COVID-19 Highlights Advances in Online Learning Opportunities

July 29, 2020

An Ignite Blog by:

Danielle Hologram, CAE

KSCPA Sr. Director of Membership and Career Development

While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many large venues to close their doors, preventing in-person training and conferences, it has not eliminated opportunities to expand your professional knowledge and assure your lifelong career development. Rather, it’s moved online.

For 2020, the Kansas Society of CPAs has transitioned to online conferences, webcasts, and training to assure members stay current in their professions.

“KSCPA’s dedication to being future-ready and our ability to pivot quickly to accommodate members’ changing needs has come in handy, as we were already setup to provide our learning in a virtual format,” said Natasha Schamberger, CEO & President for the Kansas Society of CPAs.

As licensed CPAs, you are expected to maintain your licensure through continuing professional education. The KSCPA can be your intellectual resource, providing you, timely, trusted learning opportunities.

As you work through your CPE this year and into the future, here are things you may find surprising about the current state of online learning:

It’s relevant

The KSCPA is curating our roster of speakers and presentation topics to create exciting and interesting agendas. In addition, our presenters are tailoring and customizing their content to meet your interests and educational needs in ways that work best in a virtual environment. The flexibility of online learning offers CPAs a way to gain the skills they are looking for, tailored to their needs.

The KSCPA Learning Hub offers a one-stop-shop for all your learning needs. Get direct access and save time by filtering through CPE options from the KSCPA and various other providers, including AICPA, Surgent McCoy, and CPA Crossings.

Learning offerings are available in a wide variety of subjects. Top offerings in the technical, leadership, innovation, and industry categories are highlighted in the graphic below.

These are just a sample of the offerings available through the KSCPA. The KSCPA Learning Hub allows you to sort by field of study to find exactly what you need. Check out the Learning Hub for additional learning opportunities.

It’s timely

The online environment allows presenters to quickly deliver timely information and insights about pressing matters. The pandemic has caused many CPE accrediting organizations, including the KSCPA, to expand their online offerings and virtual conferences.

To keep members informed about breaking issues, the KSCPA hosted a virtual lunch on the CARES Act and offers a variety of webcasts on business continuity duringthese challenging times including sessions on effective business communications, recession preparedness for business, looking ahead to predict future financial issues and their impact on the accounting profession.

Also, online learning is a great opportunity to build skills that will help position you for success in the future.

It’s interactive

Presenters are using real-time polling questions and chat tools to gauge your thoughts, perspectives, and comprehension. They’re using games to foster attendee interaction and participation. The KSCPA is encouraging virtual attendees to have a little fun during conferences by providing lunch trivia and uplifting imagery and music.

Many conference apps and event platforms now allow you to connect and chat with other attendees virtually and to promote ideas and information on social media channels.

It’s more than just a screen

Presenters are augmenting their online presentations with worksheets and other materials. Some are complementing presentations with podcasts. Others are taking things outdoors, holding audio-only presentations, and encouraging participants to take a walk as they listen.

This not only makes sessions more interesting; it aids learning.

It’s convenient

Perhaps the best part of online education and events is that you can participate from the comfort of your home. The KSCPA makes it easy to keep track of all your learning hours in one place with the KSCPA Education Tracker. All KSCPA sponsored programs (including leadership events) are automatically included. Plus, you can add programs sponsored by other organizations. The Education Tracker makes it easy to keep track of your CPE hours for meeting your renewal requirements.

Need more CPE? The KSCPA is making all of its 2020 conferences available as on-demand offerings. Attend the conference at your leisure, watching all at once or digesting the conference over several days. Attending an on-demand conference is easy as 1-2-3: 1. Register for the on-demand conference 2. Watch at your convenience 3. Submit your keywords and earn CPE.

As we continue to navigate these unchartered waters, the KSCPA is your resource to meet all your continuing education needs. Help us meet your CPE needs by replying to this blog to let us know the topics that are important to you.