The Latest CPD Updates in Accounting and Finance (2025)

As the accounting and finance world continues to evolve, staying current is vital, not only for professionals but also for those who train them. 2025 brings a range of updates that reshape sustainability reporting, governance, audit quality, technology, and taxation.

For CPD trainers, these updates are key opportunities to help accountants interpret change, apply new standards, and strengthen ethical and digital competence.

1. Sustainability Reporting- IFRS S1 and S2

Sustainability reporting has moved from optional to essential. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) introduced IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, effective from 1 January 2024 (IFRS Foundation, 2023).

• IFRS S1 focuses on general sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
• IFRS S2 concentrates on climate-related disclosures, including greenhouse gas emissions and scenario analysis.

Although effective from 2024, 2025 is the first full reporting year in which companies must publish sustainability reports using these standards. This marks a huge step toward consistency and transparency in sustainability data worldwide.

Focus Points For CPD trainers:

Trainers should guide professionals in linking sustainability disclosures to financial performance. Understanding IFRS S1 and S2 helps accountants make sense of climate and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) data within financial reporting frameworks, a skill now in high demand.

2. The 2024 UK Corporate Governance Code

Good governance underpins trust and transparency. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) introduced the 2024 UK Corporate Governance Code, applying to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025 (FRC, 2024).

This updated Code:

• Strengthens internal control reporting and accountability at board level.
• Expands oversight of ESG responsibilities.
• Clarifies the duties of audit committees in ensuring effective governance.

Focus Points For CPD trainers:

Trainers can use this update to teach how strong governance builds corporate integrity and investor confidence. It also offers practical case studies on board responsibility, ethical leadership, and internal control design, all vital for professional growth in 2025.

3. Audit Quality and Ethics- QC 1000 Standard

Audit quality continues to be a top global focus. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) have introduced a new Quality Control (QC 1000) standard designed to modernise audit firm quality management systems (PCAOB, 2024).

QC 1000 emphasises risk-based quality management, partner accountability, and ethical conduct across audit engagements.

Although originally proposed for implementation in late 2025, the PCAOB has indicated possible extensions into 2026 to allow firms sufficient transition time.

Focus Points For CPD trainers:

This standard enables trainers to focus on how firms design, implement, and monitor systems for consistent audit quality. It’s a perfect opportunity to integrate real-world quality-control examples into CPD courses.

4. Technology, AI, and Data Analytics Skills

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics are becoming integral to finance and accounting operations in 2025. Bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) have published guidance on using generative AI, outlining opportunities, risks, and ethical considerations (ICAEW, 2025).

Key CPD skills to focus on include:

• Using AI tools to detect fraud, anomalies, or unusual transactions across large data sets.
• Applying data analytics for forecasting, risk assessment, and performance reporting.
• Understanding data ethics, privacy, and transparency in AI-driven decision-making.

Focus Points For CPD trainers:

For trainers, this is a chance to build digital confidence. Incorporating AI and data literacy into CPD courses ensures accountants can use technology effectively, and responsibly, within auditing and reporting frameworks.

5. Ethics, Tax Planning, and UK Digital Tax Reforms

Ethics and taxation remain core themes in 2025, with new global ethical guidance and significant UK tax reforms taking effect.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) issued its 2025 Ethics Handbook, featuring updated guidance on ethical tax planning, effective from 30 June 2025 (IESBA, 2025).

It clarifies what constitutes responsible tax advice and discourages overly aggressive tax avoidance. The ICAEW is aligning its Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) from 1 January 2026.

Meanwhile, in the UK, HMRC continues to modernise the tax system with reforms for 2025–26:

• Refinements to IR35 off-payroll working rules.
• Adjustments to non-domiciled taxation frameworks.
• The next phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD), requiring digital record-keeping and online submissions through approved software.

These changes aim to simplify compliance, improve transparency, and make the UK’s tax system more efficient (HMRC, 2025).

Focus Points For CPD trainers:

Trainers can help professionals adapt to these digital and ethical transitions, ensuring accountants understand both the technological requirements of MTD and the ethical dimensions of tax planning. This empowers them to deliver trustworthy, compliant financial advice in a rapidly changing environment.

The pace of change in accounting and finance has never been greater. From sustainability reporting and corporate governance to AI-driven analytics and evolving ethical standards, 2025 marks a year of transformation for the profession. For CPD trainers, these updates are more than technical revisions, they are opportunities to inspire growth, critical thinking, and ethical leadership among learners.

Each update reflects a shared goal: building a profession that is transparent, accountable, and technologically confident. By understanding and embedding these developments into CPD delivery, trainers play a crucial role in shaping professionals who can adapt to change, embrace innovation, and uphold the integrity that defines modern finance.