CPE requirements: A comparison

Notice to all members of the SEC Practice Session: Participate in at least 120 hours every three years and at least 20 hours of CPE every year. Professionals who devote at least 25 percent of their time to performing audit, review or other attest engagements (excluding compilations), or who have the partner / manager-level responsibility for the overall supervision or review of any such engagements, must obtain at least 40 percent (eight hours in any one year and 48 hours every three years) of their required CPE in subjects relating to accounting and auditing. The term accounting and auditing subjects should be broadly interpreted, and for example, include subjects relating to the business or economic environments of the entities to which the professional is assigned.

	Maryland State Board	MACPA	AICPA	Yellow Book
Reporting period	Individual reporting deadlines as assigned.	None.	Begins fiscal year after joining the AICPA.	Two-year reporting period (see standards for dates).
Requirements	80 hours every 2 years No annual minimum At least four hours of CPE every two years must be devoted to ethics training.	None.	For each three-year reporting period, all members shall complete 120 hours (or its equivalent) of CPE. Retired and unemployed members and members who have temporarily left the workplace are exempt from CPE. Members who place their license / certificate on inactive status with their state board of accountancy AND do not hold themselves out as CPAs are exempt from the AICPA's CPE requirement as long as their state board does not require CPE while on inactive status. Click here for more information.	80 hours every 2 years. 24 out of the 80 hours must be in subjects related to the government environment, government auditing, or the specific/unique environment in which the audited entity operates.
Limitations	A maximum of 80 hours may be carried over to the next succeeding licensing period. No more than 40 hours of the requirement may be met through non-interactive self-study and teaching; or, no more than 60 hours may be met through non-interactive self-study and teaching and an additional 20 hours of interactive self-study. Click here for more info.	None.	The AICPA does not allow carry-forward credits.	20 hours per year minimum.

Note: CPE credit for classroom time of 50 - 60 minutes constitutes "one hour." Classroom time under 50 minutes does not qualify.

Pennsylvania Sponsorship Program

The Maryland State Board of Accountancy does not require sponsorships with other State Associations. Programs presented by other organizations that meet the subject matter and format requirements set by the Maryland State Board are accepted for CPE credit. Therefore, we are not required to register as a sponsor with other states.

Recently, it was brought to our attention that the Pennsylvania State Board will only consider granting CPE credit from organizations that are either NASBA-approved or Sponsors with the Pennsylvania State Board. Therefore, we agreed to maintain a sponsorship granted to us from the state of Pennsylvania. Our sponsorship information is as follows:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of State
Bureau of Professional Occupational Affairs
License Number: PX177093

If you have questions, please contact our Professional Development Manager at (410) 296-6250 or (800) 782-2036 or pdmanager@macpa.org.