Last week the FSCA published the Exemption from Continuous Professional Development Requirements, 2019 – No 2 of 2019 on its website.
The purpose of the Exemption is to allow financial services providers, key individuals and representatives who did not comply with the CPD requirement on the 31st of May, until 31July 2019 to comply with requirements set out in the Determination of Fit and Proper Requirements for Financial Services Providers, 2017, in respect of the current 2018 CPD cycle. The effective date of the Exemption is 1 June 2019.
It should be noted that –
| a. | the Exemption does not detract from the CPD hours required for the next CPD cycle, i.e. 1 June 2019 until 31 May 2020; |
| b. | the Exemption does not impact the period of the 2019 CPD cycle. In other words, the 2019 CPD cycle will still commence on 1 June 2019 and end on 31 May 2020; |
| c. | If you did not comply on 31 May 2019 then the CPD hours completed for the 2018 CPD cycle in the exemption period (1 June 2019 until 31 July 2019), cannot be calculated towards the 2019 CPD cycle; and |
| d. | CPD hours completed in the exemption period (1 June 2019 until 31 July 2019) by those who already complies with the CPD requirements for the 2018 CPD cycle, will be awarded towards the 2019 CPD cycle. |
A CPD communication will be published on the FSCA’s website in due course. This communication will provide general guidance on the applicability of the CPD requirements.
This exemption should be seen as an opportunity for financial services providers, key individuals and representatives to comply with the FAIS requirements as soon as possible and not to underestimate the impact of not meeting the CPD requirements.
Click here to download FSCA FAIS Notice 40 of 2019.
We welcome the relief provided by the FSCA in what is a first for the industry. The number of enquiries received on CPD indicates that a fair number of people have not fully grasped the requirements, nor the importance of honing knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis. We trust that this reprieve will assist those affected by it to comply, and at the same time, plan properly to prevent a re-occurrence in the new cycle which started on 1 June 2019
