Continuing Education (#195)
/In this podcast episode, we discuss how to pick continuing professional education courses, and the types of books that practicing accountants should read. Key points made are noted below.
The Accounting Refresher Course
For a refresher on accounting basics, try a college textbook on basic accounting, working through the questions at the end of each chapter. Textbooks are very expensive, so buy one that is one or two editions out-of-date. These older versions are fine for introductory-level accounting, since the accounting at this level does not change much. This may not work for intermediate or advanced-level textbooks, which contain more cutting-edge topics that tend to change more frequently.
Continuing Professional Education Tips
If you are a practicing accountant and just want updates on the most recent accounting changes, take a continuing professional education (CPE) course on the specific topic you need. Before doing so, check with the course provider regarding when it was last updated.
A really large CPE course likely covers many topics at an average level of detail, while a short course covers a small topic in more detail.
Stay away from the low-priced CPE websites, which do a poor job of formatting the courses they are sent by their authors. The more expensive providers do a much better job of editing and formatting the courses.
Look for CPE distributors that curate what they offer. This means that they regularly drop courses that contain older information, and replace them with fresh material. Lesser websites are more likely to offer many courses that approximately cover the same subject.
Accounting Book Tips
The publishers of accounting books may keep them in circulation for a decade or more, so the books can be seriously out-of-date. This means checking the publication date before you buy a book. Even then, the author of a new edition may not have revised information that has gone out-of-date.
Generally look for practical accounting information, rather than theoretical, until you have mastered your job. This means starting at the general level and then working down through more specific topics in greater detail (that is perhaps more industry-specific).
Industry-specific books are easier to find for a large industry, where there are many people working there. This is not the case for a smaller industry, where the potential audience is much smaller.