CPA Continuing Professional Education

Certified Public Accountant Continuing Professional Education (CPA CPE) Information

A certified public accountant or CPA is required to take and complete continuing-education requirements every two or three years, depending on the state he (or she) works in to renew and maintain his license. Working in a field requiring a CPA or the like is an advantage for those who need to take a continuing-education course since they are already practicing procedures, skills and knowledge related to accountancy.

How to meet CPA Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Requirements?

Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is required for all accountants who possess an active CPA license. There are lots of ways to obtain CPE hours, not the least are credits for online courses approved by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), accounting seminars, college courses, public authoring and other different options. The AICPA requires CPAs to complete 120 CPE hours every two or three years, depending on the state they work in. The board requires CPAs to earn at least 20 hours of CPE coursework every year with a minimum of four hours coursework for professional ethics. Other course topics that may be included in the CPE credits are accounting and auditing, consulting services, management, professional development, specialized knowledge and applications, and taxation.

How important is an Ethics course?

The CPA CPE course for ethics is designed to teach CPAs standard business practices, introduction to the accounting code of professional conduct, ethics philosophy, ethical conflict resolution, and accounting ethics code of conduct.

Anyone with questions regarding their CPA Continuing Professional Education can contact their State Board of Accountancy by visiting its website.