| FAQs |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Find out why your fellow professionals are using FunCPE!
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Don't see
your question asked and answered? Please email
us!
• Who is FunCPE?
• Do you have any references from customers?
• Is FunCPE qualified to offer self-study CPE
courses?
• Which professionals can obtain CPE credit from FunCPE?
• Which states accept your courses for CPE credit for CPAs?
• Do you expect to offer other courses?
• How does FunCPE compare to other CPE providers?
• How can you evaluate CPE providers?
• Is your website secure?
• What is the process for completing a course
at FunCPE?
• What is the format of the exams?
• What score do I need to pass the course?
• What happens if I do not pass the final exam?
• What if I can't finish the exam in one sitting?
• Do I need to pass the Review Questions exam?
• Can I take my exams using a Safari browser on a MAC?
• I want to fill out the Course Evaluation, but I can't get back to that screen
• What types of payment do you accept?
• Do you accept credit card payments by phone?
• Do you offer discounted prices or group CPE discounts?
| Certificates of Completion |
• When do I receive my certificate
of completion?
• What will be the effective date of my certificate
of completion?
• Can I obtain a copy of my certificate of
completion later?
• Can I see a sample certificate of completion?
• I forgot my password and/or user ID
• How can you offer quality courses at such
low prices?
• Can I sign up for a mailing list?
• How often are the IRS courses updated?
• What if I don't receive my certificate of completion
email?
• Is there a time limit for course completion (from date of purchase)?
Who is FunCPE?
FunCPE is a provider of high quality self-study continuing professional
education for financial professionals. FunCPE is owned and operated by CPAs. All
exams are prepared and tested by CPAs. We are committed to providing
for financial professionals. What makes us different is that
an element of fun is included in every exam. Technically, there
is no requirement that CPE courses must be dull--and our research
indicates a higher retention rate for humorous materials.
Do you have any references from customers?
Yes, we have received hundreds of positive comments from our students and you can read some of the unsolicited comments from our customers. We also offer a Risk
Free Guarantee, so the only risk to you is missing out on
some interesting courses at remarkably low prices!
Is FunCPE
qualified to offer self-study CPE courses?
Yes. Our courses
are all formal self-study courses. For CPAs, our standards for course development meet the published standards from the states in which our CPE is accepted for CPAs. For all other professions cited in the next section, our CPE meets the professional standards for that profession, on a nationwide basis.
Which professionals can obtain CPE credit from FunCPE?
Our CPE meet national and state guidelines for the following professions. Click on the professional designation to see the detailed information.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
IRS Enrolled Agent (EA)
Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP)
Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA)
Accredited Business Advisor (ABA)
Accredited Business Accountant (ABA)
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Certified Financial Manager (CFM)
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
Certified Business Manager (CBM)
Chartered Tax Professional (CTP)®
Elder Care Specialist (ECS
Which states
accept your courses for CPE credit for CPAs?
See a detailed
answer to this question on our State
Acceptance page.
Do you
expect to offer other courses?
Yes. Our course developers are constantly developing new offerings.
We welcome suggestions for new courses as well. Please sign
up for our free notification service. We also welcome suggestions for new course topics and always need pilot testers for the new courses.
How does
FunCPE compare to other CPE providers?
Our courses
are informative, interesting and --dare we say it--sometimes even
entertaining.
We believe our prices are the lowest in the market.
In fact, we invite you to compare. Our prices are lower because:
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Over half of our courses use free downloadable materials |
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No book purchase is ever required for our book-based courses--borrow it from the library
(or even buy a used book from Amazon--we have seen some of
our selections for less that $1.00!) |
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No sales tax is charged, even in our home state of Texas, since
we are not selling a product |
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No
requirement to purchase multiple courses to get a discount--our
courses are already discounted! |
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No
need to "share with a friend" |
You
may also review our customer comments
and see the results of our humor survey.
How
can you evaluate CPE providers?
We
have prepared a complete checklist
to help you evaluate CPE quality.
Is your website secure?
Yes. When you click on "Purchase a Course" you enter our shopping cart system. You will notice that the web address at the top of your browser changes from beginning with "http" to beginning with "https." The "s" on "https" indicates the site is a secure site.
Our system does not retain credit card information and we cannot view or retrieve your credit card number at any time. We use Authorize.net as our payment gateway. Authorize.net is part of CyberSource Corporation--these companies processed over $65 billion in e-commerce transactions in 2006.
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What is
the process for completing a course at FunCPE?
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Select
your course or courses from the Course Listing |
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New customers complete
the registration; existing customers login |
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Pay online by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover) to receive immediate access to your courses |
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or |
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Pay by check using the Order Form |
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Obtain your study materials |
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For tax and most accounting courses: locate the publication needed (available online as free downloads) |
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For book courses: obtain the book at your library, from a friend or purchase online or locally |
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Receive
test results instantly after exam submission |
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Certificate
of completion is emailed immediately after passing exam |
For detailed printable instructions go to our Instructions
Page.
What is the format of the exams?
All exams are open book with multiple choice and true/false questions. There
are no essays. Courses marked "interactive" include review questions and study guide in addition to the course materials. Courses not marked "interactive" are considered "non-interactive self study." Each course consists of:
1) Description of course material needed:
Software courses use the on-line help file associated with the
program
Most tax and accounting courses use free publications available
on-line (some use books as indicated)
Book courses use books you can borrow from a friend or the library,
or purchase on-line
2) Review questions exam (interactive courses only)
You must submit the review questions exam, but you do not need to achieve a passing grade. After completing the review questions exam, you can review which questions you missed. Explanations for correct and incorrect answers are available when you review your exam. Most people find the review questions exam helps them understand the material and pass the final exam.
