Keeping pace with the ever-changing rules, regulations, and technology of the accounting industry can be a daunting task. Doing it without any support from your company’s finance leadership seems downright impossible.

In a new survey of 2,200 U.S. CFOs, Robert Half found that only 26% of companies support employees fulfilling their CPE (continuing professional education) requirements during business hours while 24% of the companies said their support depends on the employee and their track record. Half of the respondents said they either do not support employees taking CPE courses during the workday or generally don’t but make some exceptions.

Investing in and encouraging employees to pursue continuing education leads to substantial benefits for companies. Employees who are trained on the most up-to-date technical accounting standards and regulations will make fewer reporting mistakes.  The nature of which can be damaging to a company’s reputation and can cost millions of dollars to remediate.

Many CPE courses also offer employees opportunities for professional development. This type of training may focus on process improvement or best practices which may lead to better efficiencies and produce a finance team rooted in innovation.

Continuing education can also be leveraged to cultivate leadership skills to help advance employees toward promotions within their organization. A study performed by Matthew Bidwell from Wharton University found that employees who are promoted internally have much higher performance metrics than those hired externally into similar roles. Internally developed leaders experience lower rates of voluntary and involuntary turnover. Employees who feel empowered to leverage education to grow within an organization stick around much longer than those who don’t.

From a hiring perspective, companies who are vocal about supporting their employee’s pursuit of CPE are in a great position to attract top talent. In a competitive hiring market, candidates are looking for benefits beyond just the salary. The full support of employee continuing education can be an attractive perk to desirable candidates.

Companies who embrace employee CPE will see immediate tangible returns while investing wisely for the future. Does your organization acknowledge these benefits and support employees on their path toward continuing professional education?

Sources: 
Robert Half Study
Matthew Bidwell Study