AICPA, NASBA propose tweaks to CPE standards

The AICPA and NASBA have proposed some small changes to CPE standards this week.

The accounting associations have written an exposure draft that clarifies and simplifies some of the language of the existing standards, which were last updated on January 1, 2024. The draft now organizes the standards by sections, rather than paragraphs.

The associations also propose some modest changes to the standards themselves. They recommend allowing professionals to initially earn one-half or one full CPE credit for group learning programs, and to initially earn one-fifth or one-half CPE credit for self-study programs. Some state boards of accountancy already allow professionals to initially earn CPE credit in these increments.

This change “would lay the foundation for future simplification” of CPE standards to eliminate the nano-learning category, the draft’s authors write, which could then be considered part of the self-study program category.

The exposure draft also “expands the requirement for learning engagement to all types of formal CPE programs” and provides examples of learning engagement for group, self-study, and blended learning programs.

The proposed changes also include loosening the requirements around the types of feedback that CPE providers give on review questions. The exposure draft represents a “move away from requiring evaluative feedback for each incorrect answer and reinforcement feedback for the correct answer,” the draft’s authors wrote. They had received input that the feedback requirements were among “the most time-consuming and difficult” for CPE providers to comply with and that many self-study platforms have limited capability to offer feedback.

The AICPA and NASBA are accepting comments on the exposure draft until December 16.