All CPAs must meet Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements, which vary depending on the state in which you practice and the requirements of any professional organizations you belong to. Your state board of accountancy probably requires you to maintain a certain number of CPE hours, but most states allow you to get those hours in a variety of ways. The question is, however, are you seeking out CPE courses to simply fulfill the requirements, or are you doing more for your business and professional development with those CPE hours?
Consider this: Traditionally, CPAs would seek out CPE by attending in-person trade conferences, hosting in-house training courses, or taking college or university classes. But today’s smart CPAs know that obtaining CPE hours from more flexible – but still information-rich – sources like audio conferences and webinars is the best way to maximize your CPE dollars. CPE providers like Eli Financial offer one-stop solutions, such as the 2018 Unlimited CPE Package.
Use Continuing Education as a Competitive Advantage
Problem: If you’re like most CPAs, you may feel like most of the continuing education courses you take aren’t relevant to you, address things you already know, and/or teach you things that you feel like aren’t beneficial to your business, according to a blog posting by Ed Mendlowitz for CPA Trendlines.
What’s worse, your previously reliable go-to CPE provider may suddenly go out of business, leaving you without a CPE source. For instance, Western CPE recently filed for bankruptcy, and now their customers are looking for a new way to meet their continuing education requirements.
Best bet: Instead of approaching CPE as a boring chore, see it as an opportunity, Mendlowitz advised. CPE’s purpose is to help you become more effective and grow, as well as introduce you to areas you’re not familiar with and keep you updated.
In today’s evolving market, accounting firms must take a more dynamic approach to recognize the value of a comprehensive learning curriculum, according to the whitepaper, “Creating a Learning Vision for Your Firm,” by Thomson Reuters. The industry is transforming due to technology innovations, a rise in specialization, and shifts in the traditional business model – and all these major changes demand that CPAs not only remain CPE compliant but also learn the skills necessary to succeed in the current and future industry.
Cater to Millennials’ Learning Style
Many firms are also seeking out learning approaches that combine CPA-specific professional skills with soft skills to develop more well-rounded staff, noted Terry Sheridan in a Sift AccountingWEB article. Firms want their CPAs to be proficient in business development, negotiation, management, leadership, and verbal and written communications.
Pitfall: If your firm overlooks the importance of a learning program, you’re risking not only losing talented employees who are seeking professional growth, but also losing clients to your competitors, Sheridan warned. And now with more than one-third of American workers being a millennial, this new tech-savvy generation will make a big impact on firms’ work culture and future. Also, millennials thrive on professional growth and feedback, more so than the generations that came before them.
Cash-In on World-Class CPE Courses
Smart: Eli Financial has created a dynamic solution for CPAs who are struggling to juggle their hectic schedules and their CPE requirements. The 2018 Unlimited CPE Package is an easy way to access live and prerecorded CPE courses on your own time, with events approved by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and California Tax Education Council (CTEC). Learn from best-in-class faculty with unlimited access to a course library that demands no traveling and allows you to earn CPEs wherever, whenever.
