CPE Requirements for Minnesota CPAs

Required CPE credits

Reporting period. A reporting year is July 1 - June 30.
Credits required. 120 credits are required over a 3-year period with a minimum of 20 credits in each reporting year.
Ethics. You must report 8 credits of accounting or business ethics in every 3-year reporting period.
Exceptions to the rules are allowed for hardship. A letter must be sent to the Minnesota Board of Accountancy prior to the June 30 deadline requesting a waiver due to hardship. Cases of military service and illness have been considered in the past; however, each case is decided individually.

Self-study. No more than 96 hours can be from self-study. All self-study must have QAS status.
Personal development. No more than 24 hours can be obtained from personal development programs. Personal development includes: communications, managing the group process, dealing effectively with others, interviewing, counseling, and career planning.
Teaching. No more than 60 hours can be obtained from instructor preparation or presentation.
Writing. No more than 60 hours can be obtained from the writing of articles, books or CPE courses for publication.
Non-Board approved sponsors. Up to 48 hours may come from sponsors not on the Board-approved list. These programs must contribute to the growth of professional knowledge and competence of the licensee. Programs must generally comply with the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education approved by NASBA and the AICPA.
Carry forward and back. Carry forward of CPE credits is not allowed. Carry back is allowed provided that required fees are paid.

Beginning for year ending June 30, 2007, these sponsors are Board approved:

MNCPA
AICPA and MAPA
Colleges and universities whose academic programs qualify an applicant to sit for the CPA exam
CPA firms who have had a system-level peer review within the last 3 years, with an unmodified report received
Office of the State Auditor or Legislative Auditor provided that a quality review has been completed within the past 3 years and an unmodified report received
Members of the NASBA Registry of CPE Sponsors