[PasstheCPA23]

Hello! I hope you are doing well. I am a CPA in the state of IL and I wanted to get peoples thoughts on CPE’s. First off – I bought the Becker CPE package. Is that a good one? Any other good CPE websites that are free or cheap to use?

FInally – I am looking for a good CPE tracker. So if I use Becker and other websites like CPA Academy, how will I sync all of my CPE credits into one platform? Any good ideas on how to do this?

Thank you!

[ak_cpawannabe]

Why do you need to sync them on one platform? Is that IL requirement? In AK, we only have to submit cpe if we are being audited.

[sevier2]

ak_cpawannabe wrote:

Why do you need to sync them on one platform? Is that IL requirement? In AK, we only have to submit cpe if we are being audited.

Probably to ensure they have done enough to meet the requirements. You don’t want to use up any more time then you have to.

[jenpen]

I just keep track of my CPEs in an Excel spreadsheet. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done. I keep all of my certificates saved in a folder in case I need them. You won't need to prove anything when it's time to renew your license unless you get audited.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Y05H1 3GG]

I use a spreadsheet as well that tracks current year hours and it calculates carry forward for the next year. I save a PDF of each certificate and print them to keep in a binder.

[Panders]

I use NASBA's CPE Audit Service. It calculates your compliance each time you enter a credit. https://cpeauditservice.nasba.org/

[PasstheCPA23]

Thanks guys! What I meant was – in IL, we need 120 total hours every 3 years. So, I use Becker CPE to obtain CPE credits. Furthermore, I have some CPE from CPAacademy, etc. I just want to be able to “track” all my CPE credits in one platform (just for tracking purposes). Just so I know I have reached my 120 hours because some of these CPE credits are coming from different sources. For example, Becker CPE tracker won't know if I obtained CPE from CPAacademy. Do you see what I mean?

My last question: When it's time to renew your CPA license, do we need to submit all of these CPE credits to our state board to prove it? I'm not sure how this works since it's my first time. Thanks guys!

[Myredstapler]

Like panders said, the nasba tracker is used by some state boards where it tracks your cpe that you input and serves as a depository of all your certificates. When an audit is triggered, you can just hit submit. Not sure if y can use this if your state board doesn’t though.

For Virginia at least, the only time you need to submit any cpe evidence is if you get audited.

[jenpen]

IL isn't a NASBA state, so I'm not familiar with their tracker, or if it's even available to IL CPAs.

@PasstheCPA23 – As I mentioned in my previous post, no, you don't need to submit your certificates to renew your license. Just hold on to them in case you get audited and keep track of them to make sure you have your hours.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Recked]

I also just use an Excel spreadsheet to track.
I need CPE for IRS as well as NY, so I have a column for NY and IRS, and then the course title, name, and course code.
I keep all the CPE forms printed in a folder in a file cabinet in my office, and print the excel and put a binder clip around all the CPE cert's for that year.
As other posters have said, you don't need to send them to anyone unless you get audited.
–
I make sure all of my IRS CPE is reported directly to the IRS under my PTIN, and can double check with my spreadsheet to confirm all credits have been reported.

[PasstheCPA23]

Thanks everyone. However, does anyone know how IL works? I called Becker CPE and they had no idea how to answer this.

Question: In IL, we need 120 credit hours of CPE. However, how do I meet my 120 Credit Hours? In other words, do we need to obtain certain CPE credits in areas such as “tax”, “personal development”, “ethics”, “auditing” courses that we need to take? Is there a breakdown in categories we need OR can we simply just obtain the 120 CPE’s in any matter? Sorry if that is confusing. I just don't know if I can take ANY CPE course that will get me to my 120 total CPE's or if I need a certain amount of CPE's based on categories. Does anyone know how IL works?

Thank you!

[jenpen]

You need 2 hours of ethics each year, but otherwise the other 114 hours can be in anything that interests you….as long as you don't work on governmental audits, in which case you would have other requirements.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[PasstheCPA23]

@ Jenpen – Thank you so much. I am also licensed in IL, but, it's my first time doing my CPE's and earning the 120 hours of CPE that I need. The reason why I ask that question is because I use Becker for all of my CPE requirements and when you check the Becker CPE portal and you look under “compliance” – they have different buckets like “personal development”, “publication”, “self-study”, etc. So, I wasn't sure if some of the CPE On Demand Pre-recorded lectures need to be self-study or some need to be in person, etc.

Basically, besides the 2 hours of Ethics I need, all the other remaining 114 CPE credits can be all “tax” classes since that interests me. Correct?

[Author]

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