Cpe committees (NASBA and AICPA) ref1 are trying to discover how not only to sell CPAs on CPE, but also how they can exclude the vendors who out performed the silly, high priced, courses the various societies offered.

Gee, what are the consequences if they don't? Millions of regulatory, administrative, course and meeting dollars, that's what? Gee, they don't want to miss that opportunity, at any cost. So long as CPAs will go for it, it is a fantastic gravey train. So, meet, meet and figure, figure or is it conspire?

True, every CPA needs more education. But that education need is so vague that it defies general, explicit, universally applicable, definition. The new gimick is to offer CPE credit for self-learning, self-study, etc. if only it were set up by a reviewer (notice not one of the proven better, for profit, CPE providers; but a reviewer, one whom the CPE groups have control over).

The success of the for profit providers (better courses at less cost than association provided courses) must be terminated.. You marketeers, stop it, its just not fair! You are stealing from the traditional captive markets owned by the CPA societies. Your betterness is costing these societies some real money and they are going to fix you.

After 20 years of this sillyness, the profession has been challenged. Unable to meet the challenge to make CPE requirements meet the educational needs of busy CPAs they default by saying.. just pay us..fill in the blank with what you did(do).. and we will call it CPE. Just pay.!

Quoting " Participants in self-directed programs can select from a variety of learning activities, including reading professional publications, leading professional organizations, participating in professional committee meetings or formal management training programs, "special projects" work under a mentor, research on professional topics, or writing documents for publication for use by clients, customers, or internally." (ref 1). About the only part of the daily activity of a CPA left out is CPE credit for billing.

While I do not object to the concept of self-directed learning, I object to paying a government or a society for it. Why allow administrative revenue seekers (CPA societies and state board regulators/legislatures) to interfere with the real threat for failure to stay current: lawsuit and loss of client threat! Each practicing CPA must keep those threats in mind each time he/she fails to learn something that pertains to his/her competency, currency or ability to compete. Complying with state mandated learning is an added burden which sometimes can be intergrated into the real need.

The profession tried CPE for twenty years and proved organized CPE does not work. Maybe we should scrap it?