CPE + Events Catalog

Accounting standards affecting not-for-profit (NPF) organizations have become increasingly complex, and, as a result, a great deal of confusing exists as to how to properly account for certain transactions unique to these organizations. This course will clarify proper accounting and reporting for these troubling areas. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Every professional faces situations and scenarios where they feel their independence and objectivity related to an issue is impaired. They may feel pressured by management to minimize their report findings or, in some cases, look the other way. When these situations occur, professionals are faced with the dilemma of "what do I do?" or "how do I handle this situation?". These are the types of scenarios for which our university programs and business schools do not adequately prepare us. Experience can often be a good teacher. However, all individuals should be armed with some basic concepts that will prepare them to choose the right path when such difficult situations occur. This course is designed to prepare professionals for those difficult situations by sharing key concepts to maintaining objectivity. After completing this course, you should understand how to ensure your work can be represented as independent and objective, and ultimately provide the greatest risk mitigation to your company.

Join us for an in-depth webcast on Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and the essential aspects of preparing Form 5227.  This course will provide a comprehensive overview of CRTs, including their purpose, benefits, and practical considerations. Moreover, we will delve into the intricacies of Form 5227, the informational return for charitable remainder trusts, ensuring you have the necessary knowledge to accurately complete and file this crucial document. During this webcast, Art Werner will guide you through the fundamental concepts of Charitable Remainder Trusts, illustrating how they can be utilized as a strategic tool for tax planning. We will explore various types of CRTs, their formation, and the different scenarios in which they are most beneficial.  A significant portion of the webcast will be dedicated to Form 5227, the reporting requirement for charitable remainder trusts. We will provide an in-depth analysis of the form's components, line by line, ensuring you gain a comprehensive understanding of the information it requires. From trust assets and income to distributions and charitable beneficiaries, we will cover each section, discussing common pitfalls and best practices for accurate reporting. Mr. Werner will address the recent updates and changes to Form 5227, enabling you to stay up to date with the latest compliance requirements.

When do they exist and how to report them? This program will provide a detailed analysis of the real estate professional passive activity rules, including forms reporting examples, and integrates those rules with when real estate is considered a "business" under the Section 199A flow-through entity deduction.  **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com.

This course is designed for firm partners and managers to explore ways to incorporate data analytics and related technologies in their audit practices. Participants explore how small and mid-size firms are using these tools to improve engagement efficiency and quality while providing opportunities for value-added services to clients.All of AHI's courses rely heavily on participant interaction and these virtual programs have co-opted many of Zoom's features to preserve the same strengths of the in-person training: visual interaction between the instructor and all participants (plan to be "on screen" throughout the program); breakout rooms to ensure small group engagement; and instructor interaction screen share for small group presentations easy delivery of video presentations fillable PDF for online note-taking in the course materials.

Adapting to the Engagement - Differentiating the Requirements of Preparations, Compilations, Reviews, and Audits is a critical foundational course. A CPA may perform various attest services under relevant professional standards, including compilations, reviews and audits. Reviews and audits are also considered assurance services, providing either limited or reasonable assurance that financial statements are free of material misstatement. In addition, the CPA may perform non-attest services, such as bookkeeping or preparation of financial statements. CPAs must fully understand the professional responsibilities related to each of these varying levels of services, in order to effectively and efficiently satisfy engagement objectives. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for beginning auditors and attest providers, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has assurance responsibilities under the SSARS. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

How can you solidify an appropriate investment strategy based on risk, help clients stay on top of potentially life-altering situations and help them understand the intricacies of investment planning? Gain a better understanding of investment markets and the effects of world events, assess client risk and matching to expected return, deal with increasing client concerns, and develop better investment solutions in a rapidly changing environment. Attendees will consider the following questions during this course: How should you adjust your investment philosophy based on a world that is not secure? With new market heights attained often and unexpected events occurring regularly, how does one feel comfortable with an investment strategy? Where are investments headed in an economy-to some-on borrowed time? Companion Course: PFP Update: Income Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning 2024

Financial statements tell a story. Ratios reveal the plot. Desegregate key ratios that show effective management of a company. Learn a compact, efficient approach to financial statement analysis. Be introduced to a set of basic-to-intermediate analytic techniques and tools that provide insightful outputs to a broad spectrum of users with varied analytical objectives. Evaluate management performance, address the changing economic landscape, and the need for a new way of thinking.

Blockchain technology offers the promise of digital truth. When appropriately implemented, it provides a transparent, permanent, immutable, and high-speed record-keeping system. The possibilities are endless, from managing the logistics of supply chain networks to facilitating international commerce. The adoption of this technology is growing, with millions of new users every year. Organizations adopt this technology daily to help improve their existing operations through its ledger capabilities or by executing smart contracts. Cryptocurrency is one example of blockchain technology, and its growth and value have exploded to over $2 trillion in the last few years. This growth has helped fuel the adoption of Wall Street traders and traditional investors. While more popular than ever, few business professionals understand these technologies and their capabilities, risks, and potential impacts on business operations and processes, such as contract execution, recording and maintaining real estate ownership records, and supply chains. Unfortunately, this incredible technology is a mystery for most accounting professionals. This course will provide an in-depth look at this technology, including a detailed Update of the underlying technology, the benefits, the risks, the major players, and many practical applications. By participating in this session, you will gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of this technology and recommendations for getting started.

