CPE Compliance and Record Keeping
The Accounting Education Institute is the official provider of CPE (Continuing Professional Education) for Accounting Day providing all CPE record keeping and compliance. Contact Jim Colville with any questions regarding CPE compliance.
Accounting Day attendees have a wide variety of CPE requirements. We have found that if we follow the procedures for California CPAs as governed by the State Board of Accountancy that we meet the requirements for most everyone else. This means that we only have one set of rules to follow. We require you to sign-in at the event registration table and have a name and ID number badge. For each session you attend, you sign-in and complete an evaluation/sign-out form and turn that in upon leaving the session. This is the record that you attended that specific session. You receive a certificate of attendance upon turning in the evaluation/sign-out form. Each presenter is encouraged to make the session interactive and to encourage questions to ensure the session is interactive. (The next paragraph describes the newer procedures using the mobile app.) If your specific CPE requirements are not as all-encompassing, you may choose to alter these steps. We cannot later verify your attendance in a session without the procedures as listed being followed. What this means if you do not turn-in the the completed evaluation form, we cannot later issue a certificate of attendance.
Beginning in 2018 we began using an app, while is great for more interaction with other attendees and displaying each session, better tracks your attendance. A badge is created upon your online registration which contains your name, QR code and ID number Upon arrival you announce your name, sign-in and receive the badge. For each session you present your your badge (QR code) to session attendant which records your sign-in and time. Upon completion of the session you present your badge to the attendant which records the time left and the completion of the session. As with the manual procedures, presenters and attendants encourage interaction and Q&A but with the app questions can be asked any time during the session. This further increases the session interaction and records the fact it occurred.
Presenters are screened to ensure they’re qualified and evaluations are reviewed in detail to ensure, among other things, the session objectives are met and the attendees feel that their knowledge of the topic was increased. In some cases the evaluations are reviewed with the presenter.
All CPE records are retained by AEI for a minimum of five years.
For CPAs, most all sessions meet the requirements of the California State Board of Accountancy. Keep in mind that some of the soft topics (usually in Track P), may not qualify as they do not increase your technical knowledge. NASBA application is in process. Out of state CPAs–Contact Us to ensure we meet the requirements of your state.
What are Tracks and how do they relate to CPE?
Note: Accounting Day uses the breakout session format. What this means is that you have a choice each hour of four or five sessions to attend. You may go to a Track session in one time slot and a different track in the next hour. What this also means is that you are not signing up for a track, you are signing up for Accounting Day and have total flexibility of what sessions you desire to attend.
Each Track gives you an indication of the nature of the materials to be presented.
- Track A – indicates the material is Accounting and Auditing in nature. For CPAs it mirrors the A & A classification licensing requirement. A section noted as Track A is designed to meet this requirement. Track A sessions are not limited to CPAs. All accountants may gain knowledge by attending. Check the topic’s outline for specifics about the topic.
- Track T – indicates the topic is Technical in nature, typically other (non A&A) accounting, tax and and other non A&A related topics. This track mirrors the T classification of the State Board of Accountancy.
- Track P – indicates Professional Development and is non-technical in nature. If you are subject to specific CPE requirements for your company, professional organization or licensing requirements, you may need to review those requirements to ensure these hours qualify. For CPAs, these sessions most likely do not qualify for CPE.
- Track Tech – This track is technology only and is not offered every year.. Our goal is to present both new and existing technology and how it helps you with your work and personal lives. For CPA CPE record keeping, this falls into the same category as track T.
- Track F – indicates the material is designed to meet the Fraud CPE requirements for California CPAs and for CFE’s (Certified Fraud Examiners). Some Track F sessions can also be used as A&A hours and will be noted as such. Since Fraud topics are of interest to CPAs, CFE’s, Internal Auditors and others, the attendee CPE requirements may vary. For CPAs please note that the Fraud CPE must “…be specifically related to the prevention, detection and/or reporting of fraud affecting financial statements…”. Not all of the fraud sessions meet this requirement. As such, some topics in Track F may be labeled as Fraud Related and/or are noted with (T) or (A).The State Board of Accountancy rule for Fraud hours. Section 87 states: ” ….the licensee shall also complete an additional four hours of continuing education specifically related to the prevention, detection, and/or reporting of fraud affecting financial statements. If you see a four hour fraud session on the program, it is specifically designed to meet this requirement.
Note the column headings on the registration page use these or similar Track references: Generally, each column indicates what tracks are in that column. You may see a topic in another Track (example: a Track T topic listed in Track P. If this occurs the Track designation will be noted.
Each time slot with its related topic will indicate what Track the topic is designed for.