New CPE Model Rules Exposed

State Board Report

January 2017

After many months of work by NASBA volunteers and staff, new Model Rules for continuing professional education are being released for comment, as approved by the NASBA Board at their meeting on January 6, 2017. Just as the “Statement on Continuing Professional Education Programs” guides course developers and sponsors on acceptable CPE, the Model Rules were developed to guide licensees. The new Model Rules are considerably more detailed than the previous version of these rules, in response to requests from State Boards to NASBA for this level of detail. Once all comments are received and the finalized Model Rules are approved by the NASBA Board of Directors, it is hoped each of the State Boards will adopt them to promote uniformity among the states. The comment period will conclude on April 17, 2017. The proposed new Model Rules can be found on www.nasba.org.

NASBA CPE Committee Chair Maria E. Caldwell (FL) said she believes these proposed Model Rules will assist CPAs in taking advantage of the new forms of education that are being offered and will also provide the Boards with an effective way of monitoring those programs. “Coupled with the CPE Standards that came into effect at the end of 2016, I think we have set up a good platform for the State Boards to regulate meaningful CPE,” she stated. She thanked the Uniform Accountancy Act Committee and its Chair Coalter Baker (TX) for their assistance in coordinating the new proposal with the existing Model Rules.

Included in the Model Rules:

• Completion of a minimum of 50 percent of the total CPE credits required for the CPE reporting period in technical fields of study (as defined in the Rules).
• Participation and work on a technical committee of an international, national or state professional association, council or member organization, or a government entity that supports professional services or industries that require unique and specific knowledge in accounting or tax compliance shall qualify for CPE credit.
• Earning one-fifth of a credit for a single nano-learning program.
• Completion of an average of two credits of qualifying ethics CPE for each annual period included in the CPE reporting period.