CPA CPE Requirements State-by-State (2024)
Certified Public Accountant (CPA), not just a job title or career stream but a responsibility in itself in the field of accounting and audit. In order to uphold this responsibility a CPA has to ensure effective completion of CPE(Continuing Professional Education) credits requirements provided by NASBA.
This comprehensive guide will take you on a journey to easily understand all the CPA CPE requirements by State and how to ensure proper completion of the same in a less burdensome manner.
So, let's discuss step-by-step about the CPA CPE requirements:
The CPA CPE requirements provided by NASBA require a CPA to ensure effective completion of certain CPE credits (varying from state to state) each year in which CPE credits can only be obtained by attending a CPE program provided by a NASBA-approved CPE provider.
Additionally, each state board has set its own additional CPA continuing education requirements based on NASBA guidelines.
Here are the Top 10 states with the highest number of registered CPAs and their additional CPE requirements provided by their state boards:
120 hours in each three-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours in each one-year period, click here to know more.
80 hours every two years, with a minimum of 20 hours per year, in which at least 40 hours in technical subjects, with a minimum of 12 hours per year, and at least 2 hours in regulatory review every 6 years, click here to know more.
CPAs can choose either the 24-hour or 40-hour rule each year
40-hour rule-
40 hours of CPE in any combination of fields of study
At least 4 hours of New York-specific ethics every 3 years
24-hour rule-
24 hours of CPE in a single field of study
At least 4 hours of New York-specific ethics every 3 years, click here to know more.
120 hours in a rolling three-year period, with a minimum of 20 hours per year, click here to know more.
120 hours every 3 years, with a minimum of 20 hours per year, click here to know more.
120 hours every 3 years, with a minimum of 20 hours per year, click here to know more.
120 hours every 3 years. Click here to know more, click here to know more.
80 hours every 2 years, with a minimum of 20 hours per year, click here to know more.
40 hours/ 2000 CPE minutes every year, click here to know more
80 hours every 2 years, with a minimum of 20 hours per year, click here to know more.
If you are registered in some other state then you can also check for your state board’s CPE requirements.
Why Are Professionals Talking About MY-CPE?Source: Trustpilot
In order to complete CPE requirements for CPA one must adhere to only those subjects which are approved by NASBA. These subjects are categorized into technical and non-technical subjects, which are as follows:
Accounting
Information Technology
Accounting (Governmental)
Management Services
Auditing
Regulatory Ethics
Auditing (Governmental)
Specialized Knowledge
Business Law
Statistics
Economics
Taxes
Finance
Behavioral Ethics
Personal Development
Business Management & Organization
Personnel/Human Resources
Communications & Marketing
Production
Computer Software & Applications
Also, acceptable subject areas differ from state to state, but every state Board of Accountancy has determined its own subject area which more or less matches with the subjects provided by NASBA.
The importance of AI, especially in taxation and audit, is not an unknown topic to anyone, be it in the field of accounting or be it in taxation and audit.
Choosing to obtain CPE credits for CPA by opting CPE courses with AI, taxation and A&A gets you an edge over other competitors as it gets you updated with the latest trends and the technologies involved in order to provide the best possible services to the client.
It also increases the effectiveness and efficiency of CPAs as you would be able to spend less time on simple routine tasks and more time on value-adding services, making better use of the professional knowledge and skills that you have.
Advanced certification courses are a series of integrated modules specially designed by a subject matter expert in order to enhance your skill set portfolio and provide you with in-depth knowledge of the latest concepts.
Some of the major benefits of opting for advanced certification courses are as follows:
Before you understand the process of getting CPE credits for CPA, you must become cautious in choosing your CPE provider and make sure they are an authorized CPE provider by NASBA.
Example: MY-CPE is an approved CPE provider with registry id: 143597
So, basically, there are various ways of obtaining CPE credits, which are as follows:
Once you obtain your CPE credits, it is also mandatory to maintain a record of the same by keeping it documented for at least five years.
A CPA should keep Certificate of completion which contains the following details:-
Lastly, in this whole process never ever forget to accurately report your CPE credits that you have obtained and all the CPE activity that you have done in lieu of CPA continuing professional education requirements.
Generally, there are two types of subscription plans for CPE courses:
MY-CPE offers the most affordable packages and user-friendly CPE plans, making it easier for every CPA to get through their CPE credit process effortlessly.
To calculate the CPE requirements, one must adhere to the current CPE standards. CPE credit is given based on the NASBA word-count formula or pilot testing method. In self-paced courses, normally, an individual obtains 1 credit for a runtime of 50 minutes of an approved CPE course.
So, for example, if you have achieved a runtime of 500 minutes in an approved CPE program then you will be awarded with 10 credits of CPE.
In order to complete CPA CPE requirements in one go an individual may either opt for individual courses or a combination of combined advanced course packages provided by MY-CPE.
It is always advisable to go with an annual subscription plan in which MY-CPE takes care of all the CPE requirements to be fulfilled annually so as to make the CPE credit attainment way easier than it feels.
These packages involve professional skill development on various topics and learning needs which are aligned with the latest industrial requirements. Additionally, they are also beneficial as these state-specific packages will comply with all the state-specific requirements.
MY-CPE provides a CPE credit tracker for each of our users. Once a user enrolls in a subscription plan and finishes their CPE course, they earn their credits, then they would be able to track their earned CPE credits on the tracker. They can also download their certificates which can be kept as evidence for the CPE course completed.
There are different CPE credit requirements by all 55 state boards for CPA. One can check them here: State-wise CPA CPE Requirements.
It is not the same for all states as it differs from state to state. For many states, it is yearly (40 hours) or for some it is biennially (80 hours) and for some states, it is triannually (120 hours).
The Authors, Allen Smith is a Practicing Certified public accountant and senior vice president at myCPE – Continuing Education Platform for Professionals. He understands the current needs of the education domain and strategies for the presenters to adapt the new changes.