Proposal seeks uniformity in CPE credit increments

CPAs could earn continuing professional education credits in increments of one-fifth, one-half, or whole credits for all instructional delivery methods except nano-learning under an amended proposal to the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education Programs.

The proposal would provide sponsors with the discretion to round down CPE credits to those increments as appropriate for the instructional method.

Under the proposal, for group programs, independent study, and blended learning, a minimum of one full credit must be awarded initially before partial CPE credits can be awarded.

For self-study, a minimum of one-half credit would be required. One full credit would be the next permissible increment. Once one credit is exceeded, increments of one-fifth would be allowed in addition to increments of one-half and full credits.

The original exposure draft, issued in May by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), also proposed two new instructional delivery methods: nano-learning and blended learning.

Nano-learning refers to information provided in short, 10-minute increments often covering specific topics, such as short videos that CPAs can view to help master certain tasks. Blended learning combines multiple delivery methods, such as live instruction and on-demand self-study.

Comments revealed that the original proposal’s allowable CPE credit increments were not consistent among the instructional delivery methods.

The standards were last revised in 2012. If approved, the amendments would take effect Sept. 1, 2016, for all newly created programs, and at the next CPE program review/revision date for all other current programs.

Additional changes also were proposed in the revised exposure draft, which is available on the AICPA website. Comments can be submitted by email by April 30 to Clar Rosso (crosso@aicpa.org) or Jessica Luttrull (jluttrull@nasba.org).