Please note that this is a "text-based", not a "video-based" course. The materials are downloaded by the user, read and absorbed, and then the user takes the review and final assessment online at Illumeo as usual, where, once passed, all CPE is tracked and kept for long-term reference.

This 4-hour course is designed to meet the 4 hour Ethics CPE requirement for California State CPA.  It also discusses the AICPA Code of Conduct and the key differences between California State law and the AICPA Code of Conduct.

Review Questions and Final Exam are completed under section "Review and Test".

Learning Objectives
  • Discover and define ethics from an overall and professional perspective.
  • Explore and describe the ethical standards contained in the California Accountancy Act.
  • Identify and describe the ethical standards contained in the California Board of Accountancy Regulations.
  • Discover and describe the ethical standards contained in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.
Last updated/reviewed: May 28, 2024
83 Reviews (369 ratings)

Reviews

5
Member's Profile
The pdf was clear and the quizzes at the end of every section were helpful, although there were not answers at the end of the pdf to the quiz questions (they were indicated as such but were not there). The review question section before the exam were fine except for one (a repeat of the quiz questions in the pdf) that asked about disclosure of client confidential information. The correct answer choice did not indicate that the client's approval would be received but it should have.

5
Anonymous Author
The material is very helpful. I think all CPAs or non-CPAs would benefit from the course. It's importance to understand the difference between moral and professional ethics. The course material explains it in details and how to differentiate it by providing examples. Also, it's written in simple and non-technical language where everyone can learn.

5
Member's Profile
Course materials were good, the mentoring approach was good, and working with other people via the Internet was good. The instructor did a good job of communicating and making it a more intimate arrangement. A lot of online courses fail because of the isolation. Material is very good and I think it’s a very solid course. I learned a lot.

5
Anonymous Author
I remember this exam from the CBA when I first got my license and it was a killer. This exam was straight forward, was not tricky or sneaky to trip up applicants, and covered a wide range of topics that were relevant. Study the book topic locations and be able to find the answer rather than memorizing all the rules.

4
Member's Profile
What I like: This course has a very comprehensive coverage on professional ethics for accountants. The materials are easy to follow and review. I really liked the Ethics background section of the course, which gave me a refresher on the distinctions between morals and ethics, and what is legal vs. ethical.

3
Anonymous Author
This is a personal bias as I have enjoyed the courses which have a lesson plan, over a dry essay-style. This helps to engage. While the factors are laid out and comply with the exam, there are ways to make it more interesting. I took this exam before doing the CA Peth exam.. so we'll see if it aligns!

4
Member's Profile
There was a lot of great information in this course as a ethical refresher. I really liked the important points and case studies. It was a little hard to read in some spots, not sure if this was just the pdf type font on my computer or just how the pdf was created.

5
Member's Profile
This was indeed a very clear course which was well written and straight to the point. The rules were clearly laid out in an easy to read format that can be useful as a continuing reference whenever the need arises. I highly recommend the course for CPE.

4
Member's Profile
Clear and thorough amount of material that covers a range of ethical and independence issues. Questions on the exam are also quite challenging making you have to debate or search for the answers but as long as you go through material you should be fine.

5
Anonymous Author
The questions were reasonable and based on the materials given in the course materials. The course materials themselves were easy to read. Time was about 2 hours to read the materials and 20 minutes to complete the review questions and the final exam.

5
Anonymous Author
The course was straightforward, and easy to follow. The review questions were good examples for what the final exam was going to be like. Overall, covered the required material and good course in order to fulfill the CA Ethics CPA renewal requirements.

5
Member's Profile
I liked how the reading and test were integrated well. The reading was good preparation for the test. I was surprised at the relevance of the reading and the author's fresh take on ethic vs. morals. People seeking ethics units for cpa renewal

5
Anonymous Author
This was a very helpful course to understand the ethics for California where I am licensed. It was a lot of material but well organized and pretty straightforward to understand and interpret to be able to answer the exam questions.

4
Anonymous Author
This a very comprehensive training. It would be nice to get a presentation on this training because the reading is just too much. But over all still have a very good examples and important topics are discuss and explained well.

