Get up to date on the latest developments for pharma, bio and medical device companies at the Life Science Accounting Update. Click for the full agenda and details: https://acslive.com/events/lifescience.html
Using Continuing Professional Education
Locating resources and options in continuing education for CPAs
By Trisha Schulz
inShare
Share
Continuing education classes for accounting professionals is a win-win situation for both employer and employee. The employer receives a highly trained workforce while the employee has the opportunity to advance their careers. Keeping current on skills is important for your employees to remain a valuable part of the firm. An attitude of lifelong learning must be adopted by employees as trends, objectives and laws are changing constantly in the accounting field.
When it comes to CPE courses for CPAs, keep in mind that different people learn in different ways. Encourage your employees to utilize a variety of ways to earn their credits, such as a live seminar, in-house training or online courses.
When using continuing professional education opportunities, consider the following:
1. The number of accounting continuing education hours required annually varies.
2. With the variety of CPE classes available, make sure each employee is matched to a learning opportunity that matches their position and rank within the firm.
3. Make sure your employees go into CPE programs in which all prerequisites are met, otherwise they may be wasting time and money.
Find CPE seminars to attend
Live seminars usually feature a dynamic, expert speaker who can motivate as well as teach. These seminars are usually conducted in massive halls where thousands can attend. Keep in mind this option can be intimidating to some.
Try: Search for a seminar near you at CPE or browse a list of seminar topics. American Management Association offers finance and accounting seminars on a wide variety of topics.
Consider in-house training for continuing professional education
In-house training can offer a unique benefit to a company and its CPAs. A training session can be customized to fit individual needs as well as specific company goals. Employees may also feel more comfortable in a smaller setting around other co-workers.
Try: Practitioners Publishing Company offers in-house training in the areas of accounting and auditing. K2 Enterprises specializes in technology training for CPA firms.
Utilize online CPE courses
If an employee learns best at his or her own pace, online courses may be the best option. There are many topics to choose from. Employees can even complete their credits on their own time. Most online CPE courses are graded instantly so that employees know where they stand.
Try: Accounting and tax topics are covered through online classes by Thomson Reuters. The Economic Research Institute offers online credit classes and explains how credits are calculated.
* Another, sometimes unseen benefit? Continuing professional education for CPAs promotes the ideal to find and use the best techniques in the field and to update those techniques as new ideas emerge. Looking for new and better ways to perform keeps employees and your business running efficiently.
see our events for CPAs: https://acslive.com/events/index.html
Great link on getting the most out your conference attendance: http://www.quicksprout.com/2009/09/16/beginners-guide-to-attending-conferences/
Did you see the latest news from the FASB on leases? Here is an excellent summary from Compliance Week:
http://www.complianceweek.com/fasb-retreats-again-this-time-on-leasing/article/196783/?DCMP=EMC-CW-TuesEditionPaid
FASB Retreats Again, This Time on Leasing
Tammy Whitehouse, Compliance Week
February 22, 2011
Up goes another white flag at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, this time related to a controversial proposal to get leases on to corporate balance sheets.
The FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board are acknowledging that all leases are not necessarily created equal, so perhaps there might be some reason to create two categories of leases. The categories the boards are considering would look a lot like today’s operating leases and capital leases.
The boards have agreed to consider a structure where “finance leases” would be treated like an installment purchase, putting an asset on the balance sheet as well as a liability to be paid down over time. “Other-than-finance” leases would be treated like today’s operating leases because the financing element would not be considered significant enough to capitalize.
That’s different from the boards’ original proposal that all leases would give rise to an asset and a liability appearing on corporate balance sheets. The boards have asked their staff to establish indicators that would be used to identify the difference between the two types of leases and do some outreach to see if that would quell the criticism of the original proposal.
In addition, the boards have softened their views on how companies should account for renewal options and other factors that lead to variable lease payments when it’s not clear at the outset of the lease when or whether such circumstances would ever come into play. The original exposure draft required companies to do plenty of projecting about their ultimate obligation and include estimates of future payments in the upfront liability, which raised objections in comment letters about uncertainty and complexity.
Through their redeliberations, the boards decided to raise the threshold for deciding when lease renewal options should be included in the liability. The original proposal required them to be included if it was “more likely than not” that the company would renew the lease, but now the boards are thinking that renewals should only be considered in the upfront value if there’s a significant economic incentive for the company to extend the lease.
The boards also tentatively concluded that lessees and lessors should follow the same basic guidelines for deciding if an obligation tied to some kind of variability would be included in the liability or the receivable. Anything based on an index or a rate would be deemed certain enough to be included, along with any other factors or circumstances that are considered reasonably certain. Residual value guarantees should be taken into account when calculating the liability, the boards have decided, as should any penalties for term options.
The FASB has done some backpedaling in recent months on its major proposals, most notably pulling back from a call to measure all financial assets and financial liabilities at fair value. The board also backed away from a controversial rewrite of rules regarding the accounting for contingencies.
