Illinois CPE Courses for CPAs |
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If you’re a CPA in Illinois and want to enhance your skills and knowledge continuously, pursuing Illinois CPE continuing education is your only option. While meeting Illinois CPE requirements for CPA on time is mandatory to maintain the active status of your license, you also get an excellent opportunity to stand out from your fellow accountants.
Since CPE is outlined at a state level, there are substantial differences between Illinois CPA CPE requirements and the CPE requirements of other states. This means if you want to plan Illinois CPE efficiently, you need to have a clear comprehension of Illinois CPE requirements.
On this page, we’ll discuss all the essential things related to Illinois CPE requirements for CPA together with which Illinois CPE courses you should choose and several other things.
Let’s start with the basics.
These are the basic guidelines you must comply with when pursuing Illinois CPE. No matter if you choose Illinois Society CPE programs or other CPE providers to take Illinois CPA CPE courses, you’re required to follow these guidelines.
The Illinois state board has several types of credit limitations that apply to different methods of pursuing Illinois CPE. Make sure that you follow these guidelines to avoid unnecessary stress at the time of reporting your CPE.
Self-study programs are divided into two categories: conventional self-study programs and interactive self-study programs.
Conventional self-study programs are programs where you complete the study materials using an online book, hardcopy workbook, etc., and send your answer sheet to the provider online or using offline methods, and get a 70+ passing grade via mail or computer. You can obtain up to 60 credits in a renewal cycle by completing conventional self-study programs. In this method, one 100-minute session is equal to one CPE credit.
Interactive self-study programs are programs where you need to answer questions to continue and clear a final exam to receive your credits. You can earn a maximum of 80 credits in a renewal cycle using this method. Here, you get one CPE credit for 50 minutes.
Note that if you want to use a combination of conventional and interactive self-study programs to meet Illinois CPE requirements for CPA, the maximum limit is 80 credits per renewal period.
These programs refer to live webinars and classroom programs conducted by an instructor. You can meet all your Illinois CPA CPE requirements by taking live CPE programs. You’ll receive one CPE credit for completing a 50-minute session.
Here’re two important notes regarding webinars.
Under this method, you’re allowed to obtain a maximum of 60 credits in a renewal period.
If you write articles and books and have them published, you can earn up to 30 credits in a renewal period.
The maximum number of credits that you can earn using this method in a renewal period is 24.
You’re allowed to obtain a maximum of 60 credits per renewal period by completing non-verifiable learning activities. Read the next block to get a clear understanding of verifiable and non-verifiable learning activities.
In Illinois, you can complete two types of learning activities to pursue Illinois CPE: verifiable programs and non-verifiable programs. Let’s what these are and how they impact your CPE.
These programs are offered by CPE providers who’re registered with the IDFPR or NASBA. If you take Illinois CPE courses, you must maintain all your proof of attendance. If the IDFPR needs you to submit proof of attendance, you’re required to send your “Certificates of Attendance” issued by your CPE providers.
There are two methods to verify whether or not a CPE sponsor is registered with the IDFPR or NASBA.
In Illinois, you get a lot of flexibility when it comes to meeting Illinois CPE requirements for CPA. From Illinois Society CPE programs and programs offered by other sponsors to courses offered by out-of-state CPE providers, you can choose whatever suits you better.
However, if you join an out-of-state provider, it must be approved by the regulatory agency of that particular state. Remember that it’s your responsibility to ensure that the sponsor is registered with the NASBA or IDFPR.
Non-verifiable CPE programs refer to programs that have informal or independent learning activities. These activities aren’t approved by a recognized professional or educational sponsor. You’re allowed to obtain a maximum of 60 CPE credits in a renewal period by completing non-verifiable CPE programs.
Note that you’re solely responsible for tracking and maintaining proof of completion for each of the non-verifiable CPE programs you attend.
Here’re the things you need to keep in mind if you choose to take non-verifiable CPE programs to pursue Illinois CPE.
As mentioned above, you can obtain up to 60 credits in a renewal period by completing programs offered by unapproved sponsors. Here’re the documents that can serve as proof of completion of these programs.
These activities refer to consultation with external experts or research on a field of study that you aren’t familiar with or where standards or regulations have been modified. You can obtain a maximum of 10 credits in a renewal period using this method. You aren’t allowed to claim credits for repeat research or consultations in the same field of study where standards or regulations haven’t been substantially modified.
These documents may serve as your proof of completion.
You can obtain a maximum of 10 credits by performing professional readings of published materials. Here’re the documents that may serve as evidence of completion.
The INSIGHT magazine is considered one of the ICPAS publications that qualify for CPE credits.
If you participate and work on a technical committee of a state, national, or international member organization or association, your learning activity will come under this category. You’re allowed to earn a maximum of 10 credits in a renewal cycle using this method.
Here’re the documents that you can submit as your evidence of completion.
You can obtain CPE credits by participating and working on any of these committees.
Use these guidelines to calculate your credits when pursuing Illinois CPE.
You can get half credits after earning your first full credit.
As noted above, you’ll receive half credit for completing 50 minutes of a conventional self-study program.
In this method, you’ll get 10 CPE credits for completing one quarter hour and 15 credits for completing one semester hour.
Your credits will be equal to preparation plus presentation. However, the maximum number of credits for preparation is two times the presentation. You’ll only receive credits for preparing for repeat instruction if the material has undergone significant changes.
You can request for waiver of your Illinois CPE requirements for CPA on the basis of these grounds.
When pursuing Illinois CPE, make sure that the programs, activities, or courses encompass one or more of these fields of study.
If you hold licenses in multiple states, CPE reciprocity exempts you from fulfilling your Illinois CPA CPE requirements and the CPE requirements of the other states, provided you meet the CPE requirements of your home state.
Note that besides meeting the CPE requirements of your home state, you also need to obtain one credit in sexual harassment prevention to fulfill your Illinois CPE requirements.
Regardless of the method you choose to pursue Illinois CPE, you need to keep track of all your Illinois CPA CPE credits. It’s strongly advisable to keep all your proof of attendance, certificates of completion, and other related documents for at least six years.
In case you get selected for an audit, you need to submit them to the IDFPR to substantiate your compliance with Illinois CPE requirements for CPA.
At CPEThink.com, we’re committed to helping CPAs pursue Illinois CPE efficiently and affordably. We offer a number of quality CPE courses, all of which have been developed by our highly experienced authors and instructors, to help you meet your Illinois CPA CPE requirements effectively and enhance your professional competence. By joining us, you’ll be covered by our 100-day, 100% refund policy, which’s simply the best in the industry.
If you want to learn more about how our expert team can help you fulfill your Illinois CPE requirements, contact us today!
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