CMFO – CEU REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES

We are currently developing comprehensive guidance for CMFO continuing education. The following guidelines should be used in determining what courses will qualify for continuing education, the amount of credit to be received and other general guidance for continuing education related to the CMFO designation. These guidelines are subject to update and clarification. Once the comprehensive guidance is available it will be posted to the web site and an email will be sent to all individuals that have an active account in the CMFO system.

 

Effect May 1, 2011, no further CEU will be preapproved. As long as the certificate holder demonstrates a good faith effort in matching future potential training to the acceptable course listing below, variances determined as a result of a CEU audit will not cause the individual to lose their active status as a CMFO. All CEU approved through April 30, 2011, will be accepted and any training classes scheduled to be taken by April 30, 2011, will be factored in when considering the following guidelines.

 

All CEU is to be categorized in two broad categories: Financial (F) and Other (O). Each year at least 16 hours of the CEU obtained must be in the “Financial” category, and no more than 8 hours of the required 24 may be in the “Other” category. There is a phase in period during the 2011 (January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011) reporting cycle that takes into consideration CEUs already taken or registered for as of April 30, 2011. Documentation should be retained to demonstrate what continuing education meets the “registered for” criteria. Confirmations of registration dated no later than April 30, 2011, or other comparable evidence will be acceptable. That is:

 

Scenario 1

If an individual has taken and/or registered for 24 hours of CEU that is all categorized as “other” as of April 30, 2011, no additional CEU must be taken to comply with the minimum of 16 hours in “Financial” CEUs.

 

Scenario 2

If an individual has taken and/or registered for 18 hours of CEU that is categorized as “Other” as of April 30, 2011, the remaining 6 hours of CEU must be “Financial” CEUs.

 

Scenario 3

If an individual has taken and/or registered for 14 hours of “Financial” CEUs and 4 hours of “Other” CEUs as of April 30, 2011, at least 2 of the remaining 6 hours must be “Financial” CEUs. The other 4 hours may be either “Financial” or “Other” CEUs.

 

In all cases, for the 2012 reporting cycle (January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012) at least 16 hours of CEU must be “Financial” and no more than 8 hours of CEU may be “Other”.

 

A. Qualified CEU topics and categories:

FINANCIAL (accounting, auditing, finance related compliance and internal control)	OTHER
accounting principles and standards	acquisitions management
accounting research	business law
accounting systems	compilation and review of financial statements
actuarial techniques and analysis	computer training
analytical procedures	current industry risks
assessment of internal controls	economics
asset management	economic/industrial development
audit methodologies	ethics
audit of contract compliance/costs	forensic accounting
audit/evaluation of program results	forensic auditing
audit risk and materiality	human capital management
audit/evaluation standards	industrial engineering
budgeting	information technology
cash management	interviewing techniques
compliance with laws and regulations	investigations
computer security	operations research
contracting and procurement	oral and written communications
cost accounting	organizational change management
credit management	performance measurement and reporting
data management and analysis	performance improvement
debt collection	principles of leadership, management and supervision
enterprise risk management	productivity improvement
financial auditing	project management
financial management	process reengineering
financial management systems	research methods
financial planning or analysis	strategic planning
financially related fraud	written communication
financial reporting
financial statement analysis
forecasts and projections (within the municipality)
forensic accounting
forensic auditing
government structure, organization and authority
information resources management
information systems management
information security
internal control and internal control assessment
inventory management
investment of public funds
pension and other employee benefits accounting
procurement management
property management
public accountability
public administration
public finance
public policy and structure
taxation (related to municipal activities only)

 

B. Definitions

 

CEU

One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is equal to 50 minutes of training time. Self study courses must be provided by NASBA approved sponsors and the hours listed as CPE are equivalent to CEUs for the CMFO program. When total training time is not equally divisible by 50, training time must be rounded down to the nearest half-hour. That is, 90 minutes of training would only qualify for 1.5 hours of CEU.

 

Reporting Cycle

A reporting cycle is each full calendar year following completion of the CMFO program. If an individual finishes the CMFO program by December 31, 2010, and is subsequently awarded a certificate in the following year, the first reporting cycle is January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. If an individual finishes the CMFO program on February 20th, 2012, and is subsequently awarded a certificate in April 2012, the first reporting cycle is January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.

 

The first reporting cycle for CMFO designees who are employed by a municipality that qualifies for and has elected to apply for
the “CEU only provision” provided for in Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA), Section 6-56-402(c), is January 1, 2012 through
December 31, 2012.

