Huber Michaels is a CPA firm located in Western Maryland, far from any major cities. Their people had to drive several hours in order to attend CPE courses. Mounting frustrations with the time and monetary costs of this process led them to investigate how they could bring quality CPE to their area.

Huber Michaels worked with BLI and MACPA to make that happen. Their leadership would discuss ideas for CPE topics with BLI team members, then talk with a neighbor firm. If those courses would also benefit the other firm, they’d book the classes. The demand for this kind of on-site training was so high in the area that eventually, classes were opened to other nearby firms as well. Now, each year, representatives from BLI will meet in January with members of whichever firm is that year organizing the events. They look over the latest and greatest of what BLI is working on and determine what will work best for the community of firms, then book classes around tax season.

Because of the relatively small area in which they’re based, Huber Michaels and the other nearby firms benefit from a small-town atmosphere. Their members are not motivated by competition, but rather by teamwork. Huber Michaels’ ability to work closely with the other firms has made this kind of regular, expansive on-site learning possible for everyone. In addition, they’ve found that opening up registration to members from other firms has saved money, in addition to saving on the costs of travel that would pile up in the past.

BLI has worked with Huber Michaels and the other local firms to allow a high degree of flexibility in their choice of instructors. If an instructor made a splash and connected with their group in the past, they have the ability to request further classes from that person. “The best thing about working with BLI to provide on-site training is the convenience. The fact that we are able to pick a course topic, date, location, and in some cases even an instructor, is just amazing. Since we started working with BLI over 5 years ago, the vast majority of our CPE is satisfied through on-site training. It’s great for our team, as well as the others in the area. We couldn’t be happier.” Keith Brode, CPA