5 Best CPE Resources for CPAs

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#3 Illumeo CPE for CPA’s

PROS

Expansive Curriculum:

Illumeo offers an incredible range of continuing education resources that cover many different certifications and areas of study. They’re always adding new courses, but they also replace older study materials that don’t maintain high ratings from students. This ensures a consistent stream of high-quality and up-to-date content for all subscribers.

Microcerts:

In addition to offering a wide variety of educational materials, Illumeo even provides full certifications for some specialized industries and areas of knowledge. These “microcerts’ can be accessed for a small additional cost and can greatly improve your chances of gaining employment in specialized or competitive fields.

Free Trial:

Illumeo is passionate about continuing education and confident in the quality of their CPE content. Because of this, they offer students interested in trying their materials the opportunity to do so for free on a trial basis. Check out their Free CPE section to try 12 on-demand courses and a robust library of webinars. Not only is this a comprehensive sample of what their full service has to offer, but it’s also one of the best collections of free continuing education content for accountants!

CONS

Thinly Spread:

Although Illumeo’s strongest benefit is the incredible versatility offered by their course catalog, it can be detrimental if you’re interested in a more specialized education. The 231 results for CPA-specific courses are only a small fraction of what they have to offer; because of this, you may find the wide range of ‘extra credit’ provided to be unnecessary or distracting to your studies.

Bottom Line: If you plan on only studying CPE through Illumeo, you can become a jack of all trades. If you’re easily distracted, the extra certs might be overwhelming; however, you should strongly consider trying them if you want to specialize your career field.

Take Me To Illumeo CPE Review

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#4 Lambers CPE Study Material

PROS

Expert Instructors:

Lambers instructors are easily some of the best and most qualified teachers out there. This is because each teacher has a knack for bringing in their practical experience to the classroom. Also, each instructor holds a professional certification; some even have doctoral degrees in their field of study. With these teachers on your side, there’s no way you can fail!

Self Study Courses:

Lambers’ wide selection of self study courses are designed to cover any field of study you’re interested in. They understand that as a CPA you’ll have different needs when it comes to sharpening your professional skills. Above all else, Lambert recognizes that it’s important for you to have access to the courses of your choosing: not just what someone thinks you need.

Regular Updates:

The catalog of CPE courses on offer by Lambers is constantly growing. Each month new content is updated and added to the course so that you will always have the best materials on offer. Thanks to that, you’ll never have to worry about working with outdated information.

CONS

Guarantee:

Although there are plenty of appealing features for accounting professionals (and professionals from a few other fields) looking for CPE credits, it can be a bit concerning when comparing their course guarantee to other options on the market. Essentially all sales are final for digital products, and Lambers will often require you to pay restocking fees on returned physical products.

Bottom Line: Lambers is perfect for anyone looking to set their own pace while working on earning CPE credits. It may not be as competitive as Surgent or Gleim, but it carves out a niche by offering a more relaxed alternative to working on credits. Consider Lambers if you’ve got plenty of time to earn your credits.

Take Me To Lambers CPE

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#5 Best Overall CPE Course

PROS

Pick and Choose Materials:

Because Gleim purchases are based around how many hours you buy, there’s a great deal of customization to be found. To accomplish this they offer over thirty five different courses of relevant professional information.

Free Materials:

Gleim offers several different types of free materials to get you interested. Not only are there two free trial courses, there is also the Pilot Test program. Active CPAs can apply to test out new CPE courses for Gleim and earn free CPE credit for doing so. Now that is a great deal.

Consumer Friendly Pricing:

All Gleim prices are based on how many hours you’re purchasing. Although it starts at twelve dollars per hour, larger bundles bring that individual price down. Additionally, if you play your cards right you can even buy courses for six dollars an hour!

CONS

AFSP Course Not Included:

If you’re not exempt from Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) requirements, you’ll have to pay extra for that course. Although it’s disappointing that this costs more on top of your previous purchases, it’s still worth your money for the same quality reasons as the rest of the material.

Bottom Line: Gleim is easily one of the top continuing education courses. Their customization and price policy encourage you to structure your studying according to your own personal method. On top of that, there’s plenty of free material to sink your teeth into before deciding on a purchase.

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#6 Fast Forward Academy CPE

PROS

Expansive Catalog:

Fast Forward Academy (FFA) provides a wide range of courses for you to work on. Included in their 45+ courses are topics ranging from ethical issues on tax returns to retirement plans in small businesses. Everything you could possibly need to know is covered here; Therefore, there’s no need to worry about whether or not your type of work is represented here.

Additional AFSP Course:

Although certain positions may be exempt from the AFSP Course, FFA wants to be sure that everyone’s professional needs are taken care of. Because of this, they offer an eighteen hour AFSP course so you can meet your prerequisites. With Fast Forward Academy, everything is taken care of.

Credit Reporting:

After completing each course, FFA will report your online CPE credits to the IRS or CTEC (California Tax Education Council) for you. They’ll even do so for free, meaning you don’t have to worry about any hidden costs. On top of that you will also receive a PDF copy of your course completion certificate upon completion.

CONS

No Live Content:

Unlike Surgent and Becker, FFA does not offer any live content. Instead, they’ve chosen to focus on their various video and text courses as an alternative. While these courses are clearly high quality, it’s still a little disappointing not to see any webinars or conferences.

Bottom Line: Fast Forward Academy is a great compact option for anyone looking to complete their CPEs. This is because they’ve made a point of compartmentalizing and focused on the necessities. With FFA, you’ll finish up your CPE requirements with time to spare.