IMGCAP(1)]The recent
At least the intent doesn’t appear to be in the introduction. However, the introduction clearly indicates that CPE is required to maintain professional competence, and CPAs are responsible for complying with the applicable rules and regulations.
I wonder … is it at all possible that the pursuit of maintaining one’s professional competence and complying with applicable regulations are not always complementary? Is it even remotely possible that regulation and pursuit of competence could actually be in conflict with each other? With increasing specialization in the CPA profession and the transformation that learning is going through, I think so.
Oh, one other thing. Are they serious about maintaining professional competence? Shouldn’t the profession be committed to enhancing or advancing competence? To maintain in todays’ environment is to fall behind.
The recent AICPA task force on the
Fast Company recently published
There are all kinds of discussions about alternatives to the model. In addition to blended learning, there’s adaptive learning, self-directed learning and
The profession needs to take the lead here. If blending formal and informal learning is solvable in higher education, it certainly must be solvable for a profession that has built much of its reputation on problem solving. Today’s students will be tomorrow’s professionals. If they consider entry to the CPA profession and make note of an antiquated system of learning required to be a CPA after they have been exposed to new ways or learning—new learning technologies—they will surely look elsewhere when choosing a profession.
If we want to “ignite a passion for learning” and “make learning personal,” as the AICPA Future of Learning Task force suggests, tweaking a system that is horribly out of date and making it even more inflexible and more compliance oriented is not the answer.
If we get the right people in the room, the transition to a contemporary system of learning for license renewal is indeed possible. It won’t happen overnight. With 55 jurisdictions in play, there will be plenty of bumps in the road. But the regulators in those jurisdictions must permit—no, encourage—innovation in competency enhancement. That means there will be some failures. But informed failure begets success. The time is overdue for the profession to commit to bold steps in reforming a system to renew a CPA certificate in the United States. The profession owes it to the public it serves that CPE hours don’t matter. Relevant learning does.
Gary M. Bolinger, CAE, is president and CEO of the