Let’s face it. Continuing Professional Education is work.
And it is required to stay current and to raise your skill
level. So what is an ideal strategy for approaching
continuing education requirements for CPAs? Can it be
easy, enjoyable, strategic, and even fulfilling?

Visit: http://www.cpetrainingonline.com 
 
In my opinion, thinking strategically about CPE is the key.
Like any small business owner, you are in charge of your
career and need to come up with a strategy. And strategy
starts with answering some basic questions, doing some
research, thinking, and putting together a plan. This is
all the work of a busy professional – like a CPA!

Here are some important questions to answer:

What are my personal objectives, both in terms of career
and personal development?

Where do I want to be in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?

What are my personal strengths?

In what areas could I envision the most dramatic potential
for improvement with some focused effort?

What potential improvements would have the most impact on
my life and career?

What challenges and opportunities am I facing over the next
3-6 months? 6-12 months? 1-2 years?

What types of clients am I serving? What are their needs,
and in what ways can I meet their needs better than today?

What are my relationships with colleagues? Are there
opportunities for improvement here?

Do I have an effective network? What value do I hold for
my network? Do I want to change that?

What are some key developments in the accounting field?

What are the major current developments in the overall
business environment, or in the communities I serve? What
is my program for keeping up to date and ahead of the
trends?

These questions may seem very simple and basic. Frankly,
they are not particularly scientific, but they are
definitely a starting point for a strategic plan that
includes personal development. We always need to remember
that personal development is the key to moving forward, and
that working on ourselves – increasing our capabilities and
skill levels – always produces the best results in the long
run.

So, what jumps out or emerges when you answer these
questions? Think about your CPA CPE. Are there some
things that you can do to satisfy some of the urges
resulting from answering the questions that can be
satisfied by continuing professional education? Here are a
few ideas:

1. Identify the hard skills. These are the core
accounting, finance, and law knowledge that you need to
obtain in the coming period.

2. Identify the soft skills that you will need to achieve
your near and medium term goals. These are the key people
skills that will open some doors for you.

3. Identify the environments in which you want to operate.
You may need some specific industry exposure. You may need
to seek out some specific situations where you can network
with other professionals with particular areas of expertise
that you want to gain.

4. Identify your learning preferences. In many cases, due
to constraints of both time and money, you will want to
devise a blend of in person, on your own, and online work
that optimizes your use of time. The training options are
also an input to this decision. 5. Identify your networking
needs. You may be able to kill 2 birds with one stone by
attending education meetings for CPE credit where you also
get the right mix of networking to expand your contacts.

6. Many professionals find that they want to supplement
their current credentials – like a CPA – with another
credential that will help them to differentiate themselves
to their clients and in the marketplace, or sometimes even
move them in a different direction altogether. CPAs and
other professionals often satisfy CPE requirements while at
the same earning a certification in IT, project management,
Six Sigma, Business Analysis, or a related field.

These are but a few ideas for gradually developing a
strategic plan for earning CPE credit to maintain your CPA
license. Hopefully, looking at the CPE requirement from a
fresh viewpoint, and incorporating your CPE activities
into your own personal vision and strategic plan helps to
satisfy the CPE requirement as much as it does to move you
forward as a professional in your desired strategic
direction.
 
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