CPA Practice Advisor - 4

FROM THE EDITOR
NASBA: Is It Time for a COVID-19 CPE Break?

IF YOU'VE ATTENDED an accounting conference in person, you know that there is much more
to a conference than sitting in a seat, listening to speakers, and logging your CPE hours.
Accounting conference events are about networking, meeting peers, sharing real-world
experiences with other members of the profession, experimenting with new technology,
and learning about how the profession is changing and the role you will play in that change.

One of the many results of
COVID-19 has been the change
from in-person conference events
to a variety of online alternatives.
I've been watching the experiences
evolve as different groups try
various platforms and methods for
dispensing the training that is at
the core of conference events. After
all, pandemic or not, CPAs need CPE,
and so, on with the show.
But how essential is CPE in
the midst of the pandemic? I find
it interesting that, while most of
life as we know it has been suspended or at least upended in the
era of COVID-19, NASBA has not
suspended the CPE requirement
for 2020. I believe we can almost
guarantee that anyone who is
actively practicing in the accounting profession is learning every
single day, connecting with clients
in new ways, improving the use of
technology, staying on top of all of
the changing COVID-19-related government programs and procedures
available to our clients.

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Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm

In fact, I would suggest that we
as a profession have experienced
more, learned more, achieved
more, adapted more in the past
six months than we have in the
past several years. We just didn't
have the CPE 50-minute hour clock
turned on, and no one was issuing
us credits for the extra hours we
logged keeping this profession front
and center without missing a beat.
As for actual CPE, for the most
part, our only alternative, in order
to preserve our licenses, is to attend
online training or participate in
self-study programs. Many people
in remote areas don't have the
bandwidth to access online courses,
and may not even be aware of
how to find the courses, who to
trust as presenters, how online
credit works. Many states don't
allow CPAs to take all of their CPE
classes online. The same goes for
self-study. I'm licensed in Indiana
where a maximum of 50 percent
of our training will be accepted as
self-study.

NSA

Everywhere I look, CPAs are
turning to the people and the
organizations they trust to get
the education they need in this
unprecedented time, and they're
not as concerned about CPE as
they are about learning what they
need in order to carry on with their
businesses and help their clients -
right now. Fortunately, those people
and organizations we trust are
rising to the challenge of providing
up-to-the-minute education with
an unprecedented level of expertise
and outreach.
NASBA has taken one big step
forward in allowing what would
be otherwise in-person training
to be presented online without the
presenters having to go through the
rigorous approval procedures that
NASBA normally requires of online
presenters. Kudos to the team for
that. Some states have been easing
requirements as well. Thomson
Reuters is doing an excellent job
of tracking how the ruling bodies
are responding to this issue in its

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GAIL PERRY, CPA

Editor-in-Chief
gail.perry@cpapracticeadvisor.com
@gperrycpa

regularly updated blog post, "Have
my CPE requirements changed as a
results of COVID-19?" (https://tax.
thomsonreuters.com/blog/havemy-cpe-requirements-changed-asa-result-of-covid-19)
But this seems like a small step.
How about helping those who are
actively engaged in the profession by
letting us concentrate on learning
what we need to know to serve our
clients in the best way possible. We
can make up NASBA-sanctioned
CPE classes in the future. Right now
our only future is today, and, while
it seems like the year we expected
hasn't even really started yet, one
thing I know is that accountants,
at least those with whom I've been
in contact, seem to be stepping up
to the challenges presented by the
pandemic. Let's let the profession
focus on that and take a little break
from required CPE. ■
- Gail Perry, Editor-in-Chief
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https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/blog/have-my-cpe-requirements-changed-as-a-result-of-covid-19 https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/blog/have-my-cpe-requirements-changed-as-a-result-of-covid-19 http://www.endeavorbusinessmedia.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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