NASBA releases exposure draft of revised CPE Model Rules

Last month, the NASBA Board of Directors approved (and the AICPA Board of Directors supported) revised Model Rules for continuing professional education (CPE). NASBA announced on Tuesday that the CPE Model Rules, which are directed towards licensees and act as standards for state Boards of Accountancy, have been revised and are now available for public comment through April 17.

The CPE Model Rules Exposure Draft covers both the technical and non-technical aspects of study and requires completion of 50% of the total CPE credits required for the reporting period in technical fields of study. The CPE Model Rules also recommends completion of CPE that averages no fewer than 40 credits of qualified CPE - including an average of 2 credits of ethics - for each annual CPE reporting period.

Additionally, the CPE Model Rules Exposure Draft urges that compliance with the Statement on Standards for CPE Programs (Standards) be required of all CPE providers, including the AICPA, state accounting societies, members of NASBA’s National Registry of CPE Sponsors or other firms, associations, and groups recognized by the Boards of Accountancy. The Standards also include the development, presentation, measurement, and reporting requirements of two new popular teaching methods: Nano and blended learning. NASBA produced a video on the topics further detailing their implementation in CPE.

The proposed revisions were created by NASBA’s Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) Committee, the CPE Committee, as well as a task force of stakeholders in CPE, including Boards of Accountancy, state accounting societies, industry practitioners, and CPE program providers.

The CPE Model Rules Exposure Draft is available for download on NASBA's site. Those interested in commenting are encouraged to review the exposure draft and send comments to Louise Haberman at lhaberman@nasba.org by April 17, 2017.

For more on NASBA, head to their site here.