CPE + Events Catalog

This comprehensive case-driven training is designed to get the accountant up to speed quickly in the area of basis calculations and distribution planning for the owners of pass-thru entities (i.e., S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs)). The cornerstone of this course is the line-by-line analysis of the Schedule K-1s and how it affects the basis calculations.  **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

When federal prosecutors contemplate charges against business owners, two of their most potent and readily available tools include charges for mail fraud and wire fraud. The elements to convict for these crimes are clear: 1) The defendant devised or intended to devise a scheme or artifice to defraud, and, 2) in executing or attempting to execute the scheme, the defendant used or caused the use of mail or an interstate wire or wireless transmission. Mail, emails, cell phone calls, text messages, Internet transmissions, and even tweets could form the basis for charges of wire fraud or mail fraud. The crime of wire fraud is a reason that many business owners go to prison. In this course, we'll learn about a few people who've experienced a conviction for wire fraud. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

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.

Internal Controls to Mitigate Financial Reporting Risk - Designing Stronger Internal Controls for Small or Mid-Size Entities provide practical analysis and tips for how a reporting entity can manage financial reporting risk in an effective and efficient way. Internal controls are applied within an organization to satisfy objectives related to operations, compliance, and financial reporting. This module will also differentiate the auditor's responsibilities for internal controls under Sarbanes Oxley, Government Auditing Standards and Single Audit Act requirements. Note: This course is recommended as a part of a 16-hour audit skills curriculum for supervisory or managerial auditors, while it is also appropriate for anyone who has responsibilities for designing or evaluating the design of internal controls. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Keep current on ethical requirements imposed by standards-setting organizations and legislative action. Discuss regulatory, legal and ethical requirements affecting the profession. Take a pragmatic approach to ethics, recognize potential regulatory problems, and avoid liability.

Valuation techniques and cash management activities are two other tool categories that can round out your analytical toolbox. In this course we will initially discuss how to turn your financial plan into a powerful valuation engine.  We then will discuss the formation of an efficient cash management program based on solid banker relationships.  Finally, we will review Ten Steps for keeping your financial toolbox full.

The need for a forensic accountant has grown in the last two decades, with more expected in the future. From oil well spills to divorces - from stealing trust funds to partnership disputes - forensic accountants are needed to find and calculate losses. They are financial detectives that are needed to explain the money story to attorneys, judges, and juries. If you are interested in starting a forensic accounting practice or adding on this service to your existing firm, this course is for you. In this presentation, you will know what service to provide possible clients, how to find those clients, and the cost-effective ways to start the forensic accounting practice. Your instructor has over 20 years of experience as a special agent with IRS-Criminal Investigation where he conducted investigations into tax and money laundering crimes across the globe. After his successful investigative career, he started a CPA firm from scratch that focused on forensic accounting. He shares the successes and failures in starting a forensic accounting practice, including getting the right credentials, various ways of marketing to potential clients, closing the deal with engagement letters, and delivering the service to the client. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

This program is designed to help individuals from first time buyers to veteran entrepreneurs navigate the acquisition process. It discusses practical ideas on finding potential targets, letters of intent (LOIs), the due diligence process, building the business case financial model, obtaining proper financing, negotiating the deal documents, and integration of the acquired entity. The course will cover how to build a plan, execute the acquisition process, and lead a team to be a successful acquirer of other business entities to grow revenue and enhance net income.

Individuals are leaving the workforce in droves due to retirement or resignation, and many are choosing to start their own businesses. This course explores the planning opportunities for those starting their own businesses or advising clients. Issues addressed include making sure you will be treated as a business, choice of entity, Schedule C deductions, depreciation, avoiding the self-employment tax, retirement plans, self-employed health insurance, employing family members, and loss limitations.

