I RECENTLY COMPLETED MY ANNUAL RENEWAL NOTICE. WHY DO I NEED TO INCLUDE A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION?

During the last quarter of 2017, the National Registry team received several inquiries from Boards of Accountancy regarding mistakes or incomplete information on the certificates of completion submitted by their CPAs. Since the certificate of completion is typically the only document that is reviewed by a state board, sponsors should ensure all information supplied on the certificate is accurate and complete. Certificates of completion must include:

  1. Sponsor name and address
  2. Participant's name
  3. Program titleCertificate Image
  4. Field(s) of study for the program
  5. Date program offered/completed
  6. Location of program
  7. Instructional delivery method
  8. Amount of CPE credit earned
  9. Signature of CEO or individual responsible for administration of continuing education programs
  10. Registry sponsor identification number
  11. Registry time statement

One of the most common mistakes was misclassifying the field of study or not allocating Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits into multiple field of study classifications. Sponsors are reminded that the certificates should reflect the revised field of study classifications, effective for all National Registry sponsors on January 1, 2018. Common mistakes also occur in the CPE credit calculation, such as measuring CPE on a 60-minute hour or not rounding down to the nearest whole, one-half or one-fifth credit increment.

Effective March 1, 2018, the National Registry has requested sponsors to provide one certificate that corresponds with a program title on the program list submitted with the annual renewal notice. This will help us assist sponsors in achieving full compliance with the requirements related to the certificate of completion.

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