Free CPE, built by people who do the work

Our story

CPE Society started the way a lot of good things do — with a group of frustrated CPAs venting over coffee.

We're practicing accountants — tax preparers, auditors, advisors, and a few who moved into industry. Every year we hit the same wall at renewal time: continuing education that cost hundreds of dollars, ate whole weekends, and taught us surprisingly little. Slide decks read aloud. “Updates” that were three years old. Ethics courses that felt like a formality. We were paying real money to be bored.

One of us pointed out something obvious: in almost every other profession, quality education is free to the professional and funded by sponsors — the medical journals, the legal seminars, the financial press all work this way. So why were CPAs still writing checks for mediocre CPE?

So we built the thing we wished existed. We reached into our own networks of sharp practitioners — the people who actually prepare the returns, run the audits, and advise the clients — and asked them to teach what they know, live. We handle the logistics, the registration, and the CPE certificates. Firms that want to reach CPAs sponsor sessions (always clearly labeled), which keeps every webinar free for you.

That was the whole idea, and it still is: get genuinely useful CPE in front of CPAs, taught by people who do the work, at no cost. Today tens of thousands of CPAs across the country learn with us — and we're just getting started.

What we stand for

• ✓Practitioner-led. Every session is taught by someone who does the work — not a professional course-reader. You get judgment and nuance, not a script.
• ✓Genuinely free. Free isn't a trial or a teaser. Our webinars are free because sponsors fund them — clearly disclosed — so we never charge the CPA.
• ✓No fluff. We only run sessions worth your hours. If a topic won't make you better at your job, we don't schedule it.

Why free, really?

Because the best way to earn a professional's trust is to be genuinely helpful first. We'd rather build a relationship with you than sell you a course. Sponsors — companies that want to reach CPAs — cover the cost of the sessions they support, always clearly labeled. That keeps the lights on without ever charging you a cent.