Certified Revenue Examiner

Course Description

• Course 1: Sales and Use Tax Examination – The Legal Environment, 15 hours

  This course addresses local tax procedures, constitutional issues, and recent legal issues affecting local government revenue examiners. Participants will discuss nexus issues such as the Yelverton case, as well as recent Attorney General opinions relevant to and impacting local revenue examiners. Attention will be given to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, Uniform Revenue Procedures Act, Tax Simplification Act, Local Tax Procedures Act, and procedures for appeal.

• Course 2: Minimum Examination Program for Local Government Revenue Examiners, 15 hours

  This course provides valuable information to enable local government revenue examiners to competently conduct examinations of business records with professionalism, integrity, and uniformity in accordance and compliance with Alabama laws governing sales, use, rental and related taxes. Participants will also discuss recent court rulings to remain current in their field. At the completion of this course, participants should be able to describe and perform an effective and efficient minimum examination.

• Course 3: Understanding Laws and Regulations Governing Local Government Revenue, 15 hours

  This course focuses on the abilities to reconstruct income by indirect methods, use tax law, and taxes associated with leasing or renting. Also addresses audit procedures for taxpayers declaring bankruptcy, definitions of types of bankruptcies, and how to deal with statutes of limitations.

• Course 4: Examination Tools and Techniques, 20 hours

  This course focuses on the Audit Sampling process, and includes subjects, such as the relationship of sampling and auditing standards, various sampling techniques, and the difference between non-statistical and statistical auditing sampling. There will also be discussion on Internal Control and what internal control means to an auditor.

---

CRE Coursework

Completion of 65 hours of coursework approved by the ALTIST Board ( three 15 hour tested courses and one 20 hour tested course within two years from taking the first course. Attendees will be required to be In Person for all Core courses as of January 1, 2025.

---

Continuing Education Coursework

Completion of 40 hours of continuing education each year to retain certification; at least eight hours must be earned through the ALTIST Certified Revenue Examiner Annual Update Course. The remainder of the 40-hour requirement can be obtained through any approved CPE courses recognized by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, as well as courses offered by the County Revenue Officers Association of Alabama, Government Finance Officers Association or by the Alabama Municipal Revenue Officers Association.

Registration/Cancellation Rule:

Provided that space is available, receipt of the registration form constitutes registration. Written cancellations, received fifteen (15) working days prior to the beginning of the program will be honored with a partial refund of the registration fee, but will be assessed a $50 administrative charge. Due to commitments to instructors and meeting facilities, late cancellations or non-attendance will not be refunded. Substitutions for registered participants may be made at any time.

---

Lodging

For lodging, please refer to the following websites for the following areas. Please note that Auburn does not endorse the following sites.

ALTIST Certified Revenue Examiner Education Program, FY 2024 & 2025

Required Classes for Certification:

• November 20-22, 2024 – CRE II Minimum Examination Program for Local Government Revenue Examiners, 15 hours
  • Location: Hybrid (Virtual and Lee County Training Center, Opelika)
  • Fee: $380

• May 14-16, 2025 – CRE III: Understanding Laws and Regulations Governing Local Government Revenue , 15 hours
  • Location: Lee County Training Center, Opelika
  • Fee: $380

• November 5-7, 2025 – CRE I: Sales and Use Tax Examination – The Legal Environment , 15 hours
  • Location: Lee County Training Center, Opelika
  • Fee: $380

---

Continuing Education:

• October 18, 2024 – Update – 2nd Offering
  
  • Location: Virtual
  • Fee: $250

• March 28, 2025 – Special Topics , 8 hours
  • Location: Virtual
  • Fee: $200

• June 6, 2025 – Special Issues AM & PM , 4 hours each/8 hours total
  • Location: Virtual
  • Fee: $145

• August 8, 2025 – Mandated Update (1st Offering) , 8 hours
  • Location: Virtual
  • Fee: $250

• October 17, 2025 – Mandated Update (2nd Offering) , 8 hours
  • Location: Virtual
  • Fee: $250

Dates and Venues subject to change.

2025 CRE/GTA Classes are open for registration. For questions please contact the GEDI department at 334-844-4782 or GEDI@auburn.edu.

Annual CRE Continuing Education Reporting

All ALTIST Certified Revenue Examiners (CREs) register annually with the ALTIST program office at the Government & Economic Development Institute (GEDI) at Auburn University. CRE Continuing Education (CE) must be reported annually through an online reporting process. All continuing education will now be reported through an online link. You will continue to list the hours achieved through online, self-study, teaching and the 8-hour update class. If hours were taken through programs outside of GEDI, all backup proof of completion must be uploaded along with your application signature page. It is best to scan all documents into one file for uploading, but we have provided several upload opportunities. The Annual CE Reporting is due through the online process no later than January 31 of each year. CE hour credits must be earned during the designated calendar year and completed by December 31 of that year.

