By Adam Batchelor, vice president, learning and development

I hope your first few weeks of 2019 are off to a productive start and you are gearing up for a great year. If you are like millions of Americans, you used the start of a new year to commit to some goal of personal growth or wellness. Unfortunately, by mid-February, most of us will have lost the resolve to keep pace with our objective. Don’t join the masses. Here is a simple resolution that Pennsylvania CPAs can easily keep: complete and report your required reporting year CPE early. It’s painless and you will learn a lot along the way.

By statute, CPAs in Pennsylvania must complete at least 80 hours of CPE by the end of this year (the conclusion of the two-year reporting cycle), including four ethics credits and, for those who perform attest activities, 24 accounting and auditing credits. (Learn more about CPE requirements.) But nowhere do the requirements state that you have to wait until the last minute. The PICPA can help you get your CPE done at a stress-free pace and provide engaging learning opportunities. Go beyond compliance, and you will find programs that deliver real learning. That’s what drives many members to choose our programs. Getting the most out of your required investment in professional education just makes sense. Quality CPE can drive your career success, your clients’ satisfaction, and your confidence to reach new heights professionally.

It has never been easier to plan, register, and complete CPE online or in person. (We have goals and resolutions at the PICPA, too!) In 2018, we completely rebuilt our course search webpage to make finding the courses you want easy and fast. You can search based on topic, credit type, location, delivery method, or date, and filter to find what works for you. Planning is essential to keeping your resolution, and this new tool will make planning out your year of CPE a breeze.

Our approach to CPA continuing education has always been rooted in providing high-quality, accessible CPE on topics that our members want and need to succeed. That’s why we’re currently building a seminar and webinar calendar that will bring the best instructors to locations across Pennsylvania and live online. More people than ever are learning online, and our live online programs bring hundreds of options directly to your desk. In addition to important tax and accounting updates you’ve come to expect, we’re adding courses in data analytics, cybersecurity, financial storytelling, critical thinking skills, and other areas that are driving rapid change in our profession. We’ll release the full schedule soon, then you can lock in the courses that meet your plan and be set and stress-free for the year ahead.

If you want several learning programs in a specialty area, one of our conferences may be the way to go. PICPA conferences are second to none for CPAs in Pennsylvania. We’ve been hard at work with your peers planning compelling agendas for the 2019 conference season. We have exciting plans to add more national speakers with names and reputations you know and trust, and we are using a new technology partner to improve the online viewing experience for those attending remotely. Online viewers will have the opportunity to choose from every breakout session being offered at conferences, ensuring access to all the most relevant content. Also in 2019, we will be offering the first-ever PICPA Not-for-Profit and Government Accounting Conference. This merger of our not-for-profit and local government conferences brings the best content in these two areas into one major event. One of our planning committee members said that bringing the two conferences together created “the perfect conference for my practice.” We think attendees will agree.

Finally, the PICPA is hard at work creating new ways for our members to develop their skills. In 2019, we’ll be experimenting with new tools and launching new programs to engage learners like never before. We are fully resolved to providing the best quality CPE to Pennsylvania CPAs. If you’ve resolved to make the most of your CPE this year, we can help. Keep an eye on the course schedule and upcoming events to plan your year of learning, and please let me know if you have any ideas about how we can improve to better serve your learning goals.