Profession moves slowly toward a ‘competency-based’ approach.
One the profession’s leading state society executives is embarked on a crusade to kill CPE as we know it. And he’s not alone.
RELATED: 10-Minute Courses Get the Green Light
“Today we measure hours, not on the development of a particular competency,” Indiana CPA society president and CEO tells CPA Trendlines. “As the world becomes more specialized we need to focus on competency more than hours spent in class.”
“I’m not sure people believe in the hours-based system we have today,” says Gary Bolinger. To be sure, the struggle has been going on for years and it’s hard to say it’s even begun. But few in the business believe today’s regimen for professional development can last for much longer.
For its part, the Indiana society has created a Center of Excellence with interactive courses and other innovations to push the issue forward.
“I have to say, I’m very excited about the potential shift to a competency-based approach to CPE,” says Caleb Bullock, CPA, CGMA, and a supervisor at supervisor at Indiana-based Somerset CPAs, P.C. “Personally, I’ve had a chance to take a few of interactive courses offered through the Center of Excellence and found them to be much more beneficial than your traditional CPE course. Very exciting times to be a CPA in Indiana!”
But what would a new CPE system look like? Bolinger says testing could be part of it. But a system like firm peer review could emerge just as well.
“We have a fairly rigorous system in place for a firm’s auditing competency,” Bolinger says, which could be translated into personal professional development reviewed and certified by peers and specialists in any given field.
And some change is afoot. For instance, last year Maryland and Ohio became the first two states to move toward granting CPE credit in 10-minute increments. Last year, the AICPA launched a task force on the Future of Learning. And three years ago the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy issued Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education Programs as a trial balloon for change. So far, little of consequence seems to have happened.
