Public Comments Sought on Program Development, Presentation, Measurement and Reporting

NASHVILLE and NEW YORK  (August 15, 2011) – The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) today issued proposed revisions to the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards), the framework for the development, presentation, measurement and reporting of CPE programs. 

“Professional education content and delivery must keep pace with the driving forces of technology and market place demands.  No less is true for the Standards to be followed by CPE providers.  This latest revision incorporates our outstanding CPE providers’ input and counsel — as well as that of our state board and profession representatives.  The public is the ultimate beneficiary of services performed by CPAs who enhance their professional competence by taking CPE from providers governed by high educational standards,” said NASBA President & CEO, David A. Costello, CPA.

“The AICPA is pleased to be a partner to NASBA in offering these new revised Standards for comment. Innovation and lifelong learning are two hallmarks of the CPA profession and those are reflected here. I was fortunate to participate as a member of the task force that recommended the new standards. I believe I speak for all members when I say that these standards are a significant improvement.  They provide protection to the public, clear guidance to CPE sponsors, and anticipate and allow for changes in CPE as technology and learning theory evolve.  We are looking forward to getting the profession’s feedback,’’ said AICPA Vice President for Examinations and Continuing Professional Education Craig Mills.

Last revised in 2002, the newly updated Standards would provide flexibility for innovation in learning techniques and allow for future considerations around outcome based learning. Significant revisions are in the areas of group internet based learning and self-study programs; issuance requirements for half credits under self study programs; promotional/course announcement information for in-house training programs and alternate methods for calculating CPE credits for self-study programs.

In May 2010, NASBA’s CPE Advisory Committee provided a forum for an open and candid discussion of the Standards. As a result of the input and discussions, a 13-member task force comprised of CPE program sponsors, NASBA’s CPE Advisory Committee members, representatives of the AICPA, , state board of accountancy members, state society members and educators was created to review, analyze and implement suggestions and changes to the Standards.  The Joint AICPA/NASBA CPE Standards Committee reviewed the work of the task force and finalized its recommendations to the Standards.

Comment Period
The exposure draft is available for download at
www.nasba.org/files/2011/08/AICPA-NASBA_StandardsExposureDraft.pdf
or www.aicpa.org/Advocacy/State/Pages/State.aspx. Interested parties are encouraged to review and provide comment on the exposure draft by October 13, 2011. More information about the Standards is available at www.learningmarket.org/page.cfm/Link=114/nocache=12082011.   

About NASBA
Celebrating 103 years as the trusted resource for regulation and professional services, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) serves as a forum for the nation’s state boards of accountancy, which administer the Uniform CPA Examination, license more than 600,000 certified public accountants and regulate the practice of public accountancy in the United States. NASBA’s mission is to enhance the effectiveness of state boards of accountancy in meeting their regulatory responsibilities. As part of its mission, NASBA maintains the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, which recognizes CPE program sponsors who provide CPE programs in accordance with the Standards.  The Association promotes the exchange of information among the accountancy boards, serving the needs of the 55 U.S. jurisdictions. 

NASBA is headquartered in Nashville, TN, with a satellite office in New York City and an International Computer Testing and Call Center in Guam. To learn more about NASBA, visit www.nasba.org.

About AICPA
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is the world’s largest association representing the accounting profession, with nearly 377,000 members in 128 countries. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education, and consulting; membership is also available to accounting students and CPA candidates. The AICPA sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination.

The AICPA maintains offices in New York, Washington, DC, Durham, N.C., Ewing, N.J. and Lewisville, Texas. Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Press Center at www.aicpa.org.

See Press Release
NASBA and AICPA Issue Proposed Revisions to Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Provider Standards

Contacts:

NASBA:
Cassandra Gray
Office: (615) 564-2172
[email protected]  

AICPA:
William Roberts
Office: (202) 434-9266
[email protected]

 

 

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