Minnesota Board of Accountancy CPE Requirements

• CPE requirements summary
  • Required credits
  • Credit limitations
  • Approved sponsors
• Transition provision for rules changes
• CPE records and certificate renewal

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 the 3-year period ending June 30, 2006, and thereafter.
• 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.

CPE credit limitations
(Effective for year ending June 30, 2007)

• Self-study. No more than 80% of the required credits can be from self-study. All self-study must have QAS status.
• Personal development. No more than 24 credits 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 50% of the credits can be obtained from instructor preparation or presentation.
• Writing. No more than 50% of the credits can be obtained from the writing of articles, books or CPE courses for publication.
• Non-Board approved sponsors. Up to 40% of CPE credits 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 of Standards for Continuing Professional Education (PDF) 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.

CPE sponsors on Board-approved list

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

Minnesota Board of Accountancy links

• Minnesota Board of Accountancy
• CPE statutes

In October of 2005, the Minnesota Board of Accountancy adopted rule changes that affected CPE reporting requirements. Because the new rules will not be in full effect until the year ending June 30, 2007, the Board created the following transition provisions regarding the number of credits which must be from Board-approved or NASBA registry sponsors.

(1)  Approved sponsors. Hours reported for the year ended June 30, 2005 are required to be 100% from one of the following approved sponsors:

• Members of the NASBA Registry of CPE Sponsors, and in the case of self-study programs, members of NASBA's Quality Assurance Service (QAS)
• MNCPA
• AICPA and MAPA
• Office of the Legislative Auditor or State Auditor for their own employees
• CPA firms for their employees or licensees for their own employees
• Colleges and universities whose academic programs qualify an applicant to sit for the CPA exam
• Programs that were specifically approved by the BOA on a request basis

(2) Cautions. Self-study hours must be obtained on a 100% basis from NASBA's Registry of QAS sponsors for the year ending June 30, 2006. 

For non-self-study, a maximum of 32 hours of group live CPE hours can be taken from any sponsor as long as the program contributes to the licensee's professional knowledge and professional competence. The program should generally comply with the CPE standards approved by NASBA and AICPA.

For the 3-year period ending June 30, 2007, and thereafter, the aggregate hours from sponsors other than the Board-approved sponsors cannot exceed 40% of the required 120 hours.

Renewal of active certificates

Certificate renewals are filed by December 31 of each year with the Minnesota Board of Accountancy.

Renewing your active status
When renewing your active status, you must include in your application a signed statement indicating you've met the CPE requirements and the number of CPE hours claimed for each of the three preceding years ending June 30.

Supporting documentation
You must retain supporting documentation for a minimum of 5 years.

Documentation required from Registry and other approved CPE sponsors

• Name and contact information of program sponsor
• Title of program
• Date(s) of program
• Location if applicable
• Number of CPE credits

Documentation required from non-Board approved sponsors
Documentation kept by the licensee for programs that fall within the "40%" category must consist of:

• A certificate of attendance indicating:
  • Name and contact information of the sponsor
  • Title and description of the content
  • Date of the program
  • Location
  • Number of CPE hours that the licensee attended
• A copy of the detailed, timed agenda
• A biography of the program developer and program presenter
• A statement by the licensee describing how the program contributes to the licensee's professional knowledge and professional competence.

Inactive certificates

CPAs, inactive, may convert to active status by completing the 120-hour CPE requirement as described above for CPAs with active certificates. The 20-hour minimum per year does not apply.

CPAs who choose to continue using the CPA, inactive, designation need to annually renew with the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy, but do not have continuing professional education requirements.

Nonresidents

Nonresident licensees seeking active renewal in Minnesota meet Minnesota's CPE requirements by meeting the CPE requirements for renewal in the state in which their principal office is located.

Nonresident licensees whose principal office state has no CPE requirements for renewal must comply with all CPE requirements for renewal in Minnesota.

Summary of CPE program standards
Review program requirements for a CPE course to qualify for the NASBA registry. The Board accepts non-Registry programs if they substantially meet these standards.

MNCPA resources

CPE rules quick reference card (PDF)
This handy reference card details CPE requirements for active Minnesota certificates. Dated November 2006.

Never lose track of your CPE again
What CPE did you take? When? Where? Track your credits in your personal CPE log. It's a free, easy-to-use tool for MNCPA members only.

Frequently asked questions about BOA rules
Get answers to common questions on CPE credits, QAS, MNCPA seminar and conference attendance and more.