The excellent year-round weather, country music, delicious food, and beautiful outdoors have convinced a lot of people to pack up and move to the great state of Tennessee. Many cities within Tennessee are growing rapidly, including Nashville which is ranked one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. With population growth comes business expansion and high demand for accounting professionals. Whenever you relocate, the last thing you want to worry about is the new continuing education requirements. In this post, we’ll take a look at the CPE requirements for a certified public accountant in Tennessee.

General CPE Requirements
The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy rules for CPE call for CPAs to obtain 80 credit hours of continuing professional education every two years with a minimum requirement of 20 hours each year. CPAs with an even-numbered license report their credits and renew their license during even-numbered years and those with an odd-numbered license renew during odd-numbered years. The reporting period is based on the calendar year, starting on January 1st and ending on December 31st.  

The Tennessee Board of Accounting lays out restrictions on the type of CPE credits CPAs can obtain for the 80 hour requirement. The following limitations are in place:
*Up to 50% of the credit hours can be earned from instructing.
*Up to 20% of the hours can be from reading professional journals and any follow up exams or tests based on that reading.  
*For publishing an article or educational piece, a copy of the publication must be made available to the board if CPE records are audited. The maximum credits allowed for publishing is 50% of the 80 hours.   

For more information about the CPE rules in the State of Tennessee, please see: https://www.tn.gov/commerce/article/accountancy-continuing-education

Subject Requirements
*At least 40 of the credit hours must be in a technical field which is defined as the following subject areas: Accounting and Auditing, Tax, Management Advisory Services, and Ethics.
*If performing attestation services, at least 20 of the 40 technical hours must be in the Accounting and Auditing subject area.  
*Two hours of state specific ethics must be earned every two years.

Other Board Policies
The Tennessee Board of Accountancy will only accept continuing education credits from NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) sponsored providers or providers directly sponsored by the Board. Accredited universities and colleges as well as governmental entities issuing credit may also be accepted. The Board does accept “carry-over” hours but only up to 24 hours for each two-year reporting period. The carry-over hours cannot count toward the 40 technical subject hours required for each reporting period or the minimum of 20 hours required each year.

Finding High Quality CPE
When it comes time to find top quality CPE that will meet the Tennessee Board requirements, look no further than Encoursa. We partner with the top thought leaders in the industry to bring you CPE courses that will not only ensure you meet your continuing education requirements, but also help you advance in your career.