If you need to meet your CPE requirements or are interested in learning new skills, Becker can help you with both of these! But with over 700 on-demand courses, 1,000 live webcasts each year, plus CPE podcasts, choosing what you need can be overwhelming. To help you get started, we're sharing the best CPE for accountants and tax professionals for 2026.
The 5 best CPE on-demand
On-demand courses are great when you need the convenience to take a class anytime and anyplace, from your lunch break at work or while you're waiting on your kids to finish soccer practice. These five on-demand options are both valuable and popular.
1. 10 Habits of Highly Successful Careers
It's easy to get caught up in day-to-day "busyness" and lose sight of the big picture for your goals and career. To help you move forward without adding stress and more tasks to your packed day, you'll learn healthy work habits in the 10 Habits of Highly Successful Careers. Takeaways from this course include:
- Habits you can work on to advance in your career
- Tasks you should be working on
- Questions you should ask yourself in taking ownership for your career
- When to ask others for help to ensure you are getting the guidance and advice you need
2. Ethics, Integrity, and the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (Expanded Version)
Learn about the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, the ethical standards addressed by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, and IRS Circular 230. Ethics, Integrity, and AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (expanded version) is the best CPE course to meet the four-credit requirement in the following states:
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After completing this course, you should be able to recognize the foundations of ethical behavior, understand ethical expectations, and apply the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.
Be sure to explore Becker's CPE catalog for state-specific ethics courses you may need to meet your requirements.
3. AI Fundamentals: Understanding the Basics
The use of AI in accounting is growing and evolving. If you're hesitant on how to use AI or where to get started, this course provides a clear look at the basics and is perfect for beginners. You'll learn the different types of artificial intelligence and neural networks, how AI works and how to use it in your work, plus pitfalls, errors, and hiccups you may encounter.
4. Independence—Historical Insights and Today's Rules
Independent audits are one of the cornerstones of the U.S. capital market and any concerns about auditor objectivity can shake investor confidence. Understanding the ethics rules and holding deeper insights into accounting compliance are key to maintaining confidence in the process, regardless of the regulatory body. Independence - Historical Insights and Todays's Rules is one of the best CPE courses you can take as an auditor as you'll be able to recognize the ethical standards of the following regulatory organizations:
- Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
5. Preparing the Statement of Cash Flows
We included this into our list of the best CPE courses you can take on-demand because you'll learn more about how to properly and accurately prepare the statement of cash flows. This includes defining cash and cash equivalents, disclosing noncash activities, and complex cash flow issues, including stock compensation, derivatives, business combinations, leases, and more. After completing this course, you should be able to:
- Recognize the basic format of the statement of cash flow
- Define cash and noncash elements
- Classify cash flow activity
- Solve cash flow preparation issues
The 5 best CPE courses (live webcasts)
If you prefer the engagement of a classroom from the comfort of your home or office, Becker's live webcasts are the perfect option. With over 1,000 live webcasts scheduled annually, there's plenty to choose from, but we've narrowed down the five best CPE courses to watch live.
1. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act brings sweeping changes to tax regulations and laws. We're providing a comprehensive overview of these changes and how they affect individuals, businesses, and international tax compliance. Learning outcomes from this course include:
- Determining which tax rules are set to expire
- Identifying new tax provisions impacting individuals and businesses
- Recognizing new tax rules affecting international taxation
- Recognizing additional tax rules introduced in the legislation
2. Maintaining Professional Ethics in a Culture of Oversharing
Oversharing on social media can be more than embarrassing, it can be an ethical breach. This live webcast provides you with tips on how to not only avoid oversharing, but how to build a positive digital persona to put your best, most professional self forward and align with AICPA Code of Professional Conduct guidelines. After completing Maintaining Professional Ethics in a Culture of Oversharing, you should be able to do the following:
- Identify the negative impacts some social media behavior may have on your employment
- Implement best practices for social media use
- Create a positive digital persona for yourself
3. Excel: Top 10 Functions for Accountants
Excel can be a powerful tool for accountants, but some of its more useful features may be a blind spot for most people in the profession. If you want to get the most out of your spreadsheets, sign up for Excel: Top 10 Functions for Accountants, and learn the functions you need to know and helpful formatting techniques.
By the end of this course, you'll know how to review the following functions and formatting:
- Lookup functions (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, MATCH, INDEX)
- If functions (IF, IFS)
- Conditional math functions (COUNTIF, SUMIF, SUMPRODUCT)
- PivotTables (GETPIVOTDATA)
- Use of formatting and conditional formatting
4. Preparing Form 1040 (for tax year 2025)
One of the best CPE courses you can take to get ready for the upcoming tax year is Preparing Form 1040 (for tax year 2025). You'll learn about changes to the form and updates from the previous year as well as fundamental information, including how to:
- Determine filing status
- Understand income inclusions and exclusions
- Calculate adjusted gross income and taxable income
- Compare the standard deduction to itemized deductions
- Compute credits and total tax
5. Artificial Intelligence for Accountants
Get a more in-depth look at how to use artificial intelligence in your work as you learn what artificial intelligence is, different types of AI, common software platforms, and how it can improve accounting practices. But you'll also learn about the potential drawbacks artificial intelligence will have on the profession and limitations that currently exist. After completing this course, you'll have a better understanding of how to use AI to improve your workflow while knowing how to avoid some of the pitfalls.
Unlimited CPE for accountants and tax professionals with Prime CPE
With over 700 self-study CPE courses, 1,000 live webcasts annually, and weekly CPE podcasts, all led by experienced instructors, we have the learning opportunities that can advance your knowledge and your career. Our Prime CPE subscription provides you to the courses you need, including trending topics and state-specific ethics courses at an incredible value.
See why Prime is the leading CPE subscription!
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