In 16 days, the ball drops on the 2012-14 CPE triennial, meaning that New Jersey CPAs have just over two weeks to complete their 120 credit-hour requirement and renew their CPA licenses.
If the questions received from NJCPA members the last few weeks are any indication, there are many CPE rules that are misinterpreted or forgotten. For clarification, I'll turn to NJCPA member Kenn Heaslip, who wrote an article for the January/February issue of New Jersey CPA magazine, "14 Myths and Facts about CPE", which is excerpted below. I tried to pick out the myths/facts most relevant to this triennial period.
Myth: A course sponsor must be approved by the NJ State Board of Accountancy.
Fact: In addition to sponsors approved by the state board, NJ allows credits for courses offered by accredited universities and colleges, national and state professional organizations, federal and state government agencies that sponsor CPE courses, and sponsors approved by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).
Myth: The 20-credits per-year CPE requirement does not apply in the last year of the triennial if the credits are not needed.
Fact: NJ regulations require all licensees to obtain at least 20 CPE hours each year. There is no specificity to topic, as long as the requirement is met by the end of the triennial. A licensee must obtain 20 hours in the last year, even if he or she has more than 100 hours after the second year.
Myth: There is a 30-day grace period at the end of the triennial to obtain the required 120 hours.
Fact: All 120 credits must be obtained before December 31 of the final year of the triennial. If a licensee does not have the required credits, he/she should renew as an inactive licensee or self-report the deficiency on the renewal form.
Myth: Only half of self-study credits count.
Fact: Self-study credits do not have to be cut in half. However, since NJ requires at least 60 didactic (live interactive) credits, a licensee does not benefit from any self-study CPE hours in excess of 60.
Myth: Hardship provisions allow for a licensee with a good excuse, such as unforeseen circumstances, to request extra time to meet the CPE requirement.
Fact: Hardship requests must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the end of the triennial cycle. There is no provision for a CPA to use an end-of-the-year illness or personal crisis for such requests. For example: In 2012, the board extended the annual requirement due to Super Storm Sandy, but licensees should not count on such relief provisions.
To see the rest of the myths and facts about CPE, read Kenn's full article in the January/February issue of New Jersey CPA magazine, which will arrive in NJCPA member mailboxes in early January. You can also find the magazine online.
If your question won't wait until the new year, please contact the NJCPA at 973-226-4494.
By the way, there are more than 40 opportunities to earn CPE credits through the NJSCPA and our 11 local chapters prior to the 12/31/14 deadline.
Visit http://njscpa.org/catalog. Check your progress with our CPE Tracker - http://njscpa.org/cpetracker.