How does a forensic accountant calculate financial losses? Federal courts have approved various ways to calculate losses ranging from net worth method of proof to the expenditures method. Each method of proof depends on the available facts to the forensic accountant. This presentation will focus on the various court approved methods of proof, when to use them, and how to calculate the total loss. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This case-driven training is designed to get the inexperienced accountant up to speed quickly in the most common areas of individual income taxation. The cornerstone of this course is the preparation of the Form 1040 using actual client data common to most individual income tax returns. Note: Date changed from originally published date of Jan. 8-9, 2025.

This case-driven training is designed to get the inexperienced accountant up to speed quickly in the most common areas of individual income taxation. The cornerstone of this course is the preparation of the Form 1040 using actual client data common to most individual income tax returns. Note: Date changed from originally published date of Jan. 8-9, 2025.

The course provides a concise overview of cognitive biases - thinking errors and "brain bugs" that may distort perceptions, compromise ethics, trigger inaccurate judgments, and spark illogical interpretations in your accounting work. Discover the most common types of cognitive biases in the profession, and how to recognize and address these flaws and blindspots in your "mental firmware". This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Quality management will have a big impact on CPA firms. This course will cover both SQMS 1 and 2 as well as the related engagement level standards (SAS 146 and SSARS 26). The new standards will require a risk-based approach to quality management as well as the documentation of an information & communication process. This two hour class will provide a deep dive into what you need to know to start your implementation process!

Join us for a discussion on what has changed in 2024 for the CTA. This course covers the latest on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). We will discuss the new filing timelines, including the recent extension, and will make sense of the broadened definition of "beneficial owner". We will also discuss the ruling in Alabama that has changed things. By the end of this, you’ll have the know-how to craft solid compliance plans that don't just check boxes but work seamlessly in the real world. Expect to leave armed with concrete tips for keeping your clients while staying away from any fines. Make sure you are up to date with the newest financial regulations. **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com.

This CPE course provides an overview and changes with respect to ASU 2016-14 Presentation of Financial Statements and ASU 2016-18 Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents in Statement of Cash Flows for Not-for-Profit Entities. This course provides common pitfalls and tips on functional expense reporting and, how to manage liquid resources, common peer review findings related to ASU 2016-14, and tips and suggestions on a successful audit. This course also reviews items to consider, given COVID-19, when preparing for an audit and reviewing financial statements. The instructor will explain the key facts and impacts of ASU 2018-08 Clarifying the Scope and Accounting Guidance for Contributions Received and Contributions Made, ASU 2019-03: Updating the Definition of Collections, ASU 2019-06: Extending the Private Company Accounting Alternatives on Goodwill and Certain Identifiable Intangibles to NFP Entities, and ASU 2020-07 Presentation and Disclosures by NFP Entities for Contributed Nonfinancial Assets. Lastly, this course will cover Cybersecurity Issues. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The QuickBooks ecosystem of accounting tools remains the most widely-used set of accounting applications used by small businesses. Yet, many of these organizations struggle because of inadequate internal controls. In this seminar, you will learn options for improving internal controls in small businesses running QuickBooks Pro, Premier, Enterprise, or Online. Participate in this program to understand how you can create a robust system of internal controls in a small business environment, including businesses using QuickBooks accounting solutions. In this session, you will also learn about the four common types of internal controls and how to assess the relative condition of the internal control structure of a small business. With this background in place, the focus then shifts to discovering the opportunities to enhance internal controls in QuickBooks-based environments using features found in the application. In addition, you will learn about additional internal control procedures for situations where you cannot establish adequate controls in QuickBooks. In sum, while many believe that QuickBooks-based organizations will forever face weak internal control structures, by participating in this session, you will learn how QuickBooks-based businesses can benefit from strong internal controls.

This course examines the critical issues and special opportunities facing partnerships and their partners, as well as the relationship between limited liability companies and partnerships, with a focus on reporting tax basis capital accounts. **Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to kori.herrera@acpen.com.

This session revisits useful, but potentially underutilized, managerial accounting techniques. You will appreciate a fresh look at concepts you may not have considered since your college days. We will illustrate practical ways you can immediately implement managerial accounting analysis in your professional endeavors. 

The QuickBooks platform is a robust environment with features and capabilities that many users are unaware of or do not know how to utilize effectively.  This course helps you get more out of QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online and resolve the issues that even experienced QuickBooks users struggle with, such as locking down prior periods.  This program starts fast with a chapter covering the top issues accountants face with QuickBooks.  The day continues with practical guidance and solutions designed to help accountants get the most out of QuickBooks for themselves or their clients. You will learn about issues, such as setting up a new company, configuring and customizing QuickBooks preferences, and enabling system security and password protection features.  Also, you will learn how to lock down transactions in prior periods, the audit trail, customizing reports, exporting reports to Excel, and extending QuickBooks’ usefulness with tools such as the Fixed Asset Manager and Loan Manager.