Choosing The Right Tax Cpe Course

The number of providers of web-based enrolled agent CPE has more than tripled over the past 15 years. Thousands of enrolled agent courses are now available online, many instantaneously, offering EAs and other tax professionals convenient and cost-effective options for meeting their continuing education tax requirements. But with so many options at their fingertips, some EAs are finding it hard to pick the right provider and course load. "It's great that we can go online to take a course that satisfies CPE requirement," said John Knoll, an EA out of Charlotte, NC. "But it's hard to know what's good and what's not."

This article outlines a number of factors that enrolled agents should consider when selecting a provider of tax continuing education.

First Thing First - What's Required? (Circular 320)

All EAs must complete 72 hours of continuing professional education every 3 years. A minimum of 16 hours is required each year, with an average of 24 hours per year, and 2 hours of ethics.

Circular 320 contains a relatively narrow definition of continuing profession education and what counts as EA CPE. For a CPE course to count, it must enhance professional knowledge in Federal taxation and-tax related matters. Accounting, tax software, taxation, and ethics all satisfy CPE course requirements under Circular 320. This means that courses in State tax, practice building and management do not satisfy these requirements.

It goes without saying that the first consideration in picking a potential CPE provider is evaluating whether its tax CPE curriculum meets these guidelines.

But an effective continuing professional education program should amount to much than simply satisfying IRS requirements. The best programs pay! The real value of CPE credits should be gauged in terms of the number of new clients served, and the additional revenue enrolled agents accrue when new found skills allow them to better serve existing clients. In this way, a good provider of CPE will to help expand the range of an enrolled agent's services.

Online CPE Courses the Cheapest

Online CPE accounting courses are well known for providing cheap CPE credits. In fact, these courses are usually 25 to 35 % less expensive than in-person or classroom courses. Like these more traditional forms, online CPE courses cover the basics of federal taxation that test the understanding and abilities of the EA. But the true test of any tax CPE course - online or classroom - is whether or not it offers the right substance to expand the skill set of an EA? Just because a course offers 6 or 7 hours of CPE credits for a hundred dollars, or satisfies IRS professional continuing education requirements, doesn't mean it will further a career is the best way possible.

There are a host of other factors to consider when taking online CPE courses.

Webinars

Blended learning, a form of instruction that combines online tools with alternate types of traditional instruction, is an approach that is becoming more commonplace in this arena. Many online providers, for example, are incorporating webinars into their CPE course offerings. This format always EAs to receive top-notch "LIVE" instruction (by popular instructors who can serve greater numbers of people) without having to travel, leave the home or office and incur travel and food expenses. The quality of these programs continues to improve as providers as more companies realize a cost-savings associated with their virtual infrastructure.

The Perfect Mix

The consensus view among industry insiders seems to be that inexpensive online CPE should not be the overriding factor in choosing a tax CPE course provider. Rather a mixture of cheap online courses with webinars, live seminars and conferences is a better solution for providing advanced learning, meeting IRS requirements, and keeping the budget in place. " This approach allows us to get the classroom experience, and to interact with our peers while also giving us the flexibility of working local," said EA John Knoll.

Other Considerations

Experts strongly recommend that an enrolled agent consider using multiple CPE providers to broaden the learning reach. EAs should also carefully research the provider, read student reviews, and study their policies. This process should also entail uncovering how long they have been in operation, and what the refund policy is. Online CPE courses should be accessible from any computer, but not all are.

Not All Courses Are Created Equal

For online CPE courses, EAs should inquire about the following items before enrolling:

Is there a fee for re-enrollment if exam is failed

Is a certificate of completion provided

Are course material and exams printable from the web

Verify the CPE credits are allowed in EA's state

Practical Tips for Choosing Online CPE Providers

Final considerations before enrolling in a tax CPE course include:

Sign up for complimentary courses to ensure the provider's courses are suitable

Shop around and compare the various services and products of at least two or three providers (this will increase the odds of finding the best provider)

Don't get suckered into automatically selecting the least expensive offerings