 

CMFO Employment Exception - “CEU Only Provision”

As provided for in TCA, Section 6-56-402(c), a municipality that has “…one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or less in gross revenues for all funds, including utilities, but excluding one-time non-recurring grants, and with debt totaling one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or less in the immediately preceding fiscal year may, instead of employing a CMFO, or contracting with a CMFO or a qualified individual who is exempt from CMFO certification for financial oversight, shall be required to have in their employment an individual who has met the CEU requirements of 6-56-404. Any municipality that has a deficit total net assets or a negative change in net assets for a period of three (3) consecutive years, or is in default on any indebtedness, shall be deemed financially distressed and shall be required to employ a CMFO or contract with a CMFO or a qualified individual who is exempt from CMFO certification for financial oversight.”

 

CMFO Employment Exception – “Contract Exception”

As provided for in TCA, Section 6-56-402(b), a municipality that has “…three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) or less in
gross revenues for all funds, including utilities, and with debt totaling three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) or less in the immediately preceding fiscal year may, instead of employing a CMFO, contract with a CMFO or a qualified individual who is exempt from CMFO certification for financial oversight.”

 

CMFO Exemption - Exempt Individual

An exempt individual is an individual who is exempt from obtaining the CMFO certification. The individual must request the exemption and be acknowledged by the comptroller as meeting one or more of the following conditions as provided for in TCA, Section 6-56-405 and must comply with the CEU requirement of the CMFO law.

 

(1) An individual designated as a certified government finance manager (CGFM) by the association of government accountants.

 

(2) An individual designated as a certified public finance officer (CPFO) by the government finance officers association.

 

(3) An individual licensed as a certified public accountant (CPA) by the state board of accountancy and in active status who has a minimum of five (5) years of primarily governmental experience with at least three (3) of those years in this state.

 

C. Documentation Requirements

All individuals required to obtain CEUs are required to maintain documentation for continuing education. That documentation would include a completion certificate, transcript or other equivalent document that displays the name of the class, dates attended, sponsor name (and number if they are a NASBA approved registry sponsor) and hours of CEU earned. The agenda, itinerary or class schedule should be retained along with the attendance certificate, transcript or other equivalent document for a minimum of three years following each reporting cycle.

 

Classes approved by the Comptroller’s Office prior to May 1, 2011, for which the provider did not provide a completion certificate or for which a “transcript” can not be downloaded will still qualify. If possible, obtain any documentation possible to establish your attendance at the continuing education. For CEU registered for or attended after April 30, 2011, providers must meet certain minimum requirements for the course to qualify for CEUs.

 

All documentation for CEUs should be retained by the individual for reporting after December 31, 2011. A web based application is being developed for reporting CEUs. Once the application is complete, an individual may upload CEU information as often as desired, but all CEU must be entered by February 1, or the year following the reporting cycle. An annual “certification” will need to be signed to make certain assertions regarding the information entered into the CEU tracking application.

 

D. CEU Provider/Sponsor Requirements

All continuing education, including self-study courses, provided by NASBA approved registry sponsors will meet the provider requirements of the CMFO program. The classification of CPE units used by these providers is tied to the requirements applicable to CPAs. Classification adjustments will need to be made by everyone submitting CEU for the CMFO program.

 

For CEU provided by other organizations/sponsors, the following minimum guidelines must be met.

 

(1) In order to qualify for credit to satisfy the requirements of TCA, a continuing education program must contribute directly to the professional competence of the certificate holder.

 

(2) Programs requiring attendance may be considered for credit if:

(a) An outline is prepared and preserved;

(b) The program is at least one (1) credit hour [one (1) credit hour = fifty (50) minute period];

(c) The program is conducted by a qualified instructor, discussion leader, or lecturer; and

(d) A record of attendance is maintained.

 

(3) University or college courses provided that:

(a). For credit courses, each semester hour credit shall equal fifteen (15) continuing education credit hours, and each quarter hour credit shall equal (10) continuing education credit hours;

(b). For non-credit short courses, continuing education credit shall equal actual time in class;

 

(4) The sponsor of any continuing education program must issue to attendees certificates of completion that include:

(a) Sponsor name;

(b) Date(s) of training;

(c) Title of program;

(d) CPE subject code;

(e) CPE credit awarded.

 

(5) The sponsor of any continuing education program shall keep detailed records of the following for a period of five (5) years after the date of the presentation of the program:

(a) The date and location of the program presentation;

(b) The name of each instructor or discussion leader;

(c) A list of attendees of each program presentation;

(d) A written outline of the program presentation; and

(e) The number of continuing education hours allowable.