Pub. 2 2020 Issue 6

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 8 nebraska cpas CPE IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC S TAT E B O A R D R E P O R T BY HEATHER MYERS, NEBRASKA BOARD OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY Heather Myers coordinates the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy’s CPE program on behalf of the State Board’s CPE Committee. She has been employed by the State Board for eight years. You may contact her with your CPE requirement questions at heather.myers@nebraska.gov. 2020 continues to be an unprecedented year with more changes than anyone ever expected. The Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy has beenmonitoring the outbreak of COVID-19 and its impact since it began in March 2020. The State Board has been committed to maintaining operations throughout this time and being available to licensees, firms, exam candidates, and the public. The office has been operating on the State Board’s Partial Contingency Plan, which means the office is manned by one staff member while other staff are working remotely from home. All staff members remain available through phone and email services. Given the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, CPAs are now performing many of their responsibilities to clients in a virtual manner. These professionals continue to seek out relevant, quality education on a variety of technical and non-technical topics. Event facilities and travel restrictions have forced conferences to be cancelled and postponed, causing an increasing demand for virtual learning events. The State Board has provided some f lexibility for sponsors during this period of time when group live learning is not possible. Flexibilities and recommendations have been made and continue to be made for courses that were scheduled to be held in a formal setting but were changed to be held via Zoom or other online delivery methods. The Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy understands that COVID-19 has greatly changed how you are completing your CPE and wants to ensure you are aware of the following: 1. The CPE Reporting period remains unchanged. Active permit holders must complete 80 hours of CPE (including four hours of ethics) within the two calendar years prior to renewal if they wish to renew as Active. 2. CPE must be earned by December 31 of the year prior to renewal and must be reported by January 31 of your renewal year. 3. If after searching for available CPE options you are unable to complete your CPE by December 31, 2020, you may submit an email request for a CPE extension to Heather Myers. Any individual who requests a CPE extension must use the paper CPE Reporting form when submitting their CPE and will be required to undergo an audit of their CPE. Please be sure to exhaust all other CPE options available to you before submitting a CPE extension request. 4. If you are having issues earning your CPE due to COVID-19, you can email heather.myers@nebraska.gov to discuss your circumstances. We remain diligent as we adhere to the COVID-19 workplace guidelines provided by the state of Nebraska and will communicate any changes that affect our candidates and registrants. As always, please contact the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy at (402) 471-3595 should you have any questions or concerns. t