The emergence of mandatory continuing professional education at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland

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.