How to earn free CPE credits from CPA firms
All of the world’s biggest CPA firms offer free CPE credits to CPAs via live webinars. These webinars are completely free and are one of the best ways to earn free CPE credits.
Most webcasts are an hour-long but occasionally some will be offered for 1.5 hours and 2 hours. Rarely are there any webinars over two hours long, but there are a few.
The CPAs from the firms are experts in their respective fields and offer webinars that are relevant to today’s CPAs. Soon after the 2018 Tax Cut and Job Act (TCJA) was passed, every CPA firm presented multiple webinars to explain the tax reform and the impact it would have to individuals, businesses and industries. There have been dozens of tax reform webinars so far this year. Cyber Security and Automation are also popular topics.
The webinars are completely free but you must register prior to the start of the webinar and complete the minimum webinar requirements in order to receive your CPE certificate. Each CPA firm differs on the process of earning CPE credits.
Deloitte
Register with Dbriefs using your email address or choose from one of your social accounts. After you have registered for your first Deloitte CPE webinar, you only need to enter your email address to be quickly registered for future webinars.
There isn’t a dial-in number. All webcasts audio is streamed over your computer and there is no limit to the number of viewers.
Only live webinars are eligible for free CPE credits.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
At any point during the webcast, click the “Request CPE credit” link at the bottom of the webcast screen to see your eligibility for CPE credit. If you have not met the minimum requirements, you will be told to try again later. Participants will also receive the CPE certificate within 24 hours via email at the email address used to register for the webcast.
Multiple people can view a webinar at the same time and receive credit. Click on the “Request CPE credit” link to get a form with space for multiple names and email addresses to be submitted. You can include information for up to 20 co-viewers in this form. If there were additional viewers requesting credit, CPE certificates will be delivered within 24 hours to those email addresses as well.
PWC
PWC offers free CPE credits for live webinars and archived on-demand webinars. You cannot get CPE credits for watching both the live webinar and the archived webinar for the same event.
Participants will need to log on from their individual computers to receive CPE credits and free CPE credits can only be given to individuals who remain logged into the LIVE webcast and respond to the polling questions provided during the webcast. If you are viewing this webcast in a group, everyone in the group can receive CPE credits. Also, those who dial in via telephone are NOT eligible for CPE credits.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
You are able to instantly download the CPE certificate at the conclusion of the live webinar. Self-study CPE credits will be available after successfully completing a final examination with a minimum-passing grade of at least 70 percent.
KPMG
You only need to enter First name, Last name and E-mail address to register for KPMG CPE webcasts. You will receive an email with a link to Attend Webcast and an Add to Calendar link to add the event to your calendar.
Disable any pop-up blocking software on your computer and have ‘cookies’ enabled on your browser to be able to respond to polling questions. To qualify for CPE credit, a minimum of 3 questions per 50 minutes must be answered. For 1.5 credit events, participants must answer at least 5 questions and participate for a minimum of 75 minutes to receive credit.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
CPE will be issued directly via email to all qualified participants. Please allow several weeks for CPE processing and certificate notification.
EY
The first time you register for any of the EY CPE webcasts, you will be required to enter all of your personal information. Subsequent webcasts will only require your email address and password.
Free CPE credits are only offered for live webcasts.
You must accumulate at least 50 minutes of viewing time to be eligible to receive 1 CPE credit. Time waiting prior to the start of the webcast does not qualify.
EY uses two types of polls to track participation. Pop up blockers must be disabled for the polls to function properly.
- Content polls – The webcast moderator will ask a question related to the webcast discussion. Please select an option to respond.
- CPE verification polls – These questions are not announced by the moderator. Please select Yes or No to respond.
You can listen to the webinar over the phone, but you must be logged into the live webcast online to be able to respond to the poll questions.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
At the end of each live webcast, the webcast technology automatically determines which participants qualify for CPE credit based on the eligibility requirements above. Click on the “CPE” icon at the bottom of the webcast interface. A window will open indicating if you have qualified for CPE credit. If a credit has been awarded the window will allow you to request and download your certificate.
If you are watching the webinar as a part of a group, a group leader must be designated. The group leader is responsible for:
Registering and logging into the live webcast
Responding to the required number of poll questions
Completing the feedback form
Click on the “CPE” icon at the bottom of the webcast interface. A window will open indicating if you have qualified for CPE credit. If a credit has been awarded the window will allow you to request and download your certificate and those of your group. Or, you can complete the CPE attendance sheet with this information.
BDO
Register for BDO’s Online CPE Network administered through the Learnlive.com technologies platform. You may need to download the required flash players by going to the Flash & Macromedia links and downloading them.
Free CPE credits can be earned via live webinar or you may enroll in the online Self Study course created from the webinar recording.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
For live BDO webcasts, you must sign-in no later than the scheduled start time and answer all polling questions. At the end of the course, each participant who met the requirements will receive a Certificate of Attendance. For self-study courses, you must pass with a score of 70% or better to receive a CPE certificate. You will see your score and the print option next to the course description under the “My Learning” tab. Click on “Print”.
Grant Thornton
To register, click on the name of any Grant Thornton free CPE webcasts you would like and click the “Register for this webcast” link. You will be sent an email with a link needed to access the webinar.
You must view at least 50 minutes of a 60 minute webcast and respond to 75% of polling questions to be eligible for free CPE credits. CPE Credit is not available for viewing archived programs.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
Upon conclusion of the program, complete the final survey and your certificate will be available to print. Pop-up blocker must be turned off.
Crowe Horwath
Complete the registration for each Crowe Horwath CPE webinar and you will receive an email with a link to the event.
Only the individual viewing the webinar is eligible to receive free CPE credits. They do not grant credit to multiple viewers in a group viewing. CPE will only be granted in the name of the individual logged in to the presentation on any given computer.
For a one hour webinars, you must view at least 50 minutes and respond to 3 polling questions to be eligible for free CPE credits.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
CPE Certificates are distributed via email within 30 days of the webcast.
RSM
To qualify for free CPE from RSM, you must log in to the webcast and provide your first name, last name and email address. You must remain logged in for a minimum of 50 minutes and answer 75 percent of the polling questions to receive credit.
How do you get your CPE certificate?
For immediate access to your free CPE credits, download the CPE certificate to your computer or print it before the webinar concludes. It will also be emailed to you a few days after the event.
BKD
Register for any BKD CPE webinar. Access webinars only through the link provided through your email invitation from BKD.
Answer the polling questions to receive CPE credit (see the chart below). The system will automatically track the answers to the polling questions. Only participation in a live webinar qualifies for CPE credit.
Minimum Participation Time Required |
Number of Polls Provided |
Required Number of Poll Responses |
Eligible for CPE Credit* |
50 minutes |
4 or more |
3 or more |
1.0 |
75 minutes |
6 or more |
5 or more |
Up to 1.5 |
100 minutes |
8 or more |
6 or more |
Up to 2.0 |
How do you get your CPE certificate?
If all eligibility requirements are met, each participant will be emailed their CPE certificates within 15 business days of each event.
While extremely rare, I have found free CPE webinars at LiveDentalCE.com when the topic is about Dental Practice Managment.