PCAOB CPE Requirements

How to reach the regulator directly.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
1666 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-2803

Tel: (202) 207-9100
Fax: (202) 862-8430

Email: info@pcaobus.org

The regulator's own published rules and related resources.

SEC Practice Session (SECPS) Section 8000 - Continuing Professional Education Requirements

The total continuing education hours required.

All professionals of member firms residing in the United States, including CPAs and non-CPAs, must participate in at least 20 hours of qualifying continuing professional education (CPE) every year and at least 120 hours every three years.

"Professional" Defined: Persons classified as "professional staff" (including partners) in a member firm's annual report to the SEC Practice Section (SECPS) shall be considered "professional" for purposes of these continuing professional education policies (refer to SECPS §1000.08g (5)). Professionals shall include all CPA and non-CPA professionals who reside in the United States.

The detailed rules behind that total -- category minimums, ethics, and other conditions.

Accounting and Auditing CPE Requirement: In accordance with the Section's membership requirement (refer to §1000.08 (d)):

1. All professionals who devote at least 25% of their time to performing audit, review or other attest engagements (excluding compilations) or
2. All professionals who have the partner / manager-level responsibility for the overall supervision or review of any such engagement

shall obtain at least 8 credits (hours) annually and 48 credits (hours) every three years of CPE in subjects related to accounting and auditing. The term accounting and auditing subjects should be broadly interpreted, and for example, include subjects relating to the business or economic environments of the entities to which the professional is assigned.

• The term accounting and auditing subjects should be broadly interpreted, and for example, include subjects relating to the business or economic environments of the entities to which the professional is assigned.

How the reporting cycle is structured.

Triennial, with annual minimum CPE requirements. Triennial period to include the three most recently completed educational years through the peer review year end.

When a reporting cycle begins.

Each member firm shall select any consistently applied year-long period (educational year) for applying these CPE policies.

When mandatory continuing professional education requirements for state licensing or for state society membership provide that the period to be used for determining compliance with those requirements shall vary by individuals (for example, the period might coincide with the date of the individual's license to practice), such periods may be used for determining whether there was compliance with the SECPS's continuing professional education requirements during the firm's educational year.

Firms with offices in more than one state that are required to employ different periods in each state for maintaining compliance with continuing professional education requirements are deemed to be in compliance with the SECPS's requirements.

Selection of an Educational Year: Each member firm shall select any consistently applied year-long period (educational year) for applying these CPE policies. The educational year may differ from the member firm's fiscal year; however, both periods are to be specified in the annual report filed with the SECPS. A change in a member firm's educational year shall be stated in the firm's annual report for the year in which the change is made.

Partial Employment Years: Each member firm shall adhere to and monitor compliance of each of its professionals with the SEC Practice Section CPE requirements during each full educational year of the professional's employment with the firm. Except as required by other regulatory bodies (referred to in paragraph 8000.08 (e)), these requirements do not apply to professionals during their year of hire or year of termination.

How completed credits are reported to the regulator.

Each member firm must maintain appropriate records for each professional for its most recent five educational years. These records should contain the following information for each continuing professional education activity for which credit is claimed for the individual:

• Sponsoring organization
• Title of program and description of content
• Date(s) attended or completed
• Location of program (city/state)
• Number of continuing professional education contact hours
• Appropriate evidence of completion
  • For group programs, a certificate or other verification supplied by the sponsor
  • For a university or college course that is successfully completed for credit, a record of the grade the person received; for a non-credit course, a record of attendance and completion
  • For self-study programs, a certificate supplied by the sponsor after satisfactory completion of a workbook or examination
  • For instruction credit, evidence obtained from the sponsor of having been the instructor or discussion leader at a program
  • For published articles, books, or continuing professional education programs, evidence of publication

The renewal or reporting deadline.

No separate reporting is required. By paying dues each year, members affirm that they are in compliance.

→ Get monthly reminders before this deadline

What happens if the requirement is not met.

Failure to meet the CPE requirements will, unless the requirement is waived under Exceptions (Refer to "Exemptions" section above), result in a loss of membership in the AICPA.

Grace Period:

Any member who has not completed the required number of hours during a reporting period will be allowed the two months immediately following the period to make up the deficiency. Hours credited toward a deficiency during this two-month period may not be counted toward the annual minimum requirement of the educational year in which they are taken. Furthermore, any continuing professional education hours claimed during the two-month period to make up any deficiency for the preceding three-year period may not be counted toward the requirement for the three-year reporting period in which they are taken.

Reduced or prorated requirements for a first renewal.

Each member firm shall adhere to and monitor compliance of each of its professionals with the SEC Practice Section CPE requirements during each full educational year of the professional's employment with the firm.

These CPE requirements do not apply to professionals during their year of hire or year of termination.

Who may be excused from all or part of this requirement.

Members may request a waiver if they are prohibited from fulfilling the CPE requirements for the reasons set forth below. Such requests must be submitted in writing to the CPE Division of the AICPA. When the status changes from the one for which the exception applies, the CPE requirement begins in the calendar year following the change.

1. Foreign Residency: The request should include the country of residence, the name of the employer, the principal duties and responsibilities performed, and the reasons foreign residency prohibits fulfilling the requirement.
2. Health: The request should include the nature of the illness, the name and address of the attending physician, and the reason the illness prohibits fulfilling the requirement.
3. Military Service: The request should include the principal duties performed, where stationed, the name and address of member's commanding officer, and the reason why military service prohibits fulfilling the requirement.
4. Other Similar Reasons: The request should include the nature of the hardship and the reason why it prohibits fulfilling the CPE requirement.

Retired and Inactive Members: For purposes of the CPE requirement, "retired" and "inactive" mean a member is in one of those categories for paying AICPA dues. Retired members and inactive members who are unemployed or have left the workforce to raise a family are exempt from the CPE requirement. Members who are retired or exempt for any part of the year are exempt for the full year.