Since the start of All-Inclusive Membership, SCACPA has worked hard to make sure our CPE offerings meet the needs of South Carolina CPAs. That means we schedule the courses you ask for, find the high-quality instructors who bring the topics to life, and deliver it for your convenience in locations around the state or via online livestream.

The goal being: We want SCACPA members to know our CPE favors competency of subject matter over compliance of taking mandated hours before annual deadlines.

A great example that his strategy is working came when we received this email from a SCACPA member who makes auditing our livestream part of her workday.

THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU

I just love being able to audit the livestream classes.  I have learned so much from just having them on in the background while I work.

This note came from Sheri Saunders, CPA, (SCACPA member since 2006) of Saunders O’Dell PA in Simpsonville.

We reached out to Sheri to hear more about her story, and to demonstrate to other CPAs that just because you’re not enrolled in a course for CPE credit doesn’t mean you can’t monitor it online at https://www.scacpa.org/classroom and learn important tips.

SCACPA: What made you start keeping track of SCACPA livestreams even for courses when you’re not registered for CPE Credit?

SHERI: “It was at the Fall Fest Accounting Conference when I asked SCACPA CEO Chris Jenkins how to audit the livestream classes. I prefer to attend in-person classes. To be honest, I can’t say I would use my 40-hour CPE Bank for livestream classes, it’s too hard to not get interrupted in the office.”

“The Spring Splash will only be in Greenville every other year, so for the odd-numbered years when it will be held in Charleston, I thought that I would go to the two-day Clemson Tax School classes closer to me. I wanted to see what this class was like before I committed – sort of a “try before you buy” approach. Once Chris explained to me what I needed to do, I started going online for all the livestream classes and just put them on in the background all day while I work.

“During the Clemson Tax School livestream, I walked back into my office and just heard the end of a topic in one particular area of tax. This was something I hadn’t thought about and it made me to do a lot more research. As much as we have taken classes and tried to learn as much as possible about the new tax law, this was something that I hadn’t even considered. That’s when I wrote my follow-up email to Chris to tell him how much I appreciated that these livestream classes were available.”

SCACPA: Tell us about your field, and how do the livestreams help you with your specialty?

SHERI: “I am one of six CPAs in a small family firm. We usually share what we learn at Continuing Ed, but in an eight-hour class you are given so much information that little tidbits get lost. With the livestream, I can walk next door and ask a colleague what they think about something I just heard. If a topic strikes me as important, we can discuss it right then. In most small firms, a CPA has to be versed in all aspects of tax, accounting and financial statements, so the variety of the livestream listening while I work lets me catch things that are of interest to me – even though I might not want a full eight hours of a subject.”

SCACPA: How do you pick which courses to take?

SHERI: “I use the SCACPA website to pull up the livestream classes, and then if I’m going to be in the office, I will start the stream. I pick my classes by topic, but I love the classes that cover multiple fields with different instructors during the day to keep my attention and get a variety of information. So far I’ve been doing this for about a month, and I have not been bored to where I’d turn it off.”

SCACPA: What are some classes and speakers that have stood out?

SHERI: “A class I listened to this month titled Compilation & Review had a speaker (James Myers) who was engaging, intelligent and kept me listening – even though I usually glaze over when someone mentions SSARS. Another CPA in the office was listening to the same livestream for credit, and I went down to their office at one point and said, ‘Did you hear that? This guy is good.’

“In fact, yesterday I watched a livestream of the South Carolina Tax Team class from Columbia, which I had attended in-person a month earlier in Greenville. The tweaks put in by the speakers made it better, so even watching a class that I had already been to was beneficial.

“I am so thankful for the livestream and the little things I’m learning that make me better at doing my job.”

SCACPA: How does SCACPA CPE compare to online CPE from other vendors?

SHERI: “I do one-hour, one-topic CPE classes from another vendor. I pick these by topics that I’m interested in – mostly sales tax (the different state laws intrigue me) and new apps or computer programs that I feel I might need to know about. These are good in that they are quick and allow me to see if I’m interested in a topic. The CPE participation questions are all trying to get you to allow them to contact you. It’s sponsored by businesses that want to get CPAs to partner with them.”

ARE YOU NEW TO THE SCACPA LIVESTREAM CLASSROOM? THERE’S A TUTORIAL FOR THAT

In fact, it’s posted at the top of this page. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself before your first course, it’s designed to take away the frustrations we hear from people calling in as a class starts and the technology isn’t working in the way you thought it would.