CPE Monitor Newsletters

The Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards) is published jointly by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) to provide a framework for the development, presentation, measurement, and reporting of CPE programs.

They proposed that NASBA create a registry of CPE providers that, in part, would establish a basis for uniform acceptance of CPE credits among states and provide licensees with a dependable and comprehensive basis for selecting CPE sponsors.

In the late ‘80s, NASBA executives Charles Taylor, Thomas Iino and Albert Derbes came up with an idea to help state boards who were short on resources to evaluate continuing professional education (CPE) providers.

The Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards), revised January 2012, raised the standards for all self study providers and eliminated the differences that previously existed between the QAS and Registry self study requirements. Accordingly, NASBA initiated changes to the administration of these programs to offer one designation for self study programs -- QAS Self Study.

The 2014 National Registry Summit will be held September 17th – 19th at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, TN. We will be focusing on changes to the Statement on Standards for CPE Programs, new trends in learning, and methods of incorporating new techniques into your programs.

The beautiful Hotel Sorella in the heart of Houston’s posh, metropolitan Citycentre section provided a lovely atmosphere for the second annual National Registry Summit in Houston, TX, two days of learning and camaraderie that featured pre-conference workshops and two diverse and interesting keynote presentations.

Along with the fascinating, interactive keynote addresses from Paul McGinniss and Brian Remer, the agenda for this year’s National Registry Summit in Houston, TX, was packed full of informative breakouts led by some of the brightest minds in the learning field, as well as presentations delivered by NASBA staff geared toward giving Registry Sponsors tools to assist them in providing quality CPE courses.

Everyone knows that short stories can tell an incredibly entertaining and detailed story using far less pages than an average novel or textbook, just ask Washington Irving, Isaac Asimov or Stephen King. But did you know that short stories are also packed with the potential to enhance learning by teaching big ideas and immense thoughts in a shorter amount of text? This was the topic of Brian Remer’s keynote presentation, “Why Short Stories Rock,” at the 2013 National Registry Summit in Houston, TX. Remer used several interactive exercises to demonstrate the power of short stories as effective mediums for persuasion and powerful tools for sharing ideas.

The brain is a complicated organ. At a weight of three pounds, it is made up of about 75% water and consists of approximately 100 billion neurons and uses 20% of the total oxygen in your body. But to offer the best possible learning experiences, one must understand fundamental brain functions and limitations in relation to how they impact learning. Paul McGinniss, Director, Training and Delivery - North America for the NeuroLeadership Group, spoke about these subjects and more during his presentation entitled, “The Neuroscience of Learning: New Insights for Delivering High Impact Learning” at the 2013 National Registry Summit in Houston, TX.

The Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards), revised January 2012, raised the standards for all self study providers and eliminated the differences that previously existed between the QAS and Registry self study requirements. Accordingly, NASBA initiated changes to the administration of these programs to offer one designation for self study programs -- QAS Self Study. If you are a current QAS or Registry self study sponsor, there is a transition process to the QAS Self Study designation to ensure that the revised Standards have been implemented with respect to all of your self study program offerings.

In January 2012, NASBA and the AICPA revised the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards). A significant revision to the Standards was the addition of an alternative to pilot testing for determining the recommended CPE credit for a self study program.

To continue the tradition of delivering thought-provoking and enlightening presentations, NASBA is pleased to announce Paul McGinniss and Brian Remer as the keynote speakers for this year’s National Registry Summit, September 9-10 in Houston, TX.

Due to the revisions to the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs(Standards), as well as changes implemented by NASBA to offer one designation for self study programs – QAS Self Study – there is a transition process that must be completed by all current QAS and Registry self study sponsors to the QAS Self Study designation.

In addition to a full list of keynote speakers, industry leaders and forward thinkers from the worlds of learning and course design, the agenda for the 2013 National Registry Summit will boast several breakout sessions, which were hugely popular at past CPE meetings.

The Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards), revised January 2012, raised the standards for all self study providers and eliminated the differences that previously existed between the QAS and Registry self study requirements. Accordingly, NASBA initiated changes to the administration of these programs to offer one designation for self study programs -- QAS Self Study. If you are a current QAS or Registry self study sponsor, act now to begin the transition process to the new QAS Self Study designation.

With approximately 150 professionals in attendance absorbing knowledge from an impressive collection of experts in the fields of learning and course design, the first annual National Registry Summit in Nashville, TN, was a big success. Based on feedback received after the Summit, NASBA plans to offer two pre-conference workshops at the 2013 National Registry Summit in Houston, TX.

During the 2011 review and revision process that lead to the implementation of the revised Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards), the NASBA CPE Task Force discussed ways to provide CPE sponsors supplemental information to assist in the development of CPE programs. From these discussions, a Best Practices section of the Learning Market website was created.

Effective March 1, 2006, the Registry reorganized the fields of study to the current 23 fields of study.  The purpose of reorganizing the fields of study was to promote the classification of a program based on subject area or content. The intent of the current 23 fields of study is to help alleviate guesswork during board examination of CPE certificates of completion and assist CPAs in reporting CPE more accurately for higher CPE compliance rates.

The 2013 National Registry Summit will be held September 9th – 10th at the Hotel Sorella in Houston, TX. Registration will begin Monday afternoon, September 9th, and the meeting will kick off Tuesday morning, September 10th. Look for more information in the coming months.

CPE sponsors may purchase courses from other vendors or course developers. However, the organization whose Registry ID is included on the certificate of completion is ultimately responsible for compliance with the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards) and NASBA requirements.