A CPA must take continuing education courses to maintain high work standards.
State accounting boards and federal regulations require a certified public accountant (CPA) to take continuing education (CE) courses every year to maintain a high quality of work and learn new skills and trends in professional standards. An accounting specialist could meet CE requirements by teaching or authoring articles on accounting, tax, finance and audit topics. An audit expert also could comply with CE rules by attending professional conferences online or on-site.
Audit Courses
A certified public accountant meets CE requirements by attending professional seminars or taking courses on audit planning, field work techniques, internal control testing and "material deficiency" reporting. A material deficiency is a significant control problem that affects an important process, a mechanism, a department or a corporate activity. A CE program also could include recent developments in generally accepted auditing standards, regulatory updates or industry practices. For example, an public accountant working in the financial services industry could take courses on new Sarbanes-Oxley 404 certification requirements.
Financial Reporting Courses
An accountant also could meet professional education requirements by attending conferences and workshops covering financial accounting and reporting topics, industry developments and updates in generally accepted accounting principles. An accountant also could learn updated presentation rules for complete and fair--or accurate--financial statements. Complete financial reporting indicates four summaries: a balance sheet, a statement of profit and loss, a statement of cash flows and a statement of stockholders' equity. For example, a fund accountant might take courses dealing with new accounting treatments for stock options and fixed-income derivatives.
Business Concepts Courses
An accountant working for a public accounting firm, a business advisory entity or in private practice could take business courses to comply with CE guidelines. These courses could include business management, finance, microeconomics, global economic trends and statistics. An accountant also could take a professional accounting or finance exam or a university degree to meet education requirements. For example, an accountant could meet minimum CE hours for two or three years after graduating from a master's program.
Tax Courses
An accountant also could participate in tax seminars, conferences, industry events and internal training programs to comply with CE rules. Topics covered at such events could include federal, state or local tax legislation, estate planning, wealth management and international tax reporting. The Internal Revenue Service requires U.S.-based business entities to file periodic--quarterly or annual--income returns. For example, an accountant working for a wealth management firm might learn at a training session new international tax rules affecting asset transfers between the U.S. and Brazil.
Business Law Courses
An accountant can also meet CE requirements by attending training sessions covering business regulations, corporate contracts, fiduciary--that is, professional--duties of accountants or external auditors and securities laws.
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