3) Examination and course evaluation
Once you have completed the online examination, submit your exam
for grading by clicking on the "submit" button
at the end of the exam. After submitting the exam, your confirmation page will contain a link to the course evaluation.
What score
do I need to pass the course?
You
must correctly answer at least 70% of all questions on the final exam in order to
pass the course. You do not need to achieve a passing score on the review questions exam.
What
happens if I do not pass the final exam?
- You may take
the exam again.
- There is no charge to retake the final exam.
- You can take the final exam as many times as necessary to pass.
- You can take the final exam up to three times automatically.
After three final exam attempts, you need to email or call us to reset the exam so that you may retake the final. We read our email nights and weekends, as well as during normal business hours, so we can usually reset your exam promptly. You can also call 877-738-6273 from 8 to 5 C.S.T. with your exam reset request.
When you retake the exam, you will log in and see your previous answers. Any incorrect answers will be marked wrong with a red "X." You can then change your incorrect answers, and resubmit your exam.
What if
I can't finish the exam in one sitting?
No problem. You can leave and return at any time. During the exam, you should click on " Next " at the bottom of any exam page--your answers are saved once you advance to the next page. You can change any of your answers at any time up until you submit the exam for grading.
Do I need to pass the Review Questions exam?
No, you do not need to pass the Review Questions exam, which is part of every interactive course. You must attempt the exam (answering at least one question), and submit the exam, but you do not need to achieve a passing grade.
Our course format meets the "interactive" course requirements; review questions must be offered but completion is not mandatory. It will help your understanding of the course material to take the review questions exam and then review your answers, including the feedback concerning correct and incorrect answers.
Can I take my exams using a Safari browser?
Yes, effective 12/08 our exams can be completed using a Safari browser.
I want to fill out the Course Evaluation, but I can't get back to that screen
The link to the evaluation pops up after you pass the final exam, but if you missed that link, here it is: Course Evaluation.
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What types
of payment do you accept?
We accept payment by check, money order, or Visa / Mastercard / American Express / Discover. All checks or money orders
should be made payable to "FunCPE" and mailed to:
FunCPE
38 Pleasant Bend Drive
Spring, TX 77382
We also accept course registrations by Purchase Order. If you submit a Purchase Order to us, we will enroll the student or students in the course immediately and invoice you for payment. Purchase Orders can be faxed, mailed or emailed to us.
Do you
accept credit card payments by phone?
Yes, we do accept credit card payments by phone. Our office hours are 8 - 5 Monday through Friday, Central Standard Time.
Do you offer discounted prices or group CPE discounts?
We offer "everyday low prices" and do not discount our CPE courses. We believe that it is easier and more convenient to be able to purchase your CPE courses when you need them and in any quantity.
We have found the CPE providers offering "purchase 2 courses, get 10% off" or "3 courses for 15% off" pricing schemes to imply that the courses are overpriced to start with.
And since you obtain your CPE materials yourself--either through free downloads of tax and accounting materials, or through purchased or borrowed business books--your total cost is reduced. No need to "share with a friend" to get a lower cost, although we certainly do encourage you to tell your friends about FunCPE.com!
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| Certificates of Completion |
When do
I receive my certificate of completion?
If you correctly answer 70% of the final exam questions, immediately after submitting the exam an
email will be sent to you with your
certificate of completion. You can also access and print your certificate by logging into the course system, then click on the + sign next to the course name.
What will
be the effective date of my certificate of completion?
Your certificate of completion will be dated as of the date that
you pass the final exam.
Can I obtain a copy of my certificate of completion later?
Yes, if you
misplace your certificate of completion, please email us with
the course number or name and year completed. We will email you
a copy of your certificate at no charge.
You can also access most certificates directly when you first login to the course system, by clicking on the + sign next to the course name. Watch this video for step by step instructions.
Can I see a sample certificate of completion?
View a sample CPE certificate, as well as a description of the information included on a certificate.
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I forgot my password and/or user ID
No problem. We can send you your password and user ID automatically by email 24/7. You can also call us during business hours and we can look it up for you.
If your email address has changed, you will need to call us or email us, rather than use the automated password retrieval.
How can you offer quality courses at such low prices?
We keep our
course prices low by eliminating stocking and shipping costs (by
providing course materials online and allowing you to use books
from your library) and minimizing marketing costs.
We also save
on administrative costs and reduce the cost to our customers by
eliminating sales tax (since we don't sell any products, we do
not charge sales tax, even to our Texas CPE customers). While other
CPE providers mail out color brochures, we rely on postcards and
email notices for new course offerings and specials.
Can I sign
up for a mailing list?
We have a free
newsletter which includes new course offerings.
How often
are the IRS courses updated?
Annually.
The IRS released (in January 2009) updated 2008 publications
for use in preparing 2008 tax returns.
IRS materials
are always released at the end of the year for the current year;
i.e. the IRS will issue updated materials in December 2009/January 2010 for
use in preparing 2009 tax returns. Our courses are updated shortly
after the release of those new materials.
What if I don't receive my certificate of completion email?
If you do not receive your certificate of completion within 15 minutes of passing your exam, please contact us. The certificate is sent as an attachment to an email.
There are 2 primary reasons why you
might not receive your certificate:
1) You
typed in an incorrect email address during registration or
2) Your email
system has a filter that prevents some emails from getting through to you. You may want to check your "junk mail" folder.
Solution: just let us know and we can email your certificate to a home/personal email account if necessary.
You can also access most certificates directly when you first login to the course system, by clicking on the + sign next to the course name. Watch this video for step by step instructions.
We can also mail your certificate "the old-fashioned way" (by U.S. Mail) or fax it to you.
Is there a time limit for course completion (from date of purchase)?
Courses must be completed within one year of purchase. This time limit for course completion is consistent with various state accounting board requirements.
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