After completing your CPA exam and passing, the last thing you want to hear is books. At that point, the only thing you want to do is get to the real deal so that you can put your skills into practice. In theory, that should work flawlessly, but the field you’re about to get into doesn’t work like that.

You will have to keep learning, so after completing your CPA, your education journey has just begun another phase. And while licensing requirements vary from one state to the next, it’s often mandatory that you earn continuing education credits to renew your licence successfully. That’s where CPE credits come in.

So, What are CPE Credits?

First things first: CPE stands for Continuing Professional Education. It’s the training or course you take to update your knowledge and skills as an active professional in your field. And it’s not just for CPA experts. It’s also used in other fields like technology, finance, healthcare, and even law.

CPE credits are, therefore, a representation of the course or learning hours that you’ve completed as a tax and accounting professional.

It’s always advisable to take your CPE continuing education course from a reputable and authorised provider like RocketCert to ensure the hours you spend count. Choosing the wrong provider may result in the rejection of your CPE credits, making it difficult to renew your licence on time.

Who Needs CPE Credits?

Before getting your course, it’s also a good idea to know whether you are required to earn CPE credits. And while not every professional must continue their education, to retain their licence, it’s just good practice to keep learning, as it promotes career growth.

That said, the following professionals in accounting and finance need CPE credits.

  • Certified Public Accountants (CPA): A CPA’s continued learning requirement mostly depends on the state in which they are licensed. In many cases, you will require 20-40 hours every year, plus 2-4 hours of ethics training.
  • Certified Financial Planners (CFPs): Retaining your licensing to work as a CFP generally requires you to earn 30 CE credit hours each year after passing the CFP exam. In many states, two of the 30 hours should be used on ethics courses. It’s the Certified Financial Planner Board that determines the minimum CE hours.
  • Certified Management Accountants (CMAs): The CPE credit requirements for CMAs are typically similar to those of CFPs. You, therefore, need 30 CPE credit hours every year, including a minimum of 2 hours for ethics or similar topics. These requirements are set and regulated by the Institute of Management Accountants.
  • Government Auditors: If you’re interested in working as a government auditor, make sure you are ready to take 80 hours of continuing education every two years. Of the total, you must spend 24 hours studying government auditing and a minimum of 20 hours each year. The GAO Yellow Book is the one that establishes CPE requirements for this entry.
  • Enrolled Agents: Anyone working or planning to work as an EA needs 72 hours of continuing education every 3 years, with a minimum of 16 hours each year. You must also spend 2 hours annually on ethics. The CPE requirements for this career are determined by the IRS.

Categories of CPE

There are two main categories of CPE courses: technical and non-technical CPE. Many jurisdictions in the United States require a balance between the two types.

Technical CPE courses focus on accounting and finance skills, with topics like accounting, auditing, regulatory ethics, tax, business law, and more. Non-technical CPE programmes, on the other hand, support your broader professional development. These cover topics like computer software and applications, communications and marketing, personal development, behavioural ethics, and others.

Earning Your CPE Credits the Fun Way

Your continuing professional education will always have a positive impact towards your career success. It also gives you the chance to be more competitive in a tough market. And with various forms of CPE delivery, which include self-study online courses like the ones at rocketcert.com, you have no excuse to avoid learning.

Besides, RocketCert has gone the extra mile to make studying fun since their course content is written and fully narrated by experts, so it’s easier to understand.

Posted by Elaine Bennett

Elaine Bennett is an Australian-based digital marketing specialist focused on helping startups and small businesses grow. She writes hands-on articles about business and marketing, as it allows her to reach even more people and help them on their business journey.

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