This course approaches financial statement preparation and review from a tax practitioner's perspective. Often tax motivated clients have different needs concerning financial statements. Topics in the program are:

Clients believe that estate planning is only for the wealthy. This isn't the case. Perhaps as a result of the 2020 pandemic, estate planning has a renewed focus. All practitioners should be familiar with the vernacular, acronyms and techniques. Estate planning involves personal issues that affect everyone, even when the estate tax doesn't apply. Learn strategies to pass assets to future generations; provide education benefits; distribute retirement benefits, and provide a charitable legacy.

The Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) of the AICPA has been very busy issuing new and updating existing ethics rules. This course will provide an overview of recently issued and soon to be effective ethics rules that CPAs in both industry and public accounting need to know to be compliant. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

What exactly is cryptocurrency and its cousin named blockchain? Are they here to stay? This session will provide a big picture examination of the technologies and currencies by explaining how we got here. We discuss the systems and technical aspects of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. What is the broad view of the technologies that currently do, and will continue to, impact our workplace and lives?

Our guidance on ethics comes from the AICPA and other groups, but it does not fully address the “why” behind ethics. This session will examine and define what ethics is and what it means to varying people in the workplace. Understanding what motivates people and understanding those people are key to both solving ethical dilemmas and workplace issues that can lead to greater job satisfaction and efficiency. To correct an issue, you need to delve into the root cause – the why?

Excel can do so many things but what are some of the features that can really help accountants take their Excel skills to the next level? This course is designed to do just that. To learn ALL the capabilities of Excel would take hundreds of hours of training, so this two-hour course is designed to give you a jump start on the most important features that you can immediately begin implementing in your spreadsheets. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Over the years, Excel has added MANY new features and functionality, yet most people still use it the same way they first learned it. Many of the features were added to Excel to enhance your ability to create spreadsheets more efficiently and with more accuracy. However, if you aren't aware of these new features, how can you use them? This class will focus on walking through each ribbon (menu) to explain the capability of various features in Excel. It is a great overview for both new and advanced Excel users to make sure you know all the capabilities of Excel. You may have seen many of the features but had no idea what they could do for you. This class will help you to understand these features and determine how you might take advantage of their capabilities. This session is presented using Excel 2019/Office 365. Regardless of the version you are using, most concepts covered in this course apply to all versions of Excel. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

The rewards for planning ahead of the TCJA sunset are enormous. This webcast will focus on multi-year income tax planning to get the best results for your clients.

This course, the last in a three-course series, concentrates on the remaining topics in ASC Topic 842, Leases, such as leasing from a lessor's perspective and disclosure and transition for both the lessor and lessee. The course also reviews and discusses note disclosures from several publicly traded companies across several industries. Attendees should be familiar with the content from the first course, Leases: Is It a Lease?, and the second course, Leases: Lessees. Be sure to register for all three parts of this series: Leases: Is it a Lease?-Topic 842-10 Leases: Lessee-Topic 842-21 Leases: Miscellaneous Topics

Project Management is not the same as workflow management, and a project manager is more than a task master. Driving change, leading a team and managing client engagements requires a great deal of organization and planning. Successfully launching a new technology, onboarding clients, developing a new service line ... all takes more than a checklist of to-do items. You need to monitor risks and opportunities. You need to gain buy-in to drive adoption. Proper scoping and projections help keep projects on course, and not become a costly experiment that gets shoved to the back burner. Project managers are trained in analyzing the data while also managing people. In this session explore basic project management best practices and mindset to more effectively managing change in your firm.

Our country and our accounting methods have undergone huge changes in the previous few years, most of it challenging. Individuals and entire businesses have been left reeling by new tax regulations, doing more with less, and employment restructuring. Organizations must adjust quickly; notwithstanding how painful these changes have been. This course instructs accounting managers on how to deal with change and stress in the workplace. Before it affects them in a negative way, the accounting professional will learn how to best manage the changing work environment and the stress that comes with it. "The first wealth is health," remarked Ralph Waldo Emerson, but for many of us, stressful jobs are putting our health at jeopardy.