CPE + Events Catalog

Our goal is to keep you current with the changing tax environment by focusing on recent legislative, administrative, and judicial decisions and examining topics addressed in the media, publications, journals and conferences. Our belief is that the better informed we are, the better we can serve the profession and our clients. Check in monthly to see the current topic and objectives.

This CPE course provides an examination of the recent reports from a selection of Single Audit results. The instructor will go over the most common deficiencies found in Yellow Book and Single Audits and common peer review findings and OIG investigations. This course will also provide examples of common controls, best practices, and mitigation techniques. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Designed for accounting and attestation practitioners at all levels in both public accounting and business and industry, this course provides a comprehensive review of recent standard-setting activities of the FASB and AICPA. In addition to providing a detailed review of SAS No. 145, this course will bring you up to date on FASB and AICPA standards issued over the past few years. The course also provides many hands-on examples and illustrations to help you apply the guidance in practice. In addition to a financial accounting update, the course will discuss what you will need to do differently as you adopt new audit standards 142-149 over the next few years, including a detailed review of the new audit requirements under SAS 142. The course will also cover the key changes related to SSARS No. 25. Finally, the course reviews the AICPA's quality management project. In summary, the course is your go-to source for all things A&A and will prepare you for your upcoming engagements throughout the rest of the year.

The course provides a comprehensive, hands-on, pencil pushing understanding of the preparation of both S corporation and partnership/LLC tax returns, along with the underlying laws, regulations, etc. The course uses the basic concepts underlying the two main types of business returns: 1120S and 1065 as building blocks for more complex concepts tax preparers should be aware of. The theoretical concepts get illustrated in comprehensive examples that incorporate the most up-to-date law changes and provisions.

Don't let the title frighten you. Experienced staff can get bogged down in busy season with advanced practice and reporting issues. With major legislation enacted over the past few years, we bring you the distilled version of what you need to know for the current year and significant current proposals that may impact the tax landscape in future years or even retroactively. This course discusses the topics that experienced staff, managers, and partners should understand in depth while also assisting experienced staff in avoiding costly mistakes when facing complicated 1040 issues. The manual includes advanced examples and several advanced cases with "filled-in" forms provided with the complete answers.

As spreadsheets evolve, so must your practices for creating, editing, and auditing them. In this program, you will gain an in-depth understanding of the best ways to work with Excel by learning best practices associated with Excel spreadsheets in each of the following areas: creating and editing Excel workbooks, securing Excel workbooks, collaborating with others in Excel, and reporting on data contained in Excel. Today’s best practices for Excel differ significantly from those used in the past, and you will learn the best ways to work with Excel spreadsheets in this “must-see” CPE program. Course materials include relevant examples to enhance your learning experience. Join us for this program to help you utilize Excel to its fullest potential.  

Fraud continues to plague businesses at epidemic levels, and technology control failures are a significant reason fraud occurs. Using a case study approach, in this session, you will learn about the pervasiveness of fraud, the control failures that contribute to fraud, and what you can do to mitigate fraud risk. A specific focus of this course is the application of information technology general controls and information technology application controls. In this course, you will examine numerous reported fraud cases and identify the general control and application control failures that contributed to each of these frauds. By learning through these real-world case studies, you will be positioned better to reduce fraud risk.  

Ethics and professional skepticism are a cornerstone of public accounting. This course will review the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants that practitioners must adhere to. This course will outline the pressures, opportunities, and rationalizations that lead to instances of fraud. In addition, this class will walk through some interactive examples to illustrate various scenarios of noncompliance during engagements. 

The 2019 SECURE Act changed the rules regarding distributions to beneficiaries from retirement plans in a negative way. Trusts are often named as beneficiaries for IRAs and other retirement arrangements. The choice may provide a different result than under prior law for many beneficiaries. Now is the time to revisit beneficiary choices. This class gives examples of income tax implications of various trusts that are chosen as beneficiaries. Note: This class presents an in-depth discussion of issues presented in the instructor's class Retirement Distributions: Planning Options.

Increasingly, automating business processes is a necessity. In this session, you will learn about real-world examples of automating business processes. Remember, the survival of your business might depend upon successful automation!

This session focuses on the power of pivot tables within Microsoft Excel. We initially discuss the creation of pivot tables and various ways to summarize information. Then we explore ways to utilize summarized pivot table data. The course uses several practical examples that should inspire participants to find their own creative uses for pivot tables. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Fraud continues to plague businesses at epidemic levels, and technology control failures are a big reason fraud occurs. Using a case study approach, in this session, you will learn about the pervasiveness of fraud, the control failures that contribute to fraud, and what you can do to mitigate fraud risk. A specific focus of this course is the application of information technology general controls and information technology application controls. In this course, you will examine numerous reported fraud cases and identify the general control and application control failures that contributed to each of these frauds. By learning through these real-world case studies, you will be better positioned to reduce fraud risk.  

