Illinois CPE Courses for CPAs

Illinois CPE: A Detailed Guide

If you’re a CPA in Illinois and want to enhance your skills and knowledge continuously, pursuing Illinois CPE continuing education is your only option. While meeting Illinois CPE requirements for CPA on time is mandatory to maintain the active status of your license, you also get an excellent opportunity to stand out from your fellow accountants.

Since CPE is outlined at a state level, there are substantial differences between Illinois CPA CPE requirements and the CPE requirements of other states. This means if you want to plan Illinois CPE efficiently, you need to have a clear comprehension of Illinois CPE requirements.

On this page, we’ll discuss all the essential things related to Illinois CPE requirements for CPA together with which Illinois CPE courses you should choose and several other things.

Let’s start with the basics.

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Illinois CPE: General Guidelines

These are the basic guidelines you must comply with when pursuing Illinois CPE. No matter if you choose Illinois Society CPE programs or other CPE providers to take Illinois CPA CPE courses, you’re required to follow these guidelines.

• The Illinois state board has a triennial license renewal period. You must renew your license by September 30 every three-year period.
• The CPE reporting period is also triennial in Illinois. You’ve to obtain all your required Illinois CPA CPE credits by September 30.
• You’re required to obtain 120 CPE credits every three-year period.
• Your 120 credits must include four credits in ethics and one credit in sexual harassment prevention.
• You cannot carry over CPE credits in Illinois from one license renewal period to another.
• There’s no minimum annual requirement in Illinois. So, you can either obtain all your 120 credits in just one year or distribute them over the three-year period.
• If you’re renewing your CPA license for the first time, you don’t need to meet Illinois CPE requirements for CPA.

Illinois CPE Requirements for CPA: Credit Limitations

The Illinois state board has several types of credit limitations that apply to different methods of pursuing Illinois CPE. Make sure that you follow these guidelines to avoid unnecessary stress at the time of reporting your CPE.

• Self-study

Self-study programs are divided into two categories: conventional self-study programs and interactive self-study programs.

Conventional self-study programs are programs where you complete the study materials using an online book, hardcopy workbook, etc., and send your answer sheet to the provider online or using offline methods, and get a 70+ passing grade via mail or computer. You can obtain up to 60 credits in a renewal cycle by completing conventional self-study programs. In this method, one 100-minute session is equal to one CPE credit.

Interactive self-study programs are programs where you need to answer questions to continue and clear a final exam to receive your credits. You can earn a maximum of 80 credits in a renewal cycle using this method. Here, you get one CPE credit for 50 minutes.

Note that if you want to use a combination of conventional and interactive self-study programs to meet Illinois CPE requirements for CPA, the maximum limit is 80 credits per renewal period.

• Live CPE programs

These programs refer to live webinars and classroom programs conducted by an instructor. You can meet all your Illinois CPA CPE requirements by taking live CPE programs. You’ll receive one CPE credit for completing a 50-minute session.

Here’re two important notes regarding webinars.

• If you attend live webinars to fulfill your Illinois CPE requirements, the 60 and 80-credit limits won’t apply to you.
• If you watch recorded webinars, the 60 and 80-credit limits will apply to you.

• Instruction of materials

Under this method, you’re allowed to obtain a maximum of 60 credits in a renewal period.

• Published materials

If you write articles and books and have them published, you can earn up to 30 credits in a renewal period.

• Personal development

The maximum number of credits that you can earn using this method in a renewal period is 24.

• Non-verifiable activities

You’re allowed to obtain a maximum of 60 credits per renewal period by completing non-verifiable learning activities. Read the next block to get a clear understanding of verifiable and non-verifiable learning activities.

Illinois CPA CPE Requirements: Verifiable and Non-Verifiable Learning Activities

In Illinois, you can complete two types of learning activities to pursue Illinois CPE: verifiable programs and non-verifiable programs. Let’s what these are and how they impact your CPE.

• Verifiable CPE programs

These programs are offered by CPE providers who’re registered with the IDFPR or NASBA. If you take Illinois CPE courses, you must maintain all your proof of attendance. If the IDFPR needs you to submit proof of attendance, you’re required to send your “Certificates of Attendance” issued by your CPE providers.

There are two methods to verify whether or not a CPE sponsor is registered with the IDFPR or NASBA.

• Use the License Lookup Tool of the IDFPR
• Check NASBA’s National Registry of CPE Sponsors

In Illinois, you get a lot of flexibility when it comes to meeting Illinois CPE requirements for CPA. From Illinois Society CPE programs and programs offered by other sponsors to courses offered by out-of-state CPE providers, you can choose whatever suits you better.

However, if you join an out-of-state provider, it must be approved by the regulatory agency of that particular state. Remember that it’s your responsibility to ensure that the sponsor is registered with the NASBA or IDFPR.

• Non-verifiable CPE programs

Non-verifiable CPE programs refer to programs that have informal or independent learning activities. These activities aren’t approved by a recognized professional or educational sponsor. You’re allowed to obtain a maximum of 60 CPE credits in a renewal period by completing non-verifiable CPE programs.

Note that you’re solely responsible for tracking and maintaining proof of completion for each of the non-verifiable CPE programs you attend.

Illinois CPE Requirements: Details and Credit Limitations for Non-Verifiable CPE Programs

Here’re the things you need to keep in mind if you choose to take non-verifiable CPE programs to pursue Illinois CPE.

