[Anonymous]

If I can get the ol’ company store to pay for both memberships, I will do both…but if they only pay for one, which do you think is more beneficial…AICPA membership or Missouri Society of CPA membership?

[jelly]

Don't know what Missouri's society is like, as I'm in NY. I do use AICPA's long-term disability and life insurance, which has some pretty decent rates and carriers. Either way, the annual fees can be quite high for both.

Couldn't pass again!

[Herbieherb]

If I only could pick one I would do AICPA

NEW YORK- DONE

[porschify]

I would think that the state society would be better to join because they can recommend/have better pricing for the required CPE's. Your state board will not accept CPE's from any vendor, and I would think that the state society would be better at sorting through them and recommending which ones that qualify.

REG- 81
BEC- 72,76
AUD- 67,88
FAR- 78

Done!

[jelly]

The CPE that the state society offers can be hit or miss. Some have vendors that advertise on the state society website may cover more in-depth state-specific topics. If you go to some of the online CPE vendors (search “CPA CPE” on google), they'll indicate on their website which states they are registered in and their registration #.

Pricing can vary considerably between the vendors that the state society advertises on their respective website, online vendors, and everywhere else. For instance, NY's state society has ones which can run $20 for 2 credits to $1000s of dollars. Some online vendors offer limited or unlimited CPEs for a fixed/variable/bundled price. The Big4 have free weekly CPE lectures (mostly national and international topics) that's open to anyone with an Internet connection. There's also a few websites that offer a few free CPE courses outright, and also a lot of start-up vendors that offer free CPE for testing out their technology. Again, definitely check to see if your state qualifies before registering and participating.

I would say the ones that I haven't seen for free are the state-specific ethics courses. This whole continuing ed thing is a huge cottage industry, whether is accounting, law, medicine, or any other licensed trade.

Couldn't pass again!

[Herbieherb]

Right and in NY we are exempt from cpe for first 3 years after licensure…so for me state society wasn't much benefit…besides getting 2 periodicals. They do have lots of networking opportunities however, I have a stable job atm. Aicpa I use their professional liability insurance, disability and life insurance, @cpa.com email address, CGMA, aicpa credit card…so for me AICPA wins

NEW YORK- DONE

[Author]

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