Staff accountants have specific needs when working with Excel – needs that are often not met by their existing Excel knowledge. Chief among these are the needs to quickly summarize data, prepare accurate and aesthetically pleasing reports, and create accounting-centric calculations for elements such as depreciation, amortization, and interest. By participating in this eight-hour session, staff accountants will gain the essential skills they need to maximize their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel. This session begins with a quick overview of Excel best practices. It then progresses rapidly into discussions that address PivotTables, sophisticated formulas, Tables, formatting, and working with dates in Excel. Throughout the session, you will learn from accounting-centric examples to reinforce key learning points. In this session, you will learn in a “laptop-friendly” environment, and participants will have access to all the demonstration files used in the session. In sum, this seminar is a “must” for all staff accountants seeking to improve their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel.  

A well-organized chart of accounts supports robust responsibility reporting, makes it easy to answer "what if?" questions and helps eliminate data entry errors. However, many organizations cling to the primitive practices of a half-century ago that impose barriers to developing budgets, holding people accountable, gathering useful data and keeping errors from creeping into their financial statements. Best practices today look little like the examples you may have seen in business school. If you sense that your general ledger could do far more, this session will show you how to fix your problems This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Learn the five-step process for recognizing revenue under FASB ASC 606. Supported with practical examples and disclosure illustrations, this webcast addresses core principles that all CPAs need to know.

Specifically designed for preparation, compilation, and review practitioners, this course will provide you with a comprehensive review and hands-on application for performing financial statement preparation, compilation, and review engagements. You will learn the ins and outs of applying SSARS No. 21, Clarification and Recodification, as well as the additional guidance related to SSARS engagements through the issuance of SSARS Nos. 22-26 by the ARSC. In addition to SSARS 26, the entire suite of quality management standards is discussed. However, knowing the standards is not enough. You need to be able to effectively apply them. To support this, the course will review recent peer review feedback on SSARS engagements, providing insights on how to successfully apply this guidance. Not only will this course bring you up to date on SSARS requirements and guidance, but more importantly, it will provide you with practical examples and illustrations to help you effectively and efficiently perform these types of engagements. This course is intended to be your go-to reference for training your staff and managing your SSARS No. 21-26 services in compliance with professional, ethical, and technical requirements.

One of the most cost effective methods for storing your files safely and economically in the cloud is with Microsoft 365 OneDrive and SharePoint apps. If you use either or both of these cloud storage apps, this course is a "must take." There are often times when you want or need cloud based files to be stored on your local laptop or desktop PC. With the OneDrive Sync app, you can have the best of both worlds. You can have copies of a file stored locally and in the cloud simultaneously. The Synch app will update both copies of the file in real time for any changes that are made in the local or cloud copy of the file. A classic example is if you have a QuickBooks Desktop data file that you need to store locally to work with the files in QuickBooks. However, you also want the file stored in the cloud for anytime, anywhere access and enhanced security. The Sync app facilitates this scenario effortlessly. Nationally recognized accounting technology advisor and thought leader, John Higgins, will take you through the step-by-step process of setting up and using the Sync app. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Add an invaluable skill set to your career. Showcasing a comprehensive cost accounting system of an actual company. Precisely identify direct costs for individual products and services. How to link direct costs with other direct costs. Identify certain fluctuating variable and semi-fixed costs that are, in fact, direct costs. Budgeting techniques for setting accurate standard costs and guidelines for revising standards during the year. Manufacturing overhead costs - how to identify, classify, and trace products. How to handle Phantom sub-assembly costing issues. How to account for costs when manufacturing deviates from normal operations - outside temporary contractors. Applying costing principles to a process cost system and a project cost system. Example of a best-in-class chart of accounts for management reporting.

Fraud Trends - Applying Real-life Lessons to Small- and Mid-Size Entities will focus on real-life and practical examples of fraud in smaller- and mid-size environments, including nonprofits. Fraud involves an intentional act to deceive, which may result in material misstatement in the financial statements due to fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of assets. Management's responsibility is to design, implement, maintain and monitor a system of internal control to prevent, or detect and correct, fraud. Note: This is a part of the suggested 16-hour Audit Skills Level 4 curriculum for experienced in-charges or seniors. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Award winning discussion leader, former state accountancy board chair, and lifelong tax practitioner Mark Hugh will review ethics for tax professionals: the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and interpretations; the Statements on Standards for Tax Services; tax preparer standards in the Internal Revenue Code; the rules for practice with and before the IRS, including IRS Circular 230; new developments; and discuss examples of best practices and case studies.