Editor's Note
If you're a practicing, licensed accountant, you've got some
familiarity with continuing professional education. Maybe you
like it, maybe you don't. Maybe you are the consummate student,
or maybe you are an instructor and think of CPE from the view
behind the podium. Whatever your perspective, we're betting
you've got stories to tell.
AccountingWEB's Bloggers Crew members have been
asked to address the issue of CPE and we have many different
perspectives to share wtih you. Not only can you pick up some
useful tips in this special AccountingWEB Bloggers Crew
Supplement, but you will have a chance to meet our bloggers and
appreciate the range of their viewpoints! Follow the links,
read what they have to say, and by all means post your own
comments and share your CPE memories - blogging, after all, is
meant to be a participatory experience.
Best regards,
Gail Perry, CPA
Managing Editor
editor@accountingweb.com
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Linda Cavanaugh, CPA: Plugged In
Get your CPEs by attending conferences
I am a research accountant and part of my job is going to
conferences to learn about different topics. I get lots and
lots of CPE credits and I get to go to Chicago several times a
year, so getting enough CPE credits is not a problem. For my
industry, the majority of conferences are in Chicago. My first
conference experience was in Chicago for a FIN 47 (Asset
Retirement Obligations) seminar. Three of us attended and we
drove up the day before the conference. Henry (names have been
changed to protect the innocent) wanted to leave after work....
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Scott Heintzelman: The Exuberant Accountant
Learning Culture
During these challenging economic times many organizations look
for ways to control (i.e. cut costs) expenses and often reduce
the training and learning budget. In our profession this is
called Continuing Professional Education (CPE). However this is
such a vital component to be a great organization. I did an
interview with Boomer Consulting last year explaining just how
important staff development is to our organization....
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Allan Boress, CPA: Truth Be Told About Business Development Blog
My Vendetta Against CPE
Why does CPE suck so bad?
Perhaps now more than ever, CPE is vital to our profession.
Public accounting has challenges it didn't eons ago when I
became certified.
Unfortunately, CPE has changed little in those many years. It
is still the same old, same old. Stuck almost completely on the
technical side of the business (which is obviously essential),
but ignoring the most basic issues facing the continued
viability of our business....
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Maria Krowicki, CIR: The HR Connection
Training 101
I have to start right out of the gate and admit......I have
never "formally" attended a CPE class. I have listened, ear
pressed to the door, trying to make out what the presenter is
saying. While I may not have attended anything CPE, I have
attended classes for HRCI (Human Resources Certification
Institute) credits, which are credits for the Human Resources
world. Whether it's CPE, HRCI or any other credits, it is clear
that constant training is needed to grow as a professional....
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Jerry Davis, CPA: Construction Practice Insider
The CPE Solution - What is Yours?
Our firm has struggled in the past on finding the best way to
get CPE for our staff. We encourage everyone in the firm
to "always be learning." The struggle we have is finding good
outside CPE to attend. Our firm specializes in construction and
there just are not any classes in our area that address the
needs of the small to medium size construction company....
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Alex Vuchnich, CPA, CFE: Profit Matters Blog
Ethics CPE
The past several ethics courses I have taken seem to have
centered largely around avoiding malpractice risk rather than
ethical and moral theory. Although I understand the value
proposition to the attendees of these courses on practical
guidance and interpretation of our professional code of
conduct, I feel there is an altogether lack of instruction
regarding why we have a code of conduct in the first place....
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Michelle Golden: Golden Practices
Your CPE is Your R&D, Don't Under Invest
CPAs have become a lot less enthusiastic about CPE in the last
5-10 years. It's almost viewed as a necessary evil. This is
amazing to me because CPE for CPAs is essentially your R&D, or
your product development. Since 99% of your product is in your
brains, investing in the expansion of the knowledge necessary
to do the job would seem a, pardon the pun, no-brainer. But
this is what I've found....
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The A-Team: Voices of the AccountingWEB Staff
My CPE, Your CPE
I taught continuing education classes for the Indiana CPA
Society for 10 years. With small exception, the classes I
taught were hands-on, computer application sessions, taught in
the Society's computer lab. It's one thing to teach a class
where you can walk in with prepared notes, give your lecture,
and slip out the back. But the hands-on environment is a
different world....
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