Top Sources for Free Accounting CPE Courses
Continuing professional education is essential for every professional to shape their skill in the continuously evolving industry. Even if you are a non-professional, CPA, or just an Accountant, continuing education is for you to scale up your knowledge and meet the industry requirements.
There are multiple sources offering professionals free courses to meet their CPE. They can develop their skills even through self-study and contributing to the professional field. Explore the multiple ways suggested by the industry professional to obtain free accounting CPE credits.
Online learning platforms are among the most effective sources for continuous learning and earning Free CPE credits. Online learning sources considerable time and cost-saving. However, one must be aware to select the appropriate platform for their learning. If you want Free Courses, you can check for the following platforms.
For Accountants and other professionals, MY-CPE is one of the most trusted continuing education platforms. Approved by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), it offers high-quality courses delivered by industry professionals with years of expertise in accounting, Audit, Tax, Finance, and HR.
The courses offered cover a wide horizon of knowledge and apply to multiple qualifications.
| Free Accounting CPE Courses | Reg. link | Credits | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inside Job, Outside Job! Low Tech Fraud in a High Tech World | Click here | 1 | 4.5★ |
| Cutting the Gordian Knot: ECheck Fraud, Mobile Banking Fraud, Check 21 & Holder In Due Course | Click here | 1 | 4.5★ |
| Excel - Power Pivot - Take Your Pivot Tables to the Next Level | Click here | 1 | 4.6★ |
| This Ain’t Your Grandpappy’s Payment Fraud - Part 1 | Click here | 1 | 4.6★ |
13000+ Hours of NASBA and other State Body Approved Contents.
500+ subject areas covered by 700+ industry professionals.
70+ Advanced Certification Programs. (View)
Monthly and quarterly updates with new content every hour.
One-time subscription for individual CPE access.
Mobile Access for Convenient Learning.
Instant Credit tracking with a Separate dashboard.
Customized CPE Packages to meet your requirements in one go.
Backers also offer a free CPE Accounting course to professionals. It offers free courses, but they are very limited. Also, they have very limited courses, 700+ On-Demand and 1000+ Webcasts, including accounting.
If you consider taking the unlimited package, you must pay $299 for a 90-day package. For a complete annual package, you have to pay $449 to $699.
Illumeo offers a course of the month and live webinars with effortless interaction and Q&A. The webinars meet all NASBA and state-based requirements.
However, the “Course of the Month” runs throughout the month, and it may not be relevant to your subject-specific needs. Free Webinars cover different topics that are not stagnant and updated. They offer Free course trials to corporations only, and not individuals.
180+ hours with 130+ webinars at $399. Most courses are self-learning, and it is hard to keep learning independently.
Surgent offers accounting CPE courses free in live webinars only. The free courses are mostly sponsored or sales presentations only.
Collectively, it provides 10,000 hours of content from different speakers. There are limited on-demand courses for self-study. It doesn't even offer a flexible schedule. There are limited on-demand courses, but they are locked with too high payments of $549 to $899.
The American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants: AICPA is a nationwide, globally recognized organization. AICPA drives the performance of accountants by offering free webcasts and self-study courses on accounting standards.
But, The free courses have limited in-depth knowledge compared to the paid courses. Paid courses cost $220- $260 for 4 CPE credits, which is too high. Also, non-members have to pay a much higher price for each course.
Big Four is the largest international accounting service provider. The courses, including Accountare also approved for auditors, consultants, tax, and other legal services.
Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC offer live webcasts and deliver a deep insight into the financial world. The webcast is also eligible for the free accounting CPE credits. By attending the webcast and answering the pooling question, you can receive credits.
Attending the webcast and answering the pooling question, you can receive up to 1-2 free CPE credits from each. Depending on the length of the webcast, for 50 minutes = 1 Credit; for 75 and 100 minutes, you receive 1.5 and 2 credits.
But, the major drawback is that only some of the webcasts are applicable for the CPE credit. Only the live webcasts are applicable for credits. At the same time, archives and podcasts are not eligible for the credits.
Creating Materials: working as a professional and actively participating in business, you can earn credit by teaching others. Writing books and articles are among the most suitable ways to earn some credit. The content must be educational in nature, and you must have proficiency in the subject area. Technically, you earn one CPE hour for every hour spent creating the material.
The major drawback is each state has different compliances for CPE credits. Only a certain amount of credits is accepted for CPE by this method.
Giving Lectures and Seminars: Similar to writing Books, articles, and Blogs, you can also attain CPE as a reward by giving seminars for state societies. This may include simply speaking at a local seminar or by teaching some complex course.
It depends on the state's requirements, similar to attaining CPE by creating material. Certain credentials and other requirements were also deferred for the seminars and lectures.
Collecting credits for accounting CPE Free is effective. But you must focus on selecting the paid courses as they are more beneficial to the professional. For a working professional with a busy schedule, it is not possible to spend your time by search free courses.
Why Not Choose Free:
So, if you want to invest your time in real learning to improve your skills, you must choose paid courses. A quality course will help you gain expertise and stay relevant.
MY-CPE offers free courses that provide CPE credit. They reflect the quality of the original courses. They are part of the full unsponsored course. You can take these free courses, assess their quality, and decide whether to subscribe to the premium offerings. If not, you still get your CPE credits.
The CPE credit counts from the webcast may differ for every Big Four, KPMG, Deloit, PWC, and EY. On average, it can mean that for a 50-60 minute webcast with three pooling questions, you can earn 1 CPE. For 75-80 minutes with 5 pooling questions, 1.5 CPE credits, and for 100-105 minutes, 1.8 to 2 CPE credits.
Accountants can select the free courses for their potential skill development and improve their CPE credit. But it must be from a legitimate source. Multiple online sources offer CPE for free, but the licensing and approval by the regulatory bodies must be checked in the first place.
Giving back is a contribution by Professionals to their industry. Contributing to writing blogs, articles, and books in the relevant subject areas of their knowledge, they increase the knowledge boundary of their profession. Delivering accounting lecturing in seminars and conferences improves the knowledge area of other professionals.
