For those CPAs that have to take their CPE, there are many available options. Continuing professional education is required in most states for CPAs to continue practicing as a certified accountant. In some cases, the education can be quite costly and many companies do not pay for the education or only pay for part. However, there is another helpful option for you: free CPE.
What it Is
Free CPE is generally considered to be a self-study course for accountants or CPAs. There are sometimes free options online or in-person, or those that are paid for by your company (which is free for you). These courses usually only provide a small amount of credits, such as one or two. However, there are some free options that only give half a credit. Those that offer half a credit usually have two to four options from which to choose, allowing you to receive one full credit for taking two CPE courses.
How to Find It
Finding free continuing education is quite easy, especially online. You can do a simple search to find CPE courses online easily. However, you may also want to include the term “free” in your search so that you find providers that offer free courses. This way, you will eliminate the need for researching companies that aren’t offering what you want in the first place.
You may be able to find different free courses on different websites. Not every provider offers free courses and of those that do, not all of those providers offer the same options. Therefore, you may be able to take even more free courses, adding those credits to your overall requirement.
Get a couple (or more) sites that appeal to you. Read about them through their About Us pages and learn a little more about what they offer and how they offer it.
Doesn’t Stand On Its Own
Though having courses that are free can be a great way to consider new providers or try something out, you can’t get all of your CPE done using only free options. You will likely still need to pay for other online courses or in-person seminars in order to reach your required amount of hours for that year.
Therefore, it is important to plan out your CPE schedule accordingly. Taking a few courses for free can be a great jump start into other courses that appeal to you or those offered at a specific website through a specific provider.
If you are interested in free CPE for CPAs, then you should consider CPE Think. They offer a few free options that may fit your needs.
