SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/16/10 -- Professional service firms such as CPA firms are driving more cost-effective professional development by rebroadcasting certified content as "live" events using rebroadcast capabilities built into LearnLive Connect™, a webcast delivery platform from LearnLive Technologies. Rebroadcasting also enables firms to maximize instructor time, many of whom are partners with high billable hourly rates, by allowing them to record content that can be offered (with live proctoring, NASBA certification) multiple times.

Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global accounting, tax and advisory organizations. With 51 offices in the U.S., the 5500 partners and employees of Grant Thornton LLP provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and privately-held clients.

Using LearnLive, Grant Thornton now offers CPE to CPAs for attending rebroadcasts, giving its professionals multiple date and time alternatives to accommodate their schedules, as well as reducing to just one the number of times its program leaders must present a session. Repeat sessions of webcasts leverage recordings of initial sessions, so a program leader is not required to present a second or third time; a resource person is needed only to respond to text questions. Importantly, this live text chat monitor function in LearnLive Connect™ means that rebroadcast webcasts qualify for CPE credit.

For Grant Thornton, LearnLive also provides the opportunity to convert some face-to-face programs to webcasts or even web-based self-study courses. Since the LearnLive tools come at a fixed cost, the elimination of variable costs related to face-to-face programs favorably impacts budgets.

"In the first year, the firm's investment paid for itself very quickly, with savings well into six figures," calculates Richard Rykus, Director, Strategic Learning, Grant Thornton. "We've been able to take classes that were delivered as three or four-day live, in-person programs, some with over 100 participants, and deliver those virtually to the desktop. When you eliminate costs including travel, food and lodging, it is very significant," continued Rykhus.

LearnLive Connect™ is the only platform for professional services that automates the process of turning a live recording into a NASBA compliant self-study course. Moreover, rebroadcasts are a live replay of a scheduled event. This allows firms to meet important live CPE requirements for certification and, unlike on-demand courses, rebroadcasts can be proctored and can include live polling, full audience participation, Q&A and more, simulating a "live classroom setting."

Rebroadcast also provides flexibility for administrators: they can substitute instructors at will with a proctor/content specialist of choice, usually a far less expensive option than having to rely on the original instructor who most likely is at partner-level.

For participants, multiple broadcasts afford scheduling flexibility, which increases attendance and helps them avoid costly and unnecessary travel. This kind of flexibility is critical when professionals are onsite with clients or at remote branch offices.

CAMICO, the nation's largest CPA-directed program of professional and employment practices liability insurance for CPA firms, offers its policyholders a full range of risk management products.

CAMICO required a platform that would enable efficient and seamless delivery of educational and training opportunities to the CPA firms it insures, as well as for its own internal training for its Redwood City, CA corporate offices, and its employees working remotely nationwide.

"The key for CAMICO is that we are limited time-wise to our policyholders' schedules: it is very difficult for multi-office firms to get their staff together. We are also limited to their locations. The flexibility of rebroadcasting enables us to meet our policyholder needs, while reducing their loss of billable hours," said Suzanne M. Holl, CPA, CAMICO Vice President of Loss Prevention Services.

"Some of the CPAs we insure truly appreciate rebroadcasting. They experience a high-end product that they derive lots of value out of, and they can schedule it so it's convenient for them," continued Holl. "Our instructors also like the fact that they have final say on whether the webcast is good to go or not. They can view the archive before a rebroadcast is run and, if not satisfied, re-record and tweak the content for that specific audience until they feel every word is perfect. Rebroadcast ensures that everyone is comfortable."

LearnLive Technologies, which meets all prescribed guidelines required by state and national boards for the certification of web-based delivery of professional education, drastically lowers costs by eliminating manual administration, excessive travel, redundant efforts due to schedule conflicts, and the need for managing disconnected internal and external systems and vendors.

With LearnLive, companies can manage a full suite of education products -- internal and external, formal and informal, live or on-demand, and any blend -- to provide seamless and truly effective learning that builds organizational competencies while assuring professional license requirements are being met.

For professionals, LearnLive offers a rich and interactive environment, with personalized dashboards for managing course content, matriculation, accreditation history and requirements wrapped within company-branded "University" portals.

About LearnLive Technologies
LearnLive Technologies automates the creation, delivery, management, and certification of accredited eLearning programs for professionals including accounting, legal and finance. LearnLive manages real-time learning management, administration, registration and cataloging, including the delivery of client-specific content that meets requirements for continuing professional education such as live and on-demand webcasts, state-to-state compliance, accreditation and certification, course authoring, archiving and more. LearnLive drastically lowers costs by eliminating manual administration, excessive travel, redundant efforts due to schedule conflicts, and the need for managing disconnected internal and external systems and vendors. The LearnLive platform includes Compass™, an integrated learning management system (LMS), Compliance Tracking™, an automated compliance manager, Connect™, a webcast delivery platform, and Capture™, a course authoring tool. For more information or free demo please visit www.learnlive.com or contact us at 206.812.4700 or sales@learnlive.com.

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