You’ve earned your Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) credential, and now the real work begins. How can you keep your edge in the always-evolving exit planning community? It starts with purposeful and ongoing growth.
Continuing education (CE) is a crucial part of becoming the best CEPA possible. While the ROI of CE might not feel immediate, there are plenty of real-world tactics that will boost your offerings to clients and set you apart from your peers. Take the guesswork out of fulfilling your CE requirements with the Exit Planning Institute® (EPI).
Keeping Your Credential(s) Up to Date
You probably know this already if you’re a veteran CEPA, but to keep your designation current, you need a minimum of 40 continuing education hours, with 20 coming from EPI, over a three-year period. You can earn EPI CE hours by taking advantage of the extensive catalogue of EPI Academy courses, which is constantly growing with new ways to expand your exit planning knowledge.
A benefit of select EPI Academy courses is that not only can you earn CE credit toward your CEPA designation, but you can also earn CE toward your Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) credential, along with Investments & Wealth Institute (IWI) credits as well.
Purposeful Growth
Just as important as keeping your designation current is building your exit planning knowledge, so you can become your clients’ most trusted advisor. That’s where EPI Academy fits in, as the perfect supplement to the CEPA course and your real-world experiences gained by putting your exit planning skills into practice.
EPI Academy’s online courses equip you to master exit strategies, boost client satisfaction, and grow your professional value.
These courses are more than just sitting through presentations just to earn CE; they embody EPI’s core value of Purposeful Growth. EPI Academy courses provide an in-depth exploration of topics introduced in the CEPA course, including:
You'll also find a new five-week offering from EPI Academy, the Business Owner Prospecting and Engagement course. Designed to give advisors strategies to attract, retain, and engage with their business-owner clients. Learn from active CEPAs and EPI President Scott Snider how to educate your clients without making them feel “sold to”, while using Value Acceleration language you learned in the CEPA program.
Staying up to date on CE requirements can seem difficult when your calendar is packed with meetings, personal development, and your personal life. EPI Academy’s online platform lets you learn at your own pace, so you can sharpen your skills without sacrificing your active exit planning practice.
With hundreds of CE offerings available for you to take, choosing the right program that will make the most impact can feel overwhelming. Consider your client base and professional goals. Whether you want to deepen your knowledge in value acceleration, estate planning, or leadership skills, EPI Academy’s course catalog provides detailed descriptions to help you select the right fit.
More Learning at The Exit Planning Summit
Looking for a way to meet your CE needs and also gain real-world insights from your exit planning peers? The annual Exit Planning Summit provides networking opportunities with fellow exit planning professionals and valuable workshops that facilitate in-depth learning.
New to the Exit Planning Summit in 2026 are breakout sessions in the form of lecture-style talks, panel discussions, and in-depth case studies, on the most requested topics from the exit planning community, including:
- The impact of taxes on an exit,
- Building a network for meaningful referrals,
- Structuring and scaling an exit planning business model,
- and more.
The Exit Planning Summit relocates every year, giving you the opportunity to network with exit planners nationwide. To get more info on the Exit Planning Summit and see where we’re headed this year, visit the Summit website.
Staying current in exit planning means more than maintaining credentials. It means embracing change, mastering new skills, and leading your clients with confidence. The most respected CEPAs are those who are lifelong learners. Will you be one of them?
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