CPE Policies

What are the CPE Requirements for South Carolina?

Regulation 1-08(A)(2) states that each person to whom the CPE requirement applies shall complete forty credit hours of acceptable CPE each calendar year as a condition of obtaining a renewal license.

  • Personal Development: This category of CPE is no longer restricted to 8 hours.
  • Self-Study Limitation: The cap on CPE hours earned via self-study has been lifted. However, all self-study CPE must be registered with NASBA’s Quality Assurance Services (QAS).
  • Carryover Limitation: Licensees with more than 40 hours of CPE in a year can carry forward up to 20 hours to the next year. For CPA Retired licensees under 40-2-275, the carryover is up to 10 hours.
  • Daily Limitation: The daily maximum CPE hours that can be earned has been raised from 10 to 12 hours.
  • Annual Ethics Requirement: Carried-over CPE hours cannot be used to meet the yearly 2-hour ethics requirement. This ethics requirement also applies to CPA Retired licensees. To meet the ethics requirement, no less than 2 of the annual 40 credit hours must relate to ethics. In June 2022, the SC Board of Accountancy voted to no longer require the SC-specific ethics course. Licensees may meet the annual ethics requirement by choosing any behavioral ethics or regulatory ethics course that satisfies the requirements of Regulation 1-08.
  • Nano-Learning Limitation: The limit for Nano-Learning CPE hours has been increased to 4.
  • Display of Certificate: Licensees with inactive licenses for any reason must refrain from publicly displaying their certificates, as per Regulation 1-07. However, physically returning the certificate to the Board is no longer mandatory.
  • CPE Increment: After the initial CPE hour, credit is counted in 0.2-hour increments for every 10 minutes of instruction.

More information about South Carolina CPE requirements can be found at the South Carolina Board of Accountancy website.

Are you also a CFP? CFPs must complete 30 hours of continuing education (CE) each reporting period: 2 hours of CFP Board-approved Ethics CE and 28 hours of CE covering 1 or more of the CFP Board’s Principal Topics. Get more information regarding the CFP requirements.

Disclaimer

The information and suggestions presented at the classes, seminars, and conferences sponsored by the South Carolina Association of CPAs are subject to constant change and, therefore, should serve only as a foundation for further investigation and study. Further, any forms presented at such classes, seminars or conferences are samples only and are not necessarily authoritative. All information, procedures and forms contained or used in such classes, seminars or conferences should be very carefully reviewed and should serve only as a guide for use in specific situations. The opinions expressed by discussion leaders and discussion panelists are those of such discussion leaders and discussion panelists and are not necessarily those of the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Cancellation Policy

Member service is our top priority. We understand that life happens, and things change. We will work with you to process changes to your registration when at all possible. Please contact the SCACPA office at 803.791.4181 or membership@scacpa.org to cancel your registration. You will receive confirmation of your requested change via email or phone within one business day. If you do not, it is your responsibility to verify the office received the request. There is no cancellation fee for members. Non-members may incur a cancellation fee based on course offering type (live-stream vs. in-person) and lead time provided.

To request cancellation, please contact us by phone at 803.791.4181 or email membership@scacpa.org.

Special Needs/Questions

SCACPA will do our best to accommodate any needs you may have. Please contact us two weeks or more prior to the event to discuss any needs you may have. For events held at facilities such as hotels, it is difficult for us to control room temperatures. To ensure your comfort, please bring a light jacket or sweater.

If you have questions about an event or would like to discuss various planning options please contact the education team at 803.791.4181 or cpe@scacpa.org.

Consent of Use

Attendance at or participation in any SCACPA constitutes an agreement that any photographs, video, audio, or other visual or audio reproduction obtained during the event can be used for promotion, including Internet and website use. SCACPA is released from any liability connected with the use of event pictures or voices.

No-Show Policy

A registrant who does not attend a program is considered a no-show and forfeits their course materials.  To avoid being a no-show, please follow the cancellation guidelines before the program date.

If a registrant does not attend an in-person program, they will be charged a no-show fee to cover expenses incurred by the Association. (as of August 4, 2022)

Cell Phone Policy

As a professional courtesy, please switch all cell phones to silent mode while attending any SCACPA-sponsored program.

Late Arrival Policy

Your seat will be held for 30 minutes after the event begins. If you have not notified SCACPA within that time that you are still going to attend, your seat may be given to another individual who is present and wishes to register for the class. If you arrive later, you may attend the class (space permitting).

Smoking Policy

All SCACPA events are non-smoking, whether they are held at the SCACPA office or off-site.

eMaterials Terms & Conditions

  • Materials are copyrighted and permission to download and/or print is granted to the paid participant of the event exclusively.
  • Materials will not be provided to you at the event, unless when offered printed materials have been purchased in advance.
  • If you choose to bring your laptop/eReader to the event, SCACPA cannot guarantee internet access. We recommend you download the eMaterials to your device in advance.
  • A charging station will be available for access to electrical power.
  • Once the materials are uploaded to the SCACPA website, refunds and cancellations are no longer granted.

Distribution of Materials

Materials prepared by SCACPA or our vendors are designed specifically for use at the program and are available only to participants. The materials, or portions thereof, are not available for sale to individuals or institutions and may not be reproduced.

Unless otherwise noted, materials for all courses and conferences will be provided electronically three business days prior to the program date. Registrants will have access to the course materials on the SCACPA website.

Course Program Cancellations

SCACPA reserves the right to cancel programs due to lack of enrollment, inclement weather, speaker availability, or any other unforeseen circumstances. In these situations, a full refund for those registered for the program will be issued to non-members who had paid for the event.

Government Vouchers

For non-SCACPA members, government vouchers will be accepted if a complete registration form with a purchase order number and signature is received in our office before the course date. A credit card number is required to reserve your space when registering with a government voucher. If payment is not received within 30 days, the credit card will be charged.

Complaint Resolution

Complaints about the course content and presentation should be addressed on the electronic evaluation survey that is sent to each registrant on the day of the course.  All other complaints, including those about administrators or discussion leaders, should be sent to COO/CFO Jacque Curtin, by email at jcurtin@scacpa.org or speak to the SCACPA staff onsite.

Responsibility Waiver

The South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants is not liable for losses incurred through cancellations or changes in air or hotel reservations for whatever reason, including cancellation of programs. SCACPA recommends postponing air travel until sufficient registrations are received to ensure a particular program will be held as scheduled.