Is CPE training - education - seminars improving or still simply mediocre

I have always been confused with our accounting CPE programs. There are all kinds of scenarios that lead to chair warming and within minutes many of the participants become glazed as the presenter go's on and on about esoteric situations 99% of us never deal with and we accept this as CPE. This is typically capped off with the infamous statement of "today if you just get one thing it's worth the cost and time investment!"

I beg to differ. My clients would not only not pay my bill but would escort me out of their office if I told them myself or one our accountants working on their account may only get "one" thing for them in this day.

What's worse we continue to condone this behavior of our societies by turning in course evaluations of high grades. The only thing I can figure is we do not value our time in being spoon fed information.

Here are the changes I am advocating and hold myself to:
Take training where you can obtain and read the manual or course material in advance of the class
Look for training that addresses business - customer - issues I face in my practice now and tomorrow
Select presenters who more then dryly read out of a manual the selected pages
Walk and ask for a refund in the shortest period possible and if no refund accept it and cross them off you list of CPE providers


I figured out for me that I need real education and training and I have the self value and respect of my time to walk on any course that does meet reasonable educational standards!