Time to learn.

• Position: Final entry - Interview

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This issue we talk to CalCPA Education Foundation Board of Trustees President Charles Osaki about what's new in the CPE world.

Talk about your rise through the CalCPA leadership ranks.

I first got involved in CalCPA by joining the Accounting Education and Careers Committee around 2005. My first leadership role was as co-chair of the committee and we were involved in issues like the 150-hour rule, college accounting curriculums and creating meaningful dialogue between educators and practitioners. I was then encouraged to pursue a position as an Education Foundation trustee. It was the perfect fit since I had been working with the Education Foundation staff for several years to develop an internal CPE program at my prior firm. As a new trustee, I was impressed with the collaborative approach to problem solving and idea generation that my fellow trustees displayed, and it was that impression that motivated me to seek my first leadership role as vice president.

Tell us about your initiatives as president.

It's really the Education Foundation's strategy that's driving the initiative to research the best use of technology' to deliver CPE. The market is dictating what users want and how they want it delivered. After all, nano learning is being utilized every day by Gen X, millennials and tech-savvy users of my generation. Flexibility in accessibility to CPE on a real-time basis is paramount to the success of our strategy, whether it's an app or other combination of new delivery methods.

What does shifting the CPE emphasis from compliance to competence mean or look like?

Two things that will come out of this shift will be alignment and that learning (i.e., preparation) will replace compliance (i.e., ensuring mandatory hours are met). Currently, the licensee has a mandate to take a minimum number of qualifying CPE hours in a fixed set of topical classifications. By contrast, a competency model focuses on continuous learning so the professional will be better prepared (competent) at doing their job as they progress in their careers and their roles and responsibilities change. For example, depending on the person's career path and level, besides functional expertise (i.e., audit and tax), a whole range of "soft" skills--including leadership, organizational theory, management, strategy, finance and international issues--may be part of the individual's learning plan. There are unanswered questions, though, that need to be...