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Using Continuing Professional Education
Locating resources and options in continuing education for CPAs
By Trisha Schulz
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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