Top Trends in Continuing Professional Education for 2019

Continuing professional education is a necessity for individuals who have either a credential and/or certification to maintain their ability to practice. Accounting professions, beyond certified public accountants, all have respective hours of CPE credits they must fulfill to maintain their ability to practice. Whether their career lies within finance, governmental accounting, they own a private or public practice, financial planning, or elsewhere – accounting professionals must pursue continuing education using high-quality CPE courses to maintain their professional status.

For example, when the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy – or NASBA – passes down the year’s newest regulations for certified public accountants to abide by, CPE providers are responsible for tailoring their materials to suit the needs of the CPA who wishes to maintain their good standing. CPE providers must perform this continuous maintenance to materials and information technology to ensure those looking to fulfill their CPE requirements have access to all the information they need to succeed.

Throughout 2019, we are likely to see a shift in the approach to both offering CPE as a product, on the CPE provider side, and the factors that impact the consumer’s choice of CPE provider. Our Chief Executive Officer, Evan Kramer, shared the following predictions surrounding the future of CPE in 2019 and beyond.

Education over Compliance

In the coming year, we’ll see an uptick in developments created for the consumer that wants to do more than fulfill their requirement with their chosen CPE program. CPE products will become more nuanced and attuned to incorporate trending information across many fields of study for the consumer that desires the latest and relevant news related to their field.

Increased Demand for Business Intelligence (B.I.)

As certified public accountants and other credentialed or certified individuals diversify their skillsets, there will be a greater need for data analytics implementation and understanding both within CPA firms using CPE providers and with private practitioners. A heightened sense of B.I. will be necessary to complement the future CPA’s expanded offerings.

Enhanced User Experience

As the need for better overall business education increases, CPE providers will be challenged to develop more interactive, engaging user experiences in their products. Whiteboarding sessions, community chat forums, and other facets of nano-learning will be incorporated into the continuing professional education realm.

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Carolyn Rivera is Surgent’s Social Media Associate, overseeing the growth of the company’s social media presence for all brands, as well as creating content for an upcoming informational and community forum website. She is a Master’s Student of Media Studies and Production at Temple University.