Continuing Professional Education, or CPE, is a requirement that every CPA must meet in order to keep their license current. CPE requirements differ depending on the state where you live. CPAs, on the other hand, are required to acquire forty hours of CPE. At least four of those hours must be devoted to professional ethics training.

CPE may appear to be a hassle, yet it is an essential part of any profession. Many experts would be forced to work with obsolete knowledge if this rule did not exist. As a result, they would make easily avoidable errors. To avoid this, it's critical that every professional keeps up to date with high-quality continuing education courses.

While it may appear to be a lot of effort, it's actually a lot easier to earn than you would think:

CPE credits can be earned in a variety of methods due to the importance of this requirement. There are many possibilities available from a variety of firms that provide online and offline courses. While there are costly CPE-approved courses available, there are alternative options for Certified Public Accountants to get free CPE credits. There are a variety of courses available, ranging from webinars and webcasts to on-demand courses, that you may attend without spending a lot of money.

The needed credits are determined by the state's Board of Accountancy. The amount also varies depending on the sort of training and how it is delivered. In general, one CPE credit is equal to 50 minutes of professional finance training.

This article will show you how to get free online CPE credits online. You've come to the right location if you're a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) seeking to earn free Continuing Professional Education credits. Before you go any further, keep in mind that each of the following techniques may be subject to hour limitations in your state. Before you start planning your CPE credits, double-check your state's requirements.

Free CPE

Best Places to Earn Free CPE Credits

Find out where you can get your credits the quickest.

1. AICPA

To keep current and improve your technical capabilities, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) maintains a platform with over 350 self-study sessions. The AICPA's courses were created by specialists from throughout the country and cover a wide variety of topics. If you're seeking a different type of high-quality continuing professional education, this is the place to go.

The majority of the webinars accessible, however, are not on-demand or self-paced. In order to obtain credit, viewers must attend on a certain day and at a specific hour. Self-study courses offered by the AICPA, on the other hand, can be taken at any time. Auditing, behavioral ethics, and personal development are some of the most common disciplines of study. It's worth noting, however, that the requirements for CPA recertification vary by state. Some even set restrictions on certain subject areas. As a result, certain licensees may not be able to take advantage of every free course available, particularly in relation to topics dealing with personal development.

The AICPA's store has all of its free materials. Because the majority of the courses are scheduled webinars, CPAs should expect the available alternatives to vary and be updated on a regular basis.

2. Illumeo

Illumeo's free CPE webinars fulfill all NASBA and state criteria for live delivered CPE credit, and because they're entirely free, they're a great way for any CPA or accountant to get some free CPE. The free webinars from Illumeo are based on their extensive on-demand course catalog. When it comes to putting on live CPE webinars, they offer a lot of options with over 1,600 on-demand courses.

They exclusively deliver the greatest, most in-demand, and current courses as live CPA CPE webinars, ensuring that you are constantly acquiring engaging and up-to-date education that will help you further your learning and career.

3. Ernst and Young

Ernst & Young is one of the Big Four accounting companies and one of the world's largest professional services businesses. It offers CPE-eligible webcasts on a variety of subjects, such as insurance, banking, and accounting. Ernst & Young (EY) has amassed a large library of webcasts that can be used to earn free CPE credits.

EY offers CPE credits for the majority of these free live webcasts. You can watch or listen to their archived webcasts or podcasts within a few days of the live event, but no CPE points will be awarded.

4. Deloitte

Deloitte has put together a pretty handy landing page with a wide range of webinars that might earn you free CPE credits. Deloitte calls these webcasts Dbriefs, and they plan to greatly increase their offerings of these Dbriefs in the future.

Deloitte's webcasts are divided into numerous categories. Overall, this aids in determining the amount of CPE credit earned in each instance based on a set of viewing criteria. If a webinar guest wants free CPA CPE credit, they must watch the event for at least 50 minutes and complete three polling questions. Similarly, attendees of 90-minute webinars must watch for at least 75 minutes and respond to five questions. Finally, CPAs must stay for at least 105 minutes and answer at least six questions during 120-minute webinars.

5. Corporate Finance Institute (CFI)

CFI is a NASBA (CPE Sponsors) member and provides five free NASBA-certified CPE courses (Excel Crash Course, Introduction to Corporate Finance, Fundamentals of Credit, Forms of Business Structure, and Introduction to Derivatives).

These courses offer 10.5 hours of free CPE and can be taken whenever you choose. Overall, CFI continues to introduce new courses to assist alumni and potential students better their skills.

6. PwC

Another great place to get free credits is PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers). A significant number of free webcasts on a range of relevant topics are available in their collection. To find information about upcoming and prior webcasts, check their website.

On their website, they offer three primary categories:

1. Public Seminars Scheduled by PDP - check their events calendar for the schedule.
2. PDP Webcasts - live internet lectures and courses.
3. CFOdirect — offers both live webcasts and on-demand CPE classes (focused on CFO-related topics)

7. Free Live CPE

If you are looking for Free CPE webinars, look no further than freelivecpe.com. The website offers a calendar of all upcoming free cpe events from CPA and consulting firms across the globe. 

Conclusion

CPE hours are required to keep your CPA license current, but they don't have to be difficult to obtain. If you follow all of these suggestions, you'll be able to fulfill your state's deadlines with ease.

You may combine your requirements with the development of your professional abilities thanks to the several options available. Instead of seeing CPE as a painful obligation, see it as an opportunity to improve yourself and broaden your knowledge.

Working on CPE will be easier than ever if you are able to do so!