Continuing Education submissions after January 31 of the year following the reporting year are considered delinquent and certification will be voided. At that time the employer will be notified of the certification cancellation and the inability of the employee to perform audits. If you cannot meet the CE requirements by the December 31 deadline, due to reasonable cause (such as a medical emergency, military services, etc.), please check the request for Inactive Status at the beginning of the online form.

ALTIST CREs who hold an annual permit to practice must complete 40 hours of approved CE credit during the calendar year that begins on January 1 of each year and ends on December 31 of the same year. Private Examiners must also submit proof of annual business license for the reporting year.

At least 8 hours must be through attendance at the ALTIST Certified Revenue Examiner Annual Update Course. At the current time, all 40 hours can be achieved through online or distance learning classes. Any request of acceptance of non-sponsored coursework must be submitted to the ALTIST Continuing Education Committee, via GEDI, at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the coursework. No more than 8 hours in behavioral courses will be accepted. College courses taken for actual college credit cannot be applied to the continuing education requirement. However, college courses taken specifically for continuing education re-certification credit may be accepted.

Records

Documentation of CE courses completed outside of the ALTIST CRE program must be submitted with CE Reporting each year. CE completion records should be retained for a minimum of three years.

Certification Revocation

After a lapse of certification due to lack of sufficient continuing education hours, a certification is suspended on March 31 of the year following the failure to complete the required hours. The certification will remain suspended until the annual requirements for renewal are met. At that time, the Certified Revenue Examiner must apply to the ALTIST Board for reinstatement.

The certification will also be suspended if an examiner completes the required coursework, but fails to return all necessary documentation and verification for the certification process, and/or neglects to obtain the required hours of continuing education required for continued certification for a period of three (3) years.

After three (3) years of suspension of certification, whether it is due to a lapse of sufficient continuing education hours, or failure to complete the verification and certification application process, an applicant must successfully repeat all the requirements for certification, including successful completion of all required course work.

Newly Certified Examiners

CE hours are not required during the yearly reporting period for individuals new to the CRE program and certified after December 31 of the previous reporting year.

Address Changes

It is your responsibility to inform GEDI in writing of any change of address and/or change in your business affiliation.

As of March 26, 2020 this is a list of Active Private Examiners who have passed the certification process. It is the responsibility of a Private Examiner to be bonded and licensed. This list does not include Certified Revenue Examiners who are employed within City, County, or State agencies and are not required, by law, to complete the CRE certification program.

(Alphabetized by Certification Date)

Full Name	Organization	Certificate Number	Certification Date
Bruce Davis	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49011	7/1/2001
Gary W. Muns	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49030	7/1/2001
Tom Simpson	Rivertree Systems, Inc.	49034	7/1/2001
J. Drew Trobaugh	Trobaugh & Company, LLC	49042	7/1/2001
David Wages	Rivertree Systems, Inc.	49043	7/1/2001
Darryl R. Talley	Darryl R Talley, CPA, P.C.	49080	7/9/2004
John William Hallman	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49108	3/3/2006
Kenneth W. Ware	Rivertree Systems	49114	3/3/2006
Keri Calloway	PReMA Corp	49147	7/31/2008
Leslie Payne	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49172	7/24/2009
Jacqueline Finklea	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49160	10/8/2009
Tracy Warren Pate		49180	5/13/2010
Christopher Wills	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49181	5/13/2010
Randy Hazel	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49195	2/22/2013
Shana Woods	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49194	2/22/2013
Cassie Tubbs	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49201	8/8/2013
Julie Hall Blair	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49205	5/30/2014
Margaret J. Michaelis	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49206	5/30/2014
Joy P. McKee	Trobaugh & Company LLC	49218	5/10/2016
Jeremy Lathem	RiverTree Systems, Inc.	49222	9/15/2016
John Lee Pearce	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49225	12/2/2016
Kewanna Toney	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49226	12/2/2016
Brian Cozzone	Rivertree Systems Inc.	49232	9/7/2017
Katelynn Ballew	Avenu Insights & Analytics-Audit Dep	49254	8/9/2019
Hugh Tompkins	Rivertree Systems Inc.	49253	8/9/2019
Ashley Oliver	HdL Companies	49259	10/6/2020
Jeannie Herrington	Rivertree Systems, Inc.	49270	9/22/2022
Joshua Alexander	Avenu Insights & Analytics	49261	6/10/2022
Jacob McCollum	Avenu Insights & Analytics - Audit Dept.	49267	9/22/2022