Chartered Accountants Ireland launches the Training & Development Log

Hugh Carroll, Education & Training Support Manager at Chartered Accountants Ireland, introduces the Training & Development Log – a streamlined new system set to replace the CA Diary for trainees from the 2025-26 academic year

The Training Support Unit team is excited to share big news about training and professional development. Starting with trainees in the 2025-26 academic year, we’re introducing a new system called the Training & Development Log (TDL), which will replace the current CA Diary.

Additionally, some of our current trainees will be switching over to the new system. If you are expected to complete your formal training from November 2026 onwards, your approved CA Diary experience will be migrated to TDL. However, if your training is scheduled to finish before this time, you will likely complete your training requirements on the CA Diary.

What will change?

The TDL sits within the existing Learning Hub, offering a unified platform that consolidates academic and training resources. Its modern, user-friendly design, featuring streamlined recording and approval processes, aims to boost efficiency and ensure better compliance for all users in the area of professional development requirements.

There are many exciting features to look forward to on the TDL:

Frequency and nature of experience submissions: With TDL, students will be required to submit one work experience record every six months, moving away from monthly entries and requiring less text input for competencies.
Streamlined approver interface: Mentors (now known as ‘Approvers’ in TDL) will have a more intuitive platform with the need to record separate reviews removed.
Enhanced reporting and progress checks: Trainees and Approvers can check progress on experience days and competencies, even if the experience record hasn’t been approved.
Combined interface: The TDL is hosted and accessible from the Student Learning hub, providing a single point of access for both study and training.
Compliance increase: By simplifying the requirements, it is expected that TDL records will be up-to-date and that joint Trainee/Approver meetings will take place every six months.
Simplified audit engagement report: Audit trainees will record engagements and Statutory Audit days in a separate, simplified form on a job-by-job basis.

What students need to do

Training contract students

If you are in a training contract, you must first ensure that an appropriate accountant is assigned as your CA Diary Mentor.
If you need to have a Mentor assigned (or updated), contact your HR reps/L&D/Education team or your Training Partner in the first instance to instigate an update.

Flexible Route Students

Flexible Route trainees gaining relevant work experience must also ensure that an appropriate accountant is assigned as a CA Diary Mentor. You can find the Flexible Route Mentor Approval form on the CA Diary Resources webpage.

Stay updated

All active trainees should take steps to ensure that their online CA Diary record is up-to-date and that all mentor activity has been completed. That means that each six-month block of experience is locked (approved), and that a corresponding mentor review is recorded.

Regardless of whether you will continue to be a CA Diary user or migrate to the new system, this is a regulatory requirement that you and your mentor need to adhere to throughout the training period. Offline experience records do not meet this requirement.

We know that a lot of trainees are currently on FAE study leave, and we do not expect those preparing for the exams to be updating their experience record. This should, however, be actioned and updated as soon as the exams have been completed.

As a reminder, a comprehensive support package is available on the CA Diary Resources webpage. Key documents, such as the Professional Development Requirements and Sample CA Diary Entries for Trainees should be used on an ongoing basis when updating your Diary, along with the Trainee checklist for CA Diary entries.

Next steps

The Training Support Unit is in the process of sending out individual email updates to share additional details about this change and how it might affect you. We’re also putting together a helpful package of support resources for TDL users. You’ll be able to access these resources closer to the TDL launch date.

Please make sure you have not unsubscribed from Institute emails so that you don’t miss any important updates, and adjust your mailing preferences if you have.

The TSU Team is available to respond to and support needs around training requirements.

Remember: the practical experience component equates to 50 percent of your qualification, so do ensure that you are on top of this area!

The team are contactable at: Trainingsupport@charteredaccountants.ie or by phone +353 (0)1 637 7202. Please always include your student number to help us resolve your query quickly.