Part One  |  Part Two  |  Part Three

Misalignment between CPE and Employment Trends

If you're already a CPA in business or industry, you know how difficult it is to find Continuing Professional Education (CPE) that's relevant to your needs, along with being timely, convenient, and affordable. And if you hold other professional accounting or finance certifications, you've probably experienced the same frustrations.

As discussed in Part 1 of this series, the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required for success in business and industry differ from those required for success in public practice. Yet despite the significant migration of CPAs towards employment in business and industry, the vast majority of CPE offered is still oriented towards public accounting. And the relatively few offerings directed at industry professionals tend to focus on "scorekeeping" rather than "business partner" KSAs. So where can you find the kind of CPE that will truly benefit you in a business or industry career?

Where's the CPE?

State CPA societies, many of which are long-time providers of CPE, have begun to recognize the changing needs of their membership. One of the most innovative approaches to delivering relevant CPE is the Center for Corporate Financial Leadership [http://www.ccflinfo.org]. The CCFL is jointly operated by several state societies in the Midwest and offers an excellent selection of seminars and other programs for corporate financial professionals.

Other professional associations have stepped in to fill the CPE gap as well. For example, the Institute of Management Accountants, through its Lifelong Learning Center [http://imalearningcenter.org], offers a variety of in-person and self-study CPE programs in Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting, Information Technology, and Personal Development.

Additionally, many industry-specific professional associations provide highly-focused CPE. The Healthcare Financial Management Association, for example, offers seminars, audio-conferences, and in-house programs in the areas of healthcare accounting and finance, patient financial services, physician practice management, and managed care. http://www.hfma.org

New Delivery Options for Busy Professionals

One challenge for CPAs in business and industry is that corporate employers rarely provide the same level of support for employees' CPE activities that public accounting firms do. As a result, many CPAs and other certified professionals in business and industry find themselves having to pursue CPE on their own time and pay for it out of their own pockets.

Adding to this challenge is the fact that it is often difficult to find in-person seminars that are scheduled at convenient times and places. And while self-study programs are certainly more convenient, CPAs are frequently discouraged by state board rules that limit the amount of self-study they may engage in or that require 2 hours of time invested for every credit hour earned.

Fortunately, there are now some new technology-driven CPE options for busy professionals. The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) has formally recognized that Internet-based live CPE programs are equivalent in nature to in-person delivery methods. Several NASBA-registered CPE sponsors such as Leveraged Logic have begun to offer affordable CPE programs that enable participants to learn from and interact with a live instructor in real-time from the convenience of their homes or offices, outside of normal working hours. Look for offerings of this type to expand further in the coming year.

Why Pursue an Advanced Degree?

Beyond CPE, you should consider pursuing an advanced degree if it will help you attain your career goals. These days, having a bachelor's degree alone does not distinguish you from other qualified candidates who are competing for the same career opportunities as you are. And prospective CPAs can anticipate at least a year of graduate studies as most jurisdictions implement some form of the 150-hour rule.

In business/industry careers, an advanced degree can be extremely beneficial if you want to rise quickly through the ranks of management. It can also serve you well in entrepreneurial endeavors, both in terms of conveying the knowledge, skills, and abilities to manage your own business as well as constituting a personal credential that may carry weight with prospective clients. The key is to tailor your studies to your career goals, so let's look at some options.

Degree Options

To start, there's the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, which is generally appropriate for management-oriented careers. Most MBA programs allow you to concentrate in one or more specialty areas, whether functional or industry-specific.

If you know what type of work you want to do or what industry you want to work in, specialization is the way to go. Rather than limiting your options, specialization makes you a much more attractive candidate to perform the increasingly complex tasks of managing in today's business environment.

While the MBA is perhaps the most widely recognized advanced degree in business, other degree programs may fit your needs better if your career interests lie outside of management. For example, you may consider master's degrees in accounting, information technology, or quantitative methods if you see yourself primarily as a technical contributor in your future business/industry career.

What about getting a PhD? Generally, a doctorate-level degree is appropriate only if you are willing to invest several years of your life in preparation for an academic research career. Keep in mind that colleges and universities typically hire and evaluate PhDs on the basis of their research, not on their teaching abilities, so don't think about pursuing a PhD just because the idea of teaching appeals to you.

Where to Study?

If you've focused on the kind of degree that is aligned with your career interests, the question then is "where should you pursue it?" The most straightforward answer is "the school with the best reputation you can afford and get admitted to." Employers discriminate heavily among candidates based on the schools they attended as well as their degrees. Your choice of grad school will influence your opportunities and salary for years to come, so you should give considerable thought to attending a school that is highly regarded by employers in the industry(ies) you're targeting. Invariably, schools with full-time resident or executive programs enjoy higher esteem than distance learning programs.

Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to attend the "ideal" school, but do not fool yourself into thinking that it doesn't matter to employers -- it does, and you need to determine what sacrifices you're willing to make for the sake of your career.

Conclusion

CPE and advanced degrees both have the potential to improve your career prospects in business and industry. While finding and participating in relevant CPE is challenging for CPAs and other financial professionals in business and industry, the content -- and delivery methods -- of CPE are evolving to meet growing demand. And while choosing the right kind of degree for your career interests is certainly important, so is earning that degree from an institution that has a positive reputation among your future employers. You don't want to spend years of your life and thousands of dollars of your money doing something that won't make a difference in your career.

BRUCE POUNDER is President of Leveraged Logic, a professional service firm that provides education and consulting services to accounting and finance professionals. He has 20 years of experience developing innovative IT-based financial management solutions for clients including The Coca-Cola Company, Reliant Energy, and Fidelity National Financial.

In 2003, Leveraged Logic introduced the PREPanywhere Review Course System, the only series of live online review courses available for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM) examinations. As a NASBA-registered sponsor of continuing professional education, Leveraged Logic also offers live online "CPEanywhere" sessions to help CPAs, CMAs, CFMs, and other certified financial professionals maintain their certifications.

Bruce holds the CMA and CFM designations, a Bachelor's degree from Syracuse University, and an MBA from Rice University. He is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), serving as President of the Western North Carolina Chapter. Bruce currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina, where he can be reached by phone at (828) 254-4812 or by e-mail at bpounder@LeveragedLogic.com.