4
Anonymous Author
Course materials cover a lot of areas and are very practical. It could be even better if the course is in a video format. I will save the course materials and use them as refer or reference in the future.

5
Anonymous Author
This course was efficient and covered the main objectives of ethics review course required to renew CPA license in California every 2 years. I would take this course again when I need to renew again.

5
Anonymous Author
Thorough review of CA ethics requirements. I liked how there were several examples throughout and a description of the thought process for answering questions related to those examples.

5
Member's Profile
I liked the structure/organization of the course materials. I think some of the review quiz/final exam questions could be improved. Sometimes the phrasing seemed a little weird.

5
Anonymous Author
The course was very good. The course materials were very well done. I especially liked the index and table of contents which made it very easy to find what I was looking for.

5
Anonymous Author
The course material was well written and easy to follow. Major subjects were defined in the table of content making the need to refer back to the document when needed.

5
Anonymous Author
This is a good refreshing of CPA ethics for every two years. The examples, cases, review questions and final questions provided practices on various common scenarios.

4
Member's Profile
Like the fact that the course allows you to study the material at your own pace and the format is conducive for review. It's convenient, easy to use and on-demand.

4
Anonymous Author
The course material was relevant and the examples provided were helpful to understand how to apply the concepts. However many of the sections were repetitive.

4
Anonymous Author
I like that it was text-based so that i could set my own pace. I also like that it is included in the basic subscription, which hasn't always been the case.

5
Anonymous Author
This course was excellent. I found the PDF to be a bit repetitive but, overall, the content was on point and a great refresher for my CPA license renewal.

5
Anonymous Author
Text was easy to understand and follow. Most of the questions were also easy to understand and follow. Would definitely recommend this course to others.

5
Anonymous Author
Great course. Materials are very clear. Good way to satisfy CBA requirement, excellent refresher on subject matter valuable to job performance.

5
Anonymous Author
The course is well designed and fit to our needs. And I definitely recommend this course to my coworkers. Good price for 4 ethic CPEs.

5
Member's Profile
Focuses on the key points. This was very effective. Great materials were also part of this package. I look forward to similar courses

5
Member's Profile
i really like the class. It provided good examples. The writing was concise. The questions properly correlated with the content.

5
Anonymous Author
Well informed text. The text file is easy to follow and very organized. Examples in the text help me understand the concepts.

5
Anonymous Author
The course material is comprehensive and the review questions are very helpful in addressing key issues in professional ethics.

4
Anonymous Author
This pdf was very user friendly and gave good examples of ethical considerations. I appreciated the practical applications.

4
Anonymous Author
It was great. The time to complete was not too long. The questions were not tricky. This course was easily accessible.

5
Member's Profile
This is a very useful course, help me recall all of ethical requirement, in every two years when i renew the CPA license

3
Member's Profile
I wish there was another option available for this course other than text based. Also, some of the exam questions were

5
Anonymous Author
The notes scattered throughout the course was very helpful as it summarized the passage with the most important notes

4
Member's Profile
Very easy to follow. Great reviewing materials with ample examples. Illumeo really makes maintaining my CPE easy.

5
Anonymous Author
This is a good course and all professionals should take it as it is not solely for CPAs when dealing with ethics.

4
Anonymous Author
The course was easy to follow. The examples cited in the sections were helpful in illustrating the key concepts.

4
Anonymous Author
Good guide on the ethics and professional conduct for California CPA. I liked the format and case study examples.

5
Member's Profile
Content was well organized and comprehensive. The review questions were helpful preparation for the final exam.

4
Anonymous Author
Pretty straightforward. Was easy to follow and take the exam. I liked being able to take the quiz in advance.

5
Member's Profile
This course was quite easy to take. Flip through the materials, take the quiz, and learn about ethics rules!

4
Member's Profile
Easy to follow and to look up answers for the final exam. Exam was straight forward and no tricky questions.

