Expected Behavior and Common Troubleshooting for the NASBA CPE Upload template.
Table of Contents
Overview
When a user uploads our NASBA CPE reporting form on the NASBA Audit Service platform, it may be returned with errors. This is due to the differences in data formatting between NASBA’s tool and LCvista.
The errors do not specify what field, row or cell is causing the issue, making it difficult to troubleshoot. To help ease those pain points, please find the table below containing NASBA’s guidelines and LCvista’s processing notes in the CPE form overview section.
Please note, while LCvista takes every step possible in mitigating risk and inaccuracies, professionals should always review their applied credits prior to submitting to a Board of Accountancy.
Click here for a current list of states using the NASBA Audit Service Tool for CPE Audits and/or Renewals.
NASBA Differences
It is important to note that the NASBA Audit Service tool has a compliance engine of its own. When reporting directly to state Boards it is important to only report credits applied to the jurisdiction. However, the NASBA audit tool supports multiple jurisdictions and it is advised to enter the credits as awarded on the user’s certificate of completion rather than their jurisdiction specific credits.
The Credit Upload template can be found here: https://nasba.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CPE-Audit-Service-Credit-Upload-Template-08624.xlsx (Note opens to field descriptions – select Credit Upload Template tab)
The instructions for the credit upload template can be found here: https://nasba.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CPA_Upload_Credits-050124.pdf
This video shows how to use the upload template: https://vimeo.com/822705011/a9637526c3
Most Common Updates Needed
While we recommend that users review the entire report for any desired changes, there are a few areas that are most likely to need review/updates to successfully upload to the NASBA site:
- Country: This will most likely be “USA”. This field is required for Group Live, Group Internet-Based, and Blended Learning Programs.
- State: States must be the 2 letter abbreviation to process accurately in the NASBA tool. This field is required for Group Live, Group Internet-Based, and Blended Learning Programs. “Webinar”, “Virtual”, etc. are not accepted; a 2 letter state abbreviation is required.
- Program Type: Review to see if any courses listed as “Other Organization's Programs” can be updated to “In-Firm Programs” based on the information in the “Sponsor” field.
- Teaching Credits: Preparation and Presentation hours cannot be separated on the NASBA template. Therefore, when reviewing any “Pending” instructor records after uploading the template, scroll down to the “Subject Area” and click the Pencil icon to edit “Preparation Hours” and “Presentation Hours” for the field(s) of study listed. Note that the standard calculation for teaching credits is 2 hours of preparation for every 1 hour of presentation. This means that is your downloaded report shows a total of 6 credits, the expected entry would be 4 preparation hours and 2 presentation hours.
Considerations
-
The NASBA site requires precise formatting, outlined in their upload template, and in our table below. If this formatting is not met, the NASBA Audit Tool will reject the entire upload
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Credits on the form are credits earned by the user. This is different from the credits applied as seen on the compliance detail report. CPE credits should match their certificates, not necessarily what LCvista has applied to the jurisdiction
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Each row of the report represents a completed program.
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If a Program has multiple fields of study, each field of study should be listed as a separate row item.
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CPE form overview
|
Field |
Required |
NASBA notes |
LCvista notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Delivery Method |
Yes |
This field only accepts one of the following values:
|
Session delivery method. LCvista does not support “Non-interactive Self Study.” LCvista returns “Other” if:
|
|
Program Type |
Yes |
This field only accepts one of the following values:
|
LCvista will return a matching value if the program qualifies for any of:
|
|
Title |
Yes |
Title for the program/course |
Program Name |
|
Course Number |
No |
Course number, identifier, or code (if provided) |
Session ID |
|
Description |
No |
Description of the program/course |
Program Description |
|
Start Date |
Yes |
Date must be formatted MM/DD/YYYY |
Session start date
For QAS Self Study programs, this is the individual’s completion date. |
|
End Date |
Yes |
Date must be formatted MM/DD/YYYY |
Session end date
For QAS Self Study programs, this is the individual’s completion date. |
|
Country |
Conditional |
Location of the program/course
|
Session location
|
|
State |
Conditional |
Location of the program/course.
|
Session location
|
|
City |
No |
Location of the program/course. |
The field is left blank. |
|
Provider |
Yes |
Provider/Facilitator of the program/course. |
Program sponsor
|
|
NASBA Provider ID |
No |
Optional NASBA registry provider ID. |
LCvista first references the NASBA ID on the program’s sponsor.
|
|
Subject Area |
Yes |
This field only accepts one of the following values:
|
The subject area is matched on the program and session information. If not provided, the form returns a blank cell. If custom credit has been issued and a match cannot be found, the field is left blank. Formatting considerations from LCvista to NSABA:
|