; Accounting -- History -- Periodicals; 657.0905
• DOI: 10.1177/1032373217731124
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1032-3732

Abstract

This article explores the emergence of mandatory continuing professional education (CPE) at The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (hereafter CPA Ireland). While a relatively recent phenomenon within the accounting profession, mandatory CPE is an essential component of ongoing education for accounting professionals. Mandatory CPE was not required of accountants until 1 January 2006, following 2004 International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) guidance. However, bye-laws of accounting bodies in the United Kingdom and Ireland referred to CPE since the 1970s as a recommendation, not a mandatory requirement. CPA Ireland instigated such a mandatory CPE system effective 1 January 1993, many years before the 2004 IFAC guidance and nearly a decade before most other professional accounting bodies in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This article explores the historical emergence of this mandatory CPE system through a neo-institutional approach. The evidence suggests that some institutional contradictions arose, mainly around misaligned interests (growth vs survival) and legitimacy (as a professional accounting body). From these contradictions, institutional change from within emerged – and a key component of this change was mandatory CPE.