Did you catch this article in the latest issues of CFO Magazine: http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/14552868?f=search
The new FASB chairman has laid out her top priorities in the first half of 2011: “melding” the standards (between US GAAP & IFRS) for financial instruments, rev rec and leasing. This could pave the way for an announcement from the SEC on a true IFRS timeline.
If you are interested in further information on IFRS, consider attending our IFRS Conference in September in Las Vegas being led by Deloitte speakers. Here is the link: https://acslive.com/events/ifrs_practical.html
Wyoming
License Renewal Date
12/31
CPE Reporting Period
1/1 to 12/31 over a rolling three-year period
General Requirement
120 hours, 80 hours of which must be in Code A subjects
Ethics Requirement
4 hour approved course on the provisions of the Wyoming CPA Act and Wyoming Rules and Regulations within six (6) months of the date of the initial permit and a 4 hour approved course every three years thereafter.
Other Subject Area Requirements
None
Credit Limitations
* The maximum credit for instructors is 50%, or 60 hours with no repetitions.
* The maximum credit for articles/books, 25% or 30 hours, provided a copy of publication is available.
* Independent study is accepted under a qualified sponsor/provider who has met the applicable program standards. Independent study is limited to 12 hours in any renewal period.
* Courses taken to obtain the initial baccalaureate degree will not count toward meeting CPE requirements.
* Self-study credits are not limited
* Half credits are accepted after first hour of CPE.
Other State Policies
Wyoming accepts courses from providers that are members of NASBA’s National Registry of CPE Sponsors and the Quality Assurance Service (QAS).
Non-Residency Requirement
A non-resident licensee seeking renewal of a license in this state shall meet the CPE requirement of this rule by meeting the CPE requirements for renewal of a license in their state of residence.The state of residence must have a 4-hour ethics requirement. The ethics course in the state of residence must also cover state specific statues and rules. If their state of residence has no CPE requirements for renewal of a license or lacks the necessary ethics requirement, the non-resident licensee must comply with all the CPE requirements for renewal of a license in this state.
Wisconsin
License Renewal Date
12/14 of odd years
There is no continuing professional education requirement.
West Virginia
License Renewal Date
6/30
CPE Reporting Period
1/1 to 12/31 over a rolling three-year period
General Requirement
120 hours, with 20 hours per year
Ethics Requirement
None (Effective with the CPE reporting year 2012, each licensee shall be required to secure 4 hours of ethics credit as a part of the 120-hour 3-year requirement. This means that, by December 31, 2012, each individual who was licensed on or before December 31, 2009 must have secured 4 hours of CPE credit in ethics as part of the 120-hour rolling-three-year period of 2010, 2011 and 2012.)
Other Subject Area Requirements
None
Credit Limitations
* The maximum credit for published articles/books is 60 hours per publication.
* The maximum credit for instructors is 60 hours per course per year without repetitions unless there have been substantial changes in material.
* Teachers in any approved programs will receive two additional hours credit for study for each hour taught (totaling three hours for each hour taught) for the first time they teach a course.
* University or college courses; One semester hour credit equals 15 CPE hours; one quarter hour credit equals 10 CPE hours.
* Principles of Accounting does not count for credit for attendance or instruction.
* Self study is acceptable if approved by NASBA, the AICPA or state CPA society.
Other State Policies
West Virginia accepts courses from providers that are members of NASBA’s National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
Non-Residency Requirement
Nonresident licensees may meet the CPE requirements by demonstrating to the Board that they meet the CPE requirements of the state in which they have their principal office. If that state has no CPE requirements, the non-resident licensees must meet the Board’s CPE requirements. The state in which the licensee’s principal office is located must have CPE standards that are considered substantially equivalent to those of West Virginia.
Washington
License Renewal Date
6/30
CPE Reporting Period
1/1 to 12/31 triennially
General Requirement
120 hours
Ethics Requirement
4 hours in board approved ethics and regulations CPE. Ethics that is not board approved may be counted toward the technical and total hour requirement. Click here for a list of approved courses.
Other Subject Area Requirements
None
Credit Limitations
* Non-technical CPE credit is limited to 24 CPE hours per 3-year period. Non-technical subjects are: Communication skills; Interpersonal management skills; Leadership and personal development skills; Client and public relations; Practice development; Motivational and behavioral courses; and Speed reading and memory building.
* Authorship/Publication Requirement – after the first 30 hours, any additional credit will be determined by the Board.
* For both undergraduate and graduate courses one quarter credit equals 10 CPE credit hours and one semester credit equals 15 CPE credit hours.
* Practice Review is limited to 32 hours of technical CPE credit each calendar year.
* Credit for instruction is limited to 72 hours.
* Half credits are allowed after the first hour.
* Self-study is allowed full credit if interactive; half credit otherwise.
Other State Policies
Service on the Board’s QAR Committee, QAR Team Captain or Reviewer, participation on other Board-approved quality or peer review committees may count for CPE credit.
