Midsummer update: CPA licensure program continues to add students

Experience, Learn and Earn (ELE), a program designed to ease attainment of the final 30 hours of the education requirement for CPA licensure, has grown since it began offering online courses last semester.

Sponsored by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and offered through Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement, ELE has 94 summer-session students representing more than 50 employers, up from 38 students in the spring.

Thursday is the deadline for employers interested in participating in the fall.

“We were excited about the program because it provides flexibility for participants to take as many classes as they need in a very cost-effective manner,” Jennifer Niece, CPA, learning and development manager for PKF O’Connor Davies, said in a news release. “The asynchronous, online format makes it easy to complete classes around their work schedule.”

PKF O’Connor Davies, a top 25 firm, has seven employees in the summer session and expects a similar cohort in the fall semester. Niece said participants are a mix of recent college graduates and those that have been with the firm for a few years.

Mike Decker, the AICPA’s vice president–CPA Examination and Pipeline, said there has been great interest from employers in the program, too.

“It’s encouraging that recent graduates and accounting professionals who’ve been working for a few years both see ELE as a good path to attaining their CPA license,” he said in the release.

The ELE program is for individuals who have completed their bachelor’s degree and core accounting classes but have fewer than the 150 credit hours required for licensure. Here is how it works:

• Accounting graduates join an ELE-affiliated employer as a paid staff member.
• Program participants earn up to 30 university credits through online courses, with firms agreeing to provide time during the week for course work in a balanced, flexible way.
• Credit-hour costs are set at affordable rates, with some employers picking up the tab for their staff.
• Participating employers are expected to provide support and mentoring to help program participants work toward their CPA license.
• The program is open to all employer types, including not-for-profits, for-profit businesses, and government entities.

“The ELE program is a win-win for both the employee and the employer,” NASBA President and CEO-elect Daniel Dustin said in the news release. “Employees gain the necessary coursework to meet the education requirement to become licensed as a CPA, and the employer can work with the employee on course selection to develop skill sets that benefit the employee and the firm.”

As part of the ELE program, students receive a curated course list that focuses on the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the profession. The list has more than 15 courses, with more to come as the program expands.

To learn more about ELE, visit experiencelearnearn.org. The site includes information for educators, firms, and other organizations that want to sponsor candidates. If your organization is ready to participate in the program, complete the registration form to sign up. Send questions or comments to feedback@experiencelearnearn.org.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Kevin Brewer at Kevin.Brewer@aicpa-cima.com.