5
Member's Profile
The course was efficient and easy to follow which is great for busy CPAs to complete at their own leisure

4
Member's Profile
Great course. Right level of information.communicated in a straightforward and user-friendly manner.

5
Anonymous Author
Great course to refresh my knowledge of the AICPA code of conduct and California's CPA requirements.

5
Member's Profile
This course was fast, informative and common sense. It provided excellent and relevant examples.

5
Anonymous Author
Loved the self-serve nature of the course allowing you to work through at your own pace/timeline.

4
Member's Profile
the need to go to other sites and read/review the regulatory materials was somewhat cumbersome

5
Anonymous Author
Case studies were helpful to understand concepts. Text was easy to read and understand.

5
Anonymous Author
This course was easy to read and understand, so well written with easy to follow examples.

4
Anonymous Author
Text-based ethics course. Not exciting and no video, but material was clearly explained.

4
Member's Profile
The outline/course material PDF was good

5
Member's Profile
This course was great. Download a PDF, read it at your leisure/pace, take a test. Boom.

1
Member's Profile
boring, boring, boring would not recommend did not learn anything try google instead

5
Member's Profile
This was a challenging but productive course. I truly enjoyed every minute of it.

5
Anonymous Author
Great course! Clear and concise. Easy to understand. New points were made aware.

5
Member's Profile
I like the fact that it is a texted base course and the materials were very good.

5
Anonymous Author
Good summary of topics and easy to follow along as the examples were all relevant

5
Anonymous Author
the reading material was well put together and included easy-to-follow examples.

4
Member's Profile
The course was easy to read and understand which lead to passing the final exam.

5
Anonymous Author
Great subject matter and review questions. I would recommend taking this course.

4
Anonymous Author
Good High Level Summary Course , that provided a lot of background knowledge.

5
Anonymous Author
good class to meet the state board of accountancy ethics CPE requirements.

4
Anonymous Author
not sure why I need to write a review to receive access to this paid course

5
Member's Profile
straight forward course for california cpas nothing else to report

4
Member's Profile
Good solid content. Easy to follow and thorough. Well organized

5
Anonymous Author
Some of this course was very specific to state of California.

5
Member's Profile
I thought this was a good course that achieved the objective.

4
Anonymous Author
Good course, easy to follow, and good material to keep handy.

4
Anonymous Author
good, basic ethics course. meets requirements. no surprises.

5
Anonymous Author
Excellent refresher on the rules of conduct for CPAs in CA.

5
Anonymous Author
Extremely straight to the point and good learning material.

5
Anonymous Author
A nice refresher on the ethics requirements for California.

5
Member's Profile
great materials that were easy to follow and understand.

5
Member's Profile
Course was specific, and useful for an effective review!

5
Member's Profile
Thorough, accurate and helpful to meet CE requirements.

5
Member's Profile
Enjoyed the course and content. Great exam questions!

5
Anonymous Author
thankful that illumeo has this course in its selection

5
Anonymous Author
PDF worked great and all the information was there

5
Anonymous Author
Good review of concepts and provided valuation info

Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Intermediate

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Education Provider Information
Company: Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact: For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to .
Course Questions and Answers(4 Questions)
Member's Profile

Does this class fulfill the "Regulatory Review" course requirement for California? If so, what is the Approval Number?

Member's Profile

This class does NOT fulfill the requirement. The regulatory review course is 2 hours and is called "Regulatory Review for California CPAs (Text Based Course) https://www.illumeo.com/courses/regulatory-review-california-cpas-text-based-course

Member's Profile

The description of the course states that it fulfills the 4-hour California CPA ethics requirements, but in the Illumeo compliance monitor, it gets categorized under regulatory review and not ethics. Is this correct or should it be categorized as ethics as stated in the course description?

Member's Profile

Hi Dennis,
This course qualifies the 4 hours Ethics requirements. However
The regulatory review course is the below course and it consist on 2 hours. "Regulatory Review for California CPAs (Text Based Course) https://www.illumeo.com/courses/regulatory-review-california-cpas-text-based-course

Instructor for this course
Course Syllabus
Course Materials
  Ethics and Professional Conduct for California CPAsPDF
REVIEW and TEST
  REVIEW QUESTIONSquiz
 FINAL EXAMexam