DLLR's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing
 

Qualifying Programs - Maryland Board of Public Accountancy
 

Subject matter that qualifies for CPE

Subject matter that qualifies as CPE ensures reasonable knowledge about the current practice of accountancy by certified public accountants to ensure a high standard of practice in the profession. Qualified subject matter can be presented through programs discussing the various specialized areas of the CPA profession. CPE can be earned through the following:

  • Professional development programs
  • Technical sessions of professional societies or chapters
  • College courses
  • Formal, organized, in-firm educational programs of certified public accountancy firms
  • Governmental seminars
  • Seminars or symposiums related to the practice of accountancy

Pertinent Fields of Study

The Board requires each licensee to earn four (4) hours of professional ethics as part of the minimum of 80 hours reported to qualify for license renewal. This is the only subject requirement for CPE. The Board accepts CPE courses in the following 23 fields of study.
 
  • Accounting
  • Accounting (Governmental)
  • Auditing
  • Auditing (Governmental)
  • Administrative Practice
  • Social Environment of Business
  • Regulatory Ethics
  • Business Law
  • Business Management and Organization
  • Finance
  • Management Advisory Services
  • Marketing
  • Behavioral Ethics
  • Communications
  • Personal Development
  • Personnel/HR
  • Computer Science
  • Economics
  • Mathematics
  • Production
  • Specialized Knowledge and Applications
  • Statistics
  • Taxes

Please note: If a component in the above listed fields of study includes regulatory or behavioral ethics subject matter, the hour equivalent that reflects the percentage of time devoted to ethical subject matter must be documented on the sponsoring organization's attendance report or certificate of completion. The Board will not recognize as ethics CPE hours claimed if supporting documentation is not noted on attendance forms or course completion certificates.
 

If a licensee seeks credit for a CPE Program not reasonably matching the subject matter areas listed in CPE Fields of Study, the Board may require the participant to provide evidence that demonstrates how the program in question satisfies the CPE requirements.

CPE for Peer Review

A peer review shall qualify if conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Maryland Public Accountancy Act and relevant COMAR regulations. Only an individual in a firm that receives an unmodified peer review may receive credit. Continuing professional education credit can only be awarded to an individual who participates as a member of the engagement personnel in attendance at the exit conference for the peer review. The peer reviewer shall allocate a maximum of - 12 hours for an engagement review; and 16 hours for a system review.

CPE for published works

Licensees can earn CPE for authoring a published work in any of the 23 fields of study. A licensee receives 10 CPE hours for each published article. There is no limit to the number of published articles reported for CPE. A licensee may request that the Board award more than 10 CPE hours for an article by submitting the published work for review. Published works are considered the same as participation in classroom or seminar instruction.

CPE credit for seminar, college or university instruction.

Licensees can earn CPE credit for teaching subjects within the 23 fields of study. At this time instructors may earn credit for course preparation time as well as presentation time. The earning rate is three (3) hours of CPE for each teaching hour. Example: two (2) hours for preparation time and one (1) hour for teaching. The CPE earnings rate for teaching a college or a university course is 15 hours for each semester hour credit and 10 hours for each quarter hour credit. The maximum CPE that can be earned during each license period for instruction is 45 hours.
 

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Questions or comments regarding the Board of Public Accountancy may be directed to cpa@dllr.state.md.us.
Questions or comments regarding the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing may be directed to op@dllr.state.md.us.
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Updated May 8, 2012