Deadline alert: make the most of public holidays to meet CPD requirements

With no less than five public holidays – six if you count the general election day on 29 May – between now and the end of the CPD cycle, FSPs, key individuals and representatives are advised to consider using this time effectively by signing up for Moonstone Business School of Excellence’s CPD courses.

In terms of the Fit & Proper requirements (Board Notice 194 of 2017), CPD for regulatory purposes was officially implemented as a requirement. This means advisers are obliged to perform CPD activities towards regulatory CPD requirements during a CPD cycle, which is a period of 12 months commencing on 1 June of every year and ending on 31 May of the following year. The end of the cycle is therefore fast approaching.

MBSE is a recognised CPD provider and offers programmes, including online courses, events, and publications to assist FSPs, key individuals, and representatives in gaining the relevant CPD hours.

Monique Brummer, the operations manager at MBSE, highlights a common trend: a last-minute rush as the CPD deadline looms. She encourages individuals who haven’t yet reached their required CPD hours to utilise the time they have left effectively.

“MBSE students get immediate access to courses after payment if they pay by credit card. They can thus start working on their required CPD hours for the end of May deadline at any time,” says Brummer.

What are the CPD requirements?

An FSP, key individual, and representative must maintain the required competence to render the financial services for which he or she is authorised. To do this, they must comply with the minimum CPD requirements set out below.

The number of CPD hours required is determined by the make-up of the business.

In terms of BN 194, where employees render:

• a single subclass of business within a single class of business, they must complete a minimum of 6 hours of CPD activities per CPD cycle;
• more than one subclass of business within a single class of business, they must complete a minimum of 12 hours of CPD activities per CPD cycle; and
• more than one class of business they must complete a minimum of 18 hours of CPD activities per CPD cycle.

Identified learning objectives

Priced from R57, MBSE’s CPD courses are categorised to make it easier to choose  the required activities. These categories include Regulatory Environment, Ethics, Technical, and Business Skills.

The features of the courses include:

• flexible e-learning that can be completed anywhere, anytime on a computer, tablet or smartphone;
• access to user-friendly, printable training material that is broken up into smaller units, supplemented with relevant multimedia content;
• access to MBSE’s helpdesk – all queries are answered within three business days; and
• regular self-assessment to monitor progress.

Students can access and print their certificate once they have completed all the course activities and passed (at least 60%) the assessments.

CPD subscription packages

MBSE also provides CPD subscription packages, particularly the Premium package, which are ideal for corporate FSPs that want to ensure their key individuals and representatives comply with the required CPD hours.

From an administrative point of view, MBSE offers the option of multiple bookings via a bulk registration process. This gives an FSP the freedom to register students monthly. (Terms and conditions, together with the signed service level agreement, apply.)

The manager’s dashboard allows the following:

• send coupons to candidates to activate their subscription;
• view candidates’ progress at any time;
• view and download reports;
• view and download candidates’ certificates; and
• create a corporate CPD/Class of Business planner.

Click here to choose a package that suits your needs.

 

Stay up to date

Brummer points out that a significant portion of the market doesn’t have to comply to CPD requirements; they’re exempt under BN 194.

Employees who are specifically excluded from CPD training include:

• a Category I FSP, its key individuals, and representatives who render only financial services in respect of the financial products: Long-term Insurance subcategory A and/or Friendly Society Benefits; and
• a representative of a Category I FSP that is appointed to only render a financial service in respect of a Tier 2 financial product; and/or render an intermediary service in respect of a Tier 1 financial product.

“But our CPD courses are also a significant value-add for those reps. Staying ‘current’ with industry changes should be a priority for everyone, even if they do not have the imposed’ requirement,” says Brummer.

Contact help@mbse.ac.za for support with Corporate packages.