Programs Taken From Unapproved Sponsors

As mentioned above, you can obtain up to 60 credits in a renewal period by completing programs offered by unapproved sponsors. Here’re the documents that can serve as proof of completion of these programs.

• Certificate or other verification issued by your program sponsor, or
• Materials of the program
• Course agenda
• Other documents that validate your learning activity

Consultation or Research

These activities refer to consultation with external experts or research on a field of study that you aren’t familiar with or where standards or regulations have been modified. You can obtain a maximum of 10 credits in a renewal period using this method. You aren’t allowed to claim credits for repeat research or consultations in the same field of study where standards or regulations haven’t been substantially modified.

These documents may serve as your proof of completion.

• The source and nature of the activity
• The duration of the learning activity
• Date(s) on which you undertook the learning activity
• Details of the learning activity’s applicability to your present and future professional development
• Copies of meeting minutes, consultation memorandums, or other appropriate documents

Professional Reading

You can obtain a maximum of 10 credits by performing professional readings of published materials. Here’re the documents that may serve as evidence of completion.

• The source and the nature of the activity
• Date(s) on which you completed the activity
• Duration (number of hours) of the learning activity
• Details of how the learning activity is relevant to your present or future professional development
• Copies of meeting minutes, consultation memorandums, or other relevant documents

The INSIGHT magazine is considered one of the ICPAS publications that qualify for CPE credits.

Participation and Work on Technical Committees

If you participate and work on a technical committee of a state, national, or international member organization or association, your learning activity will come under this category. You’re allowed to earn a maximum of 10 credits in a renewal cycle using this method.

Here’re the documents that you can submit as your evidence of completion.

• The source and nature of the learning activity
• The duration of the learning activity
• Date(s) on which you finished the activity
• Copies of meeting minutes, consultation memorandums, or other appropriate documents
• Details of how the learning activity contributes to your present or future professional development

You can obtain CPE credits by participating and working on any of these committees.

• Audit and Assurance Services
• Accounting Principles
• Ethics
• Employee Benefits
• Governmental Report Review
• Governmental Executive
• Peer Review
• Not-for-Profit Organizations
• Taxation Flow-Through Entities
• Taxation Estate, Gift, and Trust
• Taxation Business
• Taxation International
• Taxation Individual
• Taxation State and Local
• Taxation Practice and Procedure

Methods to Calculate CPE Credits When Taking Illinois CPE Courses or Pursuing Other Avenues to Fulfill CPE Requirements

Use these guidelines to calculate your credits when pursuing Illinois CPE.

• Partial credits

You can get half credits after earning your first full credit.

• Self-study programs

As noted above, you’ll receive half credit for completing 50 minutes of a conventional self-study program.

• College/university programs

In this method, you’ll get 10 CPE credits for completing one quarter hour and 15 credits for completing one semester hour.

• Instruction of materials

Your credits will be equal to preparation plus presentation. However, the maximum number of credits for preparation is two times the presentation. You’ll only receive credits for preparing for repeat instruction if the material has undergone significant changes.

Illinois CPA CPE: Waiver of Requirements

You can request for waiver of your Illinois CPE requirements for CPA on the basis of these grounds.

• You were engaged in full-time service in the country’s armed forces during a significant period of time in your pre-renewal period.
• You suffered from an incapacitating medical condition. This needs to be documented by a statement given by a physician with a current license, or
• Other comparable extenuating instances.

Illinois CPA CPE Courses: Acceptable Fields of Study

When pursuing Illinois CPE, make sure that the programs, activities, or courses encompass one or more of these fields of study.

• Accounting (governmental and non-governmental)
• Auditing (governmental and non-governmental)
• Behavioral ethics
• Business management & organization (includes practice development)
• Business law
• Computer software and applications
• Information technology
• Communications and marketing
• Finance
• Economics
• Management services
• Personnel/HR
• Personal development (includes time management, career planning, principle-centered leadership, etc.)
• Specialized knowledge
• Regulatory ethics
• Production
• Taxes
• Statistics

Illinois CPA Society CPE Reciprocity: An Overview

If you hold licenses in multiple states, CPE reciprocity exempts you from fulfilling your Illinois CPA CPE requirements and the CPE requirements of the other states, provided you meet the CPE requirements of your home state.

Note that besides meeting the CPE requirements of your home state, you also need to obtain one credit in sexual harassment prevention to fulfill your Illinois CPE requirements.

Tracking Of CPE Credits in Illinois

Regardless of the method you choose to pursue Illinois CPE, you need to keep track of all your Illinois CPA CPE credits. It’s strongly advisable to keep all your proof of attendance, certificates of completion, and other related documents for at least six years.

In case you get selected for an audit, you need to submit them to the IDFPR to substantiate your compliance with Illinois CPE requirements for CPA.

Why Should You Choose CPEThink.com to Pursue Illinois CPE?

At CPEThink.com, we’re committed to helping CPAs pursue Illinois CPE efficiently and affordably. We offer a number of quality CPE courses, all of which have been developed by our highly experienced authors and instructors, to help you meet your Illinois CPA CPE requirements effectively and enhance your professional competence. By joining us, you’ll be covered by our 100-day, 100% refund policy, which’s simply the best in the industry.

If you want to learn more about how our expert team can help you fulfill your Illinois CPE requirements, contact us today!

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