By Nicolas J. Mastracchio Jr.

While there are some mandatory minimum hours of continuing professional education (CPE), the effort to stay current takes more than the minimum hours, especially when considering the professional journals and other literature that is read. Another effort that takes considerable time is to ensure that staffs are up to date on new issues and the firm’s policy regarding such issues.

There are many choices available to obtain this knowledge. There are courses offered by the American Institute of CPAs, the Foundation for Accounting Education, accounting associations and other professional groups. Self-study courses abound, and the Internet has become an excellent vehicle for a number of other organizations to offer their interactive courses. Another possibility is in-house courses offered by an outside organization or firm personnel.

When making the choice to obtain the knowledge, the decision should be based on the effectiveness and efficiency of the CPE being offered. To meet these objectives, the nature of the knowledge being acquired and the extent the knowledge needs to be disseminated should be considered.

If the knowledge is to be disseminated to a large group of staff, there are a number of choices available. The firm can send the entire group to a course, or have one person attend to then present the information to the rest of the group. The entire group can take a self-study course or have someone present the material in-house; or even ask that the staff read the professional literature to stay informed.

The effectiveness probably is best obtained through having someone come to the firm and present the material. This way a qualified presenter exposes everyone to the new material, giving participants an opportunity to share their suggestions, concerns and recommendations, which the firm can take into account to implement staff-wide changes. This team-building strategy can result in greater acceptance of firm policies, since all affected take part in discussions, are permitted to present alternatives, and, in general, have a better understanding of the firm’s decision-making process.

However, this approach lacks interaction with other outside participants, unlike the next most effective choice, sending the entire group to a course. Of course, the opportunity to discuss the firm’s reaction is not available through this approach.
The next choice is to have one person attend a course. Though he or she will be able to present the information to the rest of the group, this course of action places the burden of responsibility entirely on the sole attendee’s shoulders and prevents others from asking questions of the qualified presenter.

The next preferred method is to have the group take a self-study course, but this too deprives the staff of the opportunity to interact with other participants or a presenter.

Probably the least effective method is to request that the group read relevant publications and materials on a particular topic.

The other important aspect surrounding CPE is the efficiency of acquiring the needed information, which primarily concerns the out-of-pocket cost and time required of the firm personnel.

Self-study courses typically are less expensive than paying for a staff group to attend a course. However, the time constraints may be considerably greater with a self-study course, given the lack of a qualified presenter, who usually is critical to the understanding of the materials. Consequently, there is additional time spent making certain that everyone has a grasp of the issues and a similar interpretation of the material. Separate discussions to determine how to implement firm changes also will be required.

Sending staff members to a course and having them share their knowledge with the rest of the group is the next most cost-effective option. However, this too can be very time consuming, as the firm representative must prepare to present the material to the staff.

The out-of-pocket costs of sending the group to a course or bringing a presenter in are subject to a number of factors, including the number of personnel involved, the location of the course, and the cost of hiring an in-firm presenter. In most cases when there are a significant number of personnel involved or when a course involves travel, time spent traveling, and the cost of meals and lodging, an in-firm presenter is the more preferred method. Additionally, when taking courses in-house, the firm can simultaneously decide how to apply the knowledge to its practice.

However, there are times when the quality of the presenters and the significance of the outside courses outweigh the travel costs and time involved.

When the material applies to only one individual or a small group of staff, the CPE choices are obviously different. Having an outside presenter, for example, can be eliminated from the equation.

The most effective method is to attend a quality seminar. The individual will benefit from the opportunity to discuss the topic with a qualified presenter as well as gain from hearing the opinions, and success and failure stories, of the other attendees.

The next most effective method is to take a self-study course. Here again there is no opportunity to interact with the presenter or others. The least effective method is to require that the person read publications without any benefit from an authoritative, instructional source.

The reading of publications results in the least out-of-pocket expense, however. Self-study courses provide an economical method of acquiring the knowledge, while attending a course is the most expensive.

The self-study course probably is the most time-efficient since there isn’t any travel involved and the material usually is presented in an organized manner. Of course, if the knowledge to be gained is highly complex, attending the course will be the next most time-efficient option, while simply reading publications would be the least time-efficient.

In general, when it comes to important firm issues, the benefits of attending courses far outweigh the additional costs or time constraints that are involved. A firm that is dedicated to quality normally encourages quality continuing education. A firm’s approach toward and provision of CPE usually are good indicators of its professional attitude toward its staff.