Blue & Co. provides ample assistance to our professional staff to comply with applicable continuing professional education requirements to maintain technical competency. We are pleased to help our staff by:

• Maintaining a current library and circulating important news about new or emerging changes in professional literature or business activities.
• Reimbursing staff for membership dues paid to the AICPA, applicable state societies of CPAs and our local chapter of the state society, as well as for tuition for approved CPE activities.
• Encouraging staff to serve on state society, AICPA, AGN, and other professional association committees, write articles for professional publications, serve as discussion leaders at professional development seminars, give speeches and so forth.
• Requiring managers to actively provide on-the-job training. Managerial personnel are evaluated in part on their effectiveness to properly train and develop subordinates. Some examples of on-the-job training include:

• Discuss with assistants the relationship of the work they are performing to the engagement as a whole.
• Permit assistants, when practicable, to become involved in areas of the engagement other than those previously assigned.
• Explain to assistants the reasons for any additional requirements discovered through the review process.

• Offering individualized training plans for staff and complete training courses through AGN, INCPA Society or AICPA. We also maintain a Master Training Calendar for staff to review in-house training opportunities offered annually. Blue's training program includes:

• Level I: 1 to 10 months public accounting experience
  Ideal for new and inexperienced staff members. This intensive, three-day course shows you how to improve efficiency and quality control. The curriculum gives you a solid understanding of what is expected of new staff. Improve your skills in preparing work papers, performing compilations and reviews and completing detailed audit tests.
• Level 2: 10 to 22 months public accounting experience
  Develop your communication skills with partners and client personnel, become adept at drafting financial statements, write better memoranda and develop an overall confidence that will aid you in meeting the needs of your clients. Upon completion of this course you will be able to complete smaller audits, reviews and compilations with a minimum of supervision and maximum profitability. Improve skills at performing more complex analytical procedures, drafting financial statements and footnotes.
• Level 3: At least 20 months, but no more than 36 months
  This course provides extensive training in crucial procedural, evaluative and supervisory areas. It will help improve your planning, review, audit and other engagement skills as well as give techniques for effective communication with clients and colleagues. You will discover the secrets to planning and efficiently completing engagements and methods for assuming higher levels of responsibility. Your ability to assess risk & materiality and to make nonstatistical sampling decisions will improve greatly with this course.
• Level 4: 34 to 54 months public accounting experience
  This course is for supervisors who wish to work on their management skills. Go from cultivating your communication skills, improving abilities to supervise, utilize and appraise staff and become more accomplished at maintaining client relationships. Course covers topics including motivation, engagement planning, staff supervision, business consulting services, time management and billing and collections. You will learn to manage engagement responsibilities, discover ways to help grow your firm and find out what is expected of you as a supervisor, while improving your overall communication skills.
• Level 5: 4-8 years of audit, tax or other experience
  This course helps supervisory and management-level professionals to improve leadership and mentoring skills, including becoming more firm-focused beyond specific engagements. It provides hands on practice with presentations skills and discussion of practice development. In addition, the program provides tips and techniques for more effective meetings and better time management.

• Providing programs to fill needs for personnel with expertise in specialized areas and industries, as follows:

• The office Director-in-Charge or designee is responsible for arranging for attendance at programs on SEC matters, cost accounting, municipal accounting, and/or other industry specialties for personnel involved in those areas.
• Individuals designated as having specialized experience and expertise are encouraged to maintain their proficiency by joining appropriate professional associations and attending external professional education programs.
• The firm pays for memberships in organizations concerned with specialized areas or industries in which the firm is engaged or intends to become engaged.
• The office Director-in-Charge or designee is responsible for maintaining technical literature on specialized areas and industries.

The office Director-in-Charge or designee monitors assignments to determine that personnel are fulfilling, where applicable, the experience requirement of the applicable State Boards of Public Accountancy. Gaining experience in various areas of engagements and varied industries and working under different supervisory personnel.

At least annually, the Director of Accounting and Auditing reviews our Professional Development policy and procedures (including CPE documentation) to determine if they are appropriate and operating effectively. This review is normally accomplished in coordination with the annual inspection. Changes to the system, if necessary, are made based on the results of the review.