The Maryland Department of Labor and Licensing (DLLR) has heard some pretty tall tales from certain CPAs regarding the courses they took to comply with the State Board of Accountancy’s (BOA) requirements for Continuing Professional Education (CPE).
The Maryland Association of CPAs, in conjunction with the BOA, a division of the DLLR, is warning CPAs about the importance of filing CPE information with the BOA on a timely and accurate basis.
Double-counting means double trouble
“We have heard of some CPAs reporting to the BOA that they attended multiple CPE sessions – such as a live conference and an entirely different webcast – on the same day, at the same time,” says Tom Hood, Executive Director and CEO of the MACPA. Such double-counting of CPE taking place simultaneously is not acceptable.
Hood has heard similar stories from executives at other State CPA Societies. In one instance, CPA XYZ was attending a live conference, with their laptop open in front of them displaying a webcast of another conference. The pop-up messages (to earn CPE) from the webcast on the laptop, caught the eye of the person sitting next to CPA XYZ; it turns out, the person sitting next to CPA XYZ was a member of their state BOA.
Be anticipatory, but …
The importance of being anticipatory is a mantra oft-repeated by the MACPA and its affiliate, the Business Learning Institute: see, e.g. The Anticipatory Organization e-learning program (with corporate/firm/group facilitation available) developed by leading futurist Daniel Burrus, customized for CPAs in audit, business and industry.
However, there is another kind of ‘anticipatory’ that state BOAs do not relish: that is, when CPAs report CPE for courses they will be taking in the future, after the closing date of the CPE reporting period, but they front-load it into the current reporting period.
State BOA Chair wants you to know …
Art Flach, Chairman of the Maryland State BOA and a past-Chairman of the MACPA, wants you to know more about the CPA licensing process and how to stay compliant, particularly regarding meeting CPE requirements.
Tune into the MACPA’s upcoming webcast, CPA Continuing Education Requirements – What Every CPA Needs to Know, featuring Flach, hosted by Bill Sheridan, CAE, Chief Communications Officer / EOS Implementer at the MACPA, to learn more about this topic. Choose from among three different dates, on which the program will be webcast:
- October 13, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET
- November 7, from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. ET
- December 22, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. ET
Note: 1.0 CPE in Regulatory Ethics is available for the webcast, but don’t report CPE for the same webcast twice – that is another issue the BOA has seen.
Topics covered include:
* Maryland Continuing Ed (CE/CPE) requirements
* Ethics requirements
* The make-up of the DLLR
* License renewal / reinstatement
* The CE audit process
* Concerns of the CE process nationally
* Sanctions
The webcast is available at no charge to MACPA members, with a fee of $45 for non-members. Watch this preview of the webcast.
Celebrate the swearing-in of newly licensed CPAs
CPAs take professional pride in supporting the next generation. One of the MACPA’s biggest events of the year, Celebrate the Profession: Swearing-in of newly licensed CPAs, is slated to take place on November 16. The event, nicknamed “CPA Night,” will be held once again at the popular venue of M&T Stadium, at the invitation of our Preferred Partner, M&T Bank.
Register now, invite your colleagues, and mark your calendars for this premier event.