A very interesting discussion! I think it is important to view Second Life not as a product, but as a vehicle or a solution. Second Life can be used to deliver core, technical learning (perhaps a session on the latest in tax, or IFRS) and has a wider reach than a face-to-face event.

Mark, in the future we’ll be exploring opportunities to deliver technical sessions via Second Life – we’d love to see you there and hear what you think.

Cheers,

Anja

Second Life as a product can be seen as a social gaming type application, but more and more it is being used for non-gaming and very productive purposes. A search for Second Life on You Tube will bring up many results from universities using Second Life as a tool for learning and collaboration.

This is where CPA Australia is trying to leverage the benefits of Second Life. For members that are based in major cities I could not stress more the importance of regular face-to-face contact with their colleagues, but for many of our members based in regional areas of Australia and in international locations face-to-face contact is not possible.

Also, CPA Australia hosts many very interesting events across the globe, but due to costs or demand many events are limited to a single city. While the content may be globally relevant the delivery is currently limited to a single location.

Location of members and location of events are just two examples of how CPA Australia needs to look at ways to bridge the gap between members and their ability to learn.

It is understandable that experimenting with Second Life may seem quite ‘out there’ but there is a genuine need for CPA Australia to try as much as it can to provide a level of service that is as equal to members in regional and international locations as it is in our Australian capital cities.

I hope that this brief explanation helps to show that we are definitely focusing our efforts on making sure that CPAs are able to focus their learning on core business skills and that Second Life is just a medium in which we can help make this happen!

We tell businesses to stay focused on their “core business” – are we as CPA’s following this advice?

I want CPA Australia to be a meaningful part of my life in terms of keeping me up-to-date with accounting/taxation type information. I agree that there is an IT aspect to our roles, but is second life really within our membership charter? Is it something a majority of members will use & gain benefit from?

The CPA members that I interact with via discussion group already bemoans the costs of Public Practice audits & the high cost of membership fees, seeing very little preceived benefit. I think that this should be discussed with the members (us) & not some specialist who has a vested interest in developing something like this. If my view is in a minority, then I’m ok with that, but I ask members to ponder this question & really think about what CPA Australia represents & means for you individually.