CBA committee outlines plan to modernize CPA continuing education, notes statutory limits

Licensing Chief Michelle Center on May 14 updated the California Board of Accountancy Committee on Professional Conduct on a multi‑phase effort to modernize continuing education requirements for licensed CPAs.

"The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on recent CE work group activities, focus groups, and also provide a high‑level project timeline," Michelle Center said, describing focus groups held with practitioners and CE providers and staff work to prepare a redline draft of regulations to come before the committee in September.

Why it matters: the changes would affect how CPAs earn CE credit — including whether adaptive learning platforms and time‑based credit can be used — and could change subject‑area or hourly requirements only if the Legislature amends current law.

Center told the committee that focus groups found California’s governmental auditing continuing education overlaps with external standards such as the Government Auditing Standards (commonly called the "Yellow Book") and PCAOB requirements. She said the board’s governmental auditing requirements are rooted in statute: Business and Professions Code section 5027, so "any reduction or elimination of these requirements would require legislative action," and therefore those statutory changes are not part of the regulatory package expected in September.

Center explained adaptive learning CE as scenario‑based courses that use branching logic or algorithms so completion time can vary by participant: "If the participant makes decisions at various points in the course and those decisions change what comes next in the course, those are adaptive." She cited a NASBA exposure draft that says adaptive learning technology must reliably detect deviations from expected learning paths or unreasonable completion times before allowing credit to be awarded based on actual completion time.

Committee members pressed staff on how providers would detect inactivity or cheating. Center discussed proctoring tools such as keystroke monitoring that can record whether a user is interacting with the course and said staff would want a means to ensure awarded CE credit "was reasonable and reflective." Members raised cost concerns for smaller firms if providers adopt new platforms; staff noted that automation and AI may lower some production costs but did not supply firm‑level cost estimates.

Public comment came from Jason Fox of the California Society of CPAs, who praised staff work and urged a collaborative approach: "the current regulations are Frankenstein and this is a big step forward," Fox said, applauding the phased approach to regulation and statutory change.

Next steps: staff plan to present draft regulations and a redline version to the committee in September; regulatory changes that require statutory amendment are expected to be considered through a sunset process with the earliest possible implementation date of July 1, 2029 for statutory changes. The committee received the update and entertained questions; no binding policy changes were adopted at the meeting.