Continuing professional education (CPE) maintains and improves professional skills for CPAs with a variety of qualifying subjects and delivery methods.

The Coursework

In addition to courses and seminars, independent study is available from online sources. These permit learning that accommodates an individual schedule and desired pace. Continuing education for a CPA license renewal. The number of educational hours required are regulated by the individual states, which issue CPA licenses.

In most states, CPA continuing education is 80 hours for every two-year period or 120 hours during each three-year period. Many states also require completion of at least 20 hours each year.

Some states stipulate that CPAs satisfy part of the continuing education requirement with specific subject matters. For many states,ethics continuing education is a required course of study. For example, CPAs in Illinois must complete 4 of every 120 hours of coursework in this area.California continuing education requirements for CPA license renewal include 5 hours ofethics CPE. Some states also require study to concentrate on specific areas of the profession. For example, Georgia CPAs dedicate 16 of every 80 educational hours to study of auditing and accounting.

After meeting prescribed coursework, CPA courses may embrace a number of subjects related to professional development. Every course or seminar that seeks to satisfy continuing education credits submits a request for approval with the state agency regulating certified public accountants. After the course is authorized to satisfy continuing education requirements, CPAs may complete the session and obtain a certificate. When CPAs submit their continuing education results upon license renewal, the evidence of completion received specifies the number of authorized hours for the specific course.

Types of courses that can qualify for continuing education credits are vast. For example, a CPA may study technical writing or public speaking to qualify for some continuing education requirements.

The Teaching Systems

There are several ways that CPAs fulfill continuing professional education requirements. Many take classes through a local university or professional association. These vary from short courses over a few days to a single-day seminar. All that necessary is for the CPA to obtain assurance that the coursework counts toward license renewal educational requirements.

More frequently in recent years, CPAs are satisfying continuing education requirements outside of a classroom. There has been significant expansion of online courses that fulfill CPA continuing professional education. These programs provide greater flexibility for scheduling because they are self-paced. In addition, the web-based content can be accessed from anywhere. This mobility maximizes convenience for CPAs to completetax CPE as well as anonline ethics course.