CPA_Practice_Advisor_November_2020 - 20

THE MILLENNIAL ADVISOR

Cram Session:

40 Days & Nights of CPE, Here We Come
FOR ALL OF us in the accounting profession, December doesn't just mean that the holidays
are around the corner. It means that this is the time to cram a full years' worth of CPE
into 31 days or less. We all know the drill. On December first, let the cramming begin.
Each year, we follow the same
flow. There's a sudden realization
that, to date, we have earned
approximately zero hours of CPE
with forty left to go. Pre-COVID,
earning forty hours meant annual
tax and audit updates, sitting
crammed in the nearest hotel's
conference center with one hundred
other accountants in the same boat.
When we cram like this, we
get caught up in reaching our 40
hours-paying little attention to
what we actually may learn. Instead
of following the spirit of CPE to
enhance and improve ourselves,
we hyper-focus on punching the
ticket of 40 hours quickly as possible.
Compliance for compliance's sake.
The question we need to ask
ourselves as we move into a new
year: Is the old way of doing things
the best use of our time-and are
we really learning anything at all?

YOUTHFUL DISCRETION
This December is an opportunity to
learn something from the millennials and younger generation who do
not view learning as something they
have to do. Growing up in the Information Age, they look at learning as
something valuable, something they
do of their own volition. And if the
instruction is poor or the curriculum
a waste of time, you'll hear about it.
So, now is the time to revisit the
goal of CPE and why we need shift
our annual cram sessions into a new
diet of steady, worthwhile improvements to our knowledge, skills and
abilities.

20

NOVEMBER 2020 ■

THE VALUE OF INTENT
The real goal of annual learning
requirements in our profession
was to ensure that professionals
in our ever-changing industry
invested a certain amount of time
to stay current and sharp. We will
save for another time the history
lesson of how and why 40 hours
was determined. For now, let's focus
on the goal. How can we shift our
focus from our December push
into something more meaningful,
practical-and sane?

CONSTANT LEARNING
Ours is a rapidly changing world. It
necessitates constant learning. We
saw a prime example of this in 2020,
when the CARES act changed things
so swiftly. We could not afford to
wait until December to learn about
these changes and new chances to
help our clients and organizations.
To remain relevant, what makes

sense is to carve out a little bit of
time each week to devote to our
learning and knowledge. For some,
this means digesting something
each day, be that an article, podcast,
video, or webinar. Others prefer to
batch, spending a couple hours
over the weekend to consume new
concepts and knowledge they saw
popping up on their dashboards
during the week. There is no right or
wrong answer. It is about what works
for you-and making it a habit.

SKILLS
Combined with the need to shift
when we learn, we face our need
to change what we learn. We need
to move past purely technical skills
and embrace the learning of soft
skills.
Our industry is pushing us into
being proactive and taking on a
more advisory-level role-even
early in our careers. This makes us

Register for Ensuring Success,
www.EnsuringSuccess.com,
a free online CPE conference Dec. 2-3, 2020,
hosted by CPA Practice Advisor, where
professionals can earn up to 16 hours of
free CPE remotely.
www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

GARRETT WAGNER, CPA

CEO/Founder, C3 Evolution Group
garrett.wagner@cpapracticeadvisor.com

increasingly thirsty for soft skills.
Skills like leadership, communication, motivation, strategic planning,
and teaming-there is no shortage of
demand for accounting professionals who can demonstrate technical
knowledge with interpersonal grace
and fluency.
Think of your shift from learning
only technical skills, into acquiring
soft skills to be like when you first
started in the profession. Your first
tax return was a monstrous challenge, but now you do tax returns
in your sleep. In the beginning,
learning soft skills may be daunting.
But like all new subject matter, as
you grow your understanding of the
fundamentals, continued learning
becomes easier.
As 2020 draws to a close, and
we move into 2021, let's accept
and acknowledge that it is time to
change how we learn and make
this December's cram session our
last one--ever. Shift into constant
learning-treating yourself to higher
quality CPE and a steadier pace by
day or by week. Given the rapid
pace of change, why not kill two
birds with one stone-gaining the
new knowledge and skills you need
to serve your clients, while earning
those 40 hours learning topics that
really matter.
Most importantly, if you want to
stay relevant and forward-looking,
it is time to tack on those soft skills
and become the indispensable
resource your organization so badly
needs. ■
http://www.EnsuringSuccess.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
CPA_Practice_Advisor_November_2020

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