September 2000

Fae Trustees to Evaluate POP Program

Several years ago, the Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) developed the Pay One Price (POP) program, not only as a cost-saving benefit for members, but also to encourage them to view CPE as a reemphasis on the profession's commitment to lifelong learning as opposed to merely a certain number of credits that must be completed in order to satisfy a mandatory requirement. Since then, thousands of POP passes and firm booklets have been sold, allowing members and their staff to enjoy the benefits of the program.

Subject to certain advanced registration requirements, and other administrative details, POP allowed a person to pay one price and gain access to virtually unlimited continuing professional education events.

Now that it has been around for several years, we are taking a fresh look at the POP program to determine whether it best serves the needs of the greatest possible portion of our membership. We are currently examining attendance and usage patterns and will present our findings to the FAE board of trustees for their consideration on September 26.

We will point out to the trustees that some members used the unlimited attendance feature of their passes only a few times, while others took many, many courses, sometimes more than 20. We will also share the experiences of other state societies where similar programs have been in effect for several years as well.

Traditionally, early fall is a relatively quiet time for CPE programs. For this reason, no POP or other discount program will be offered while the trustees consider our report. We will notify the membership of the trustees’